Editing Belmopan (section)

==History==
After [[Hurricane Hattie]] in 1961 destroyed approximately 75% of the houses and business places in low-lying and coastal Belize City, the government proposed to encourage and promote the building of a new capital city.<ref name="bmp"/> This new capital would be on better terrain, would entail no costly [[Land reclamation|reclamation of land]], and would provide for an industrial area. In 1962, a committee chose the site now known as Belmopan, {{convert|82|km|mi}} southwest of the old capital of Belize City.<ref name="bmp"/>

Since Belize was a British colony (known as [[British Honduras]]) in 1964, Premier [[George Cadle Price]] led a delegation to London to seek funds to finance the new capital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=12107 |title=Exhibition highlights history of Belmopan |date=30 July 2004 |website=channel5belize.com |access-date=27 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106035720/http://www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=12107 |archive-date=6 November 2011 }}</ref> Although they were not ready to commit to funding such a large project, the British government showed interest due to the logic of locating the capital on high ground safe from [[storm surge]]s. To encourage financial commitment from the British government, Premier Price and the [[People's United Party]] government invited [[Anthony Greenwood, Baron Greenwood of Rossendale|Anthony Greenwood]], [[Secretary of State for the Colonies|Secretary of State for the Commonwealth and Colonies]], to visit Belize. One of the highlights of this visit was the unveiling of a monument at mile 49 on the Western Highway. The monument records that Lord Greenwood dedicated the site for the new capital on 9 October 1965. 

The name chosen for the new capital, Belmopan, is derived from the union of two words: "[[Belize River|Belize]]", the name of the longest river in the country, and "[[Mopan River|Mopan]]",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mybelizeadventure.com/destinations/cayo/belmopan/ |title=Belmopan at MyBelizeAdventure.com : Destinations: Cayo : Belmopan |access-date=7 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502132359/http://www.mybelizeadventure.com/destinations/cayo/belmopan/ |archive-date=2 May 2007  }}</ref> one of the rivers in this area, which empties into the [[Belize River]]. The initial estimated cost for building this new city was 40 million [[Belize dollar]]s (US$20.5 million). Only 20 million Belize dollars (US$10 million) were available, but the momentum was not to be lost.<ref name="kearns">{{cite journal |last1=Kearns |first1=Kevin C. |title=Belmopan: Perspective on a New Capital |journal=Geographical Review |date=1973 |volume=63 |issue=2 |pages=147–169 |doi=10.2307/213409|jstor=213409 }}</ref>

In 1967, work began; the first phase of the new city was completed in 1970 at a cost of 24 million Belize dollars (US$12 million). From 1970 to 2000 the administration of Belmopan was managed by the Reconstruction and Development Corporation, known as "Recondev."<ref name="rd">{{cite web |url=http://www.casacayorealestate.net/aboutbelize.php |title=About Belize |publisher=Casa Cayo Real Estate |access-date=29 June 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229134115/http://www.casacayorealestate.net/aboutbelize.php |archive-date=29 February 2008}}</ref> Recondev was vested with the power and authority to provide, or cause to be provided, the municipal functions necessary for the smooth running of the city's business and infrastructure.

There was a reluctance initially amongst foreign governments to relocate their embassies to Belmopan as there was some doubt as to whether this inland area would really become the functioning capital.<ref name="kearns" /> The British High Commission opened in 1981 when Belize achieved independence, moving to its current location in 1984. In February 2005, the United States government began construction of its embassy's chancery in Belmopan,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://belize.usembassy.gov/groundbreaking.html |title=Groundbreaking Ceremony for New U.S. Embassy Compound |date=Feb 14, 2005 |website=U.S. Embassy in Belize |access-date=8 February 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060922201805/http://belize.usembassy.gov/groundbreaking.html |archive-date=22 September 2006 }}</ref> officially opening on 11 December 2006.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://belize.usembassy.gov/ |title=U.S. Embassy in Belmopan, Belize - Home |website=belize.usembassy.gov |access-date=8 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070201210508/http://belize.usembassy.gov/ |archive-date=1 February 2007 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Mexico, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Venezuela also have embassies in Belmopan, while Ecuador, Chile, and the Dominican Republic are represented by consulates. However, with four embassies and 29 consulates the former capital of Belize City still has most of the country's foreign diplomatic community.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.embassypages.com |title=Embassies and Consulates around the World - EmbassyPages.com |website=embassypages.com |access-date=3 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130115023737/http://www.embassypages.com/ |archive-date=15 January 2013  }}</ref>