Editing Belize (section)

==History==

{{Main|History of Belize}}

===Early history===

[[File:Mayamap.png|right|thumb|Extent of the Maya civilization]]
The [[Maya civilization]] emerged at least three millennia ago in the lowland area of the [[Yucatán Peninsula]] and the highlands to the south, in the area of present-day southeastern Mexico, Belize, [[Guatemala]], and western [[Honduras]]. Many aspects of this culture persist in the area, despite nearly 500 years of European domination. Prior to about 2500 BCE, some [[hunter-gatherer|hunting and foraging]] bands settled in small farming villages; they domesticated crops such as corn, beans, [[Cucurbita|squash]], and chili peppers.

A profusion of languages and subcultures developed within the Maya core culture. Between about 2500 BCE and 250 CE, the basic institutions of Maya civilization emerged.<ref name=cs>
{{cite book
|last= Bolland|first= Nigel
|date= 1993|chapter= Belize: Historical Setting
|chapter-url= https://cdn.loc.gov/master/frd/frdcstdy/gu/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://cdn.loc.gov/master/frd/frdcstdy/gu/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0/guyanabelizecoun00merr_0.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live
|title= Guyana and Belize: Country Studies|editor= Tim Merrill
|publisher= [[Library of Congress]] [[Federal Research Division]]
}}
</ref>

===Maya civilization===

{{Main|Pre-Columbian Belize}}
The [[Maya civilization]] spread across the territory of present-day Belize around 1500{{nbsp}}BCE, and flourished until around 900 CE. The recorded history of the middle and southern regions focuses on [[Caracol]], an urban political centre that may have supported over 140,000 people.<ref>{{cite journal |author= Houston, Stephen D. |author-link= Stephen D. Houston |year= 2000 |title= The Language of Classic Maya Inscriptions |journal= [[Current Anthropology]] |volume= 41 |issue= 3 |pages= 321–356 |issn= 0011-3204 |pmid= 10768879 |last2= Robertson |first2= J |last3= Stuart |first3= D |doi= 10.1086/300142|s2cid= 741601 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= History: Site Overview|url= http://www.caracol.org/about/history/|work= Caracol Archaeological Project|publisher= Department of Anthropology, University of Central Florida|access-date= 19 February 2014|archive-date= 3 May 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140503090209/http://www.caracol.org/about/history/|url-status= live}}</ref> North of the [[Maya Mountains]], the most important political centre was [[Lamanai]].<ref>{{cite book|last= Scarborough|first= Vernon L.|title= The Political Economy of Ancient Mesoamerica: Transformations During the Formative and Classic Periods|year= 2007|publisher= University of New Mexico Press|location= Albuquerque|isbn= 978-0826342980|page= 160|author2= Clark, John E.}}</ref> In the late [[Mesoamerican chronology|Classic Era]] of Maya Civilization (600–1000{{nbsp}}CE), an estimated 400,000 to 1,000,000 people inhabited the area of present-day Belize.<ref name=cs/><ref>{{cite book|last= Shoman|first= Assad|title= Thirteen chapters of a history of Belize|year= 1995|publisher= Angelus Press|location= Belize City, Belize|isbn= 978-9768052193|page= 4}}</ref>

When Spanish explorers arrived in the 16th century, the area of present-day Belize included at least three distinct Maya territories:<ref>
{{cite book
|last= Shoman|first= Assad
|title= Thirteen chapters of a history of Belize
|year= 1995|publisher= Angelus Press
|location= Belize City, Belize
|isbn= 978-9768052193|pages= 5–6
}}
</ref>

* [[Chetumal Province|Chetumal province]], which encompassed the area around [[Corozal Bay]]
* [[Dzuluinicob]] province, which encompassed the area between the lower [[New River (Belize)|New River]] and the [[Sibun River]], west to [[Tipu, Belize|Tipu]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.belizeanstudies.com/early-maya-resistance.html |title=Belizean studies maya resistance |access-date=21 November 2021 |archive-date=21 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121192209/http://www.belizeanstudies.com/early-maya-resistance.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1 = Jones| first1 = Grant D.| title = Maya Resistance to Spanish Rule: Time and History on a Colonial Frontier| date = 1989| publisher = University of New Mexico Press| location = Albuquerque, New Mexico| oclc = 20012099| hdl = 2027/mdp.39015015491791| isbn = 9780826311610| page = 98}}</ref>
* a southern territory controlled by the [[Manche Ch'ol]] Maya, encompassing the area between the [[Monkey River]] and the [[Sarstoon River]].

===Early colonial period (1506–1862)===
{{Further|History of Belize (1506–1862)|Colony of Jamaica}}
[[File:Territorial Evolution of Belize.svg|thumb|A map of the territorial evolution of Belize]]

Spanish [[conquistador]]s explored the land and declared it part of the [[Spanish Empire]], but they failed to settle the territory because of its lack of resources and the tribes of the Yucatán defending their land.

English pirates sporadically visited the coast of what is now Belize, seeking a sheltered region from which they could attack Spanish ships ''(see [[English settlement in Belize]])'' and cut [[logwood]] (''Haematoxylum campechianum'') trees. The first British permanent settlement was founded around 1716, in what became the [[Belize District]],<ref name="Johnson2003"/> and during the 18th century, established a system using [[Atlantic slave trade|enslaved Africans]] to cut logwood trees. This yielded a valuable fixing agent for clothing dyes,<ref>{{cite book|last=Hofenk de Graff|first=Judith H.|title=The Colourful Past: Origins, Chemistry and Identification of Natural Dyestuffs|date=2004|publisher=Archetype Books|location=London|isbn=978-1873132135|page=235}}</ref> and was one of the first ways to achieve a [[Natural dye#The rise of formal black|fast black]] before the advent of artificial dyes. The Spanish granted the British settlers the right to occupy the area and cut logwood in exchange for their help suppressing piracy.<ref name="cs"/>

[[File:St. George's Cay Day Official Holiday.jpg|thumb|An excerpt from the 1898 Gazette that declared 10 September an official holiday, [[Battle of St. George's Caye Day]]]]

The British government did not recognize the settlement as a colony for fear of provoking a [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] attack. This delay in government oversight enabled the settlers to establish their own laws and forms of government. During this period, a few settlers gained control of the local legislature, known as the Public Meeting, as well as of most of the settlement's land and timber. The British did not appoint their first superintendent over the Belize area until 1786.

Throughout the 18th century, the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] attacked Belize every time war broke out with Britain. The [[Battle of St. George's Caye]] was the last of such military engagements, in 1798, between a Spanish fleet and a force of [[Baymen]] and their slaves. From 3 to 5 September, the Spaniards tried to force their way through Montego Caye shoal, but were blocked by defenders. Spain's last attempt occurred on 10 September, when the Baymen repelled the Spanish fleet in a short engagement with no known casualties on either side. The anniversary of the battle has been declared [[Battle of St. George's Caye Day|a national holiday]] in Belize and is celebrated to commemorate the "first Belizeans" and the defence of their territory taken from the Spanish empire.<ref>{{cite web|last=Swift|first=Keith|title=St. George's Caye Declared a Historic Site|url=http://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=14922|publisher=News 7 Belize|date=1 September 2009|access-date=21 May 2013|archive-date=17 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417144250/https://www.7newsbelize.com/sstory.php?nid=14922|url-status=live}}</ref>

===As part of the British Empire (1862–1981)===
{{Main|British Honduras}}
[[File:Flag of British Honduras (1919-1981).svg|thumb|Colonial flag of British Honduras, 1919–1981]]
In the early 19th century, the British sought to reform the settlers, threatening to suspend the Public Meeting unless it observed the government's instructions to eliminate slavery outright. After a generation of wrangling, slavery was [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|abolished]] in the [[British Empire]] in 1833.<ref>{{cite web|title=3° & 4° Gulielmi IV, cap. LXXIII An Act for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Colonies; for promoting the Industry of the manumitted Slaves; and for compensating the Persons hitherto entitled to the Services of such Slaves.|url=http://www.pdavis.nl/Legis_07.htm|access-date=14 August 2015|archive-date=24 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080524010152/http://www.pdavis.nl/Legis_07.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> As a result of their enslaved Africans' abilities in the work of [[mahogany]] extraction, owners in [[British Honduras]] were compensated at £53.69 per enslaved African on average, the highest amount paid in any British territory. This was a form of reparation that was not given to the enslaved Africans at the time, nor since.<ref name="Johnson2003">{{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Melissa A. |title=The Making of Race and Place in Nineteenth-Century British Honduras |journal=Environmental History |volume=8 |date=October 2003 |pages=598–617 |jstor=3985885 |issue=4 |doi=10.2307/3985885 |bibcode=2003EnvH....8..598J |hdl=11214/203 |s2cid=144161630 |url=https://suscholar.southwestern.edu/bitstream/11214/203/1/Johnson%20--%20The%20Making%20of%20Race.pdf }}{{Dead link|date=February 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The end of slavery did little to change the formerly enslaved Africans' working conditions if they stayed at their trade. A series of institutions restricted the ability of emancipated African individuals to buy land, in a debt-peonage system. Former "extra special" mahogany or logwood cutters undergirded the early ascription of the capacities (and consequently the limitations) of people of African descent in the colony. Because a small elite controlled the settlement's land and commerce, formerly enslaved Africans had little choice but to continue to work in timber cutting.<ref name="Johnson2003" />

In 1836, after the [[Spanish American wars of independence|emancipation of Central America from Spanish rule]], the British claimed the right to administer the region. In 1862, the United Kingdom formally declared it a [[British Crown Colony]], subordinate to Jamaica, and named it British Honduras.<ref>{{cite book|author=Greenspan|title=Frommer's Belize|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AneYREkUJecC&pg=PA279|access-date=15 August 2012|year=2007|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-471-92261-2|pages=279–|archive-date=3 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703152529/https://books.google.com/books?id=AneYREkUJecC&pg=PA279|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 1854, the richest inhabitants elected an assembly of notables by censal vote, which was replaced by a legislative council appointed by the British government.<ref name="clio">{{cite web |url=https://www.clio.fr/CHRONOLOGIE/pdf/pdf_chronologie_lamerique_centrale.pdf |title=L'Amérique centrale – Une Amérique indienne et latine |website=clio.fr |language=fr |access-date=22 December 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190811231440/https://www.clio.fr/CHRONOLOGIE/pdf/pdf_chronologie_lamerique_centrale.pdf |archive-date=11 August 2019 }}</ref>

As a colony, Belize began to attract British investors. Among the British firms that dominated the colony in the late 19th century was the Belize Estate and Produce Company, which eventually acquired half of all privately held land and eventually eliminated [[peonage]]. Belize Estate's influence accounts in part for the colony's reliance on the mahogany trade throughout the rest of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.

The [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s caused a near-collapse of the colony's economy as British demand for timber plummeted. The effects of widespread unemployment were worsened by a [[1931 Belize hurricane|devastating hurricane]] that struck the colony in 1931. Perceptions of the government's relief effort as inadequate were aggravated by its refusal to legalize labour unions or introduce a minimum wage. Economic conditions improved during [[World War II]], as many Belizean men entered the armed forces or otherwise contributed to the war effort.

[[File:British Honduras 1962 Hurricane Hattie stamp.jpg|right|thumb|A British Honduras postage stamp overprinted in 1962 to mark [[Hurricane Hattie]]]]
Following the war, the colony's economy stagnated. Britain's decision to [[Devaluation|devalue]] the British Honduras dollar in 1949 worsened economic conditions and led to the creation of the People's Committee, which demanded independence. The People's Committee's successor, the [[People's United Party]] (PUP), sought constitutional reforms that expanded voting rights to all adults. The first election under [[universal suffrage]] was held [[British Honduras general election, 1954|in 1954]] and was decisively won by the PUP, beginning a three-decade period in which the PUP dominated the country's politics. Pro-independence activist [[George Cadle Price]] became PUP's leader in 1956 and the effective head of government in 1961, a post he would hold under various titles until 1984.

Progress toward independence was hampered by a [[Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute|Guatemalan claim to sovereignty over Belizean territory]]. In 1964 Britain granted British Honduras self-government under a new constitution. On 1 June 1973, British Honduras was officially renamed Belize.<ref name="caricom">{{Cite web|title=Belize|url=https://caricom.org/country_profiles/belize/|access-date=2021-11-23|website=CARICOM|language=en-US|archive-date=14 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214182247/https://caricom.org/country_profiles/belize/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Independent Belize (since 1981)===
{{see also|Monarchy of Belize}}

Belize was granted independence on 21 September 1981. [[Guatemala]] refused to recognize the new nation because of its longstanding territorial dispute, claiming that Belize belonged to Guatemala. After independence about 1,500 British troops remained in Belize to deter any possible Guatemalan incursions.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Merrill|editor1-first=Tim|title=Belize: A Country Study|date=1992|publisher=GPO for the Library of Congress|chapter-url=http://countrystudies.us/belize/87.htm|chapter=Relations with Britain|access-date=2 July 2016|archive-date=7 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407024832/http://countrystudies.us/belize/87.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

With [[George Cadle Price]] at the helm, the PUP won all national elections [[Belizean general election, 1984|until 1984]]. In that election, the first national election after independence, the PUP was defeated by the [[United Democratic Party (Belize)|United Democratic Party]] (UDP). UDP leader [[Manuel Esquivel]] replaced Price as prime minister, with Price himself unexpectedly losing his own [[House of Representatives (Belize)|House]] seat to a UDP challenger. The PUP under Price returned to power after elections [[Belizean general election, 1989|in 1989]]. The following year the United Kingdom announced that it would end its military involvement in Belize, and the RAF Harrier detachment was withdrawn the same year, having remained stationed in the country continuously since its deployment had become permanent there in 1980. British soldiers were withdrawn in 1994, but the United Kingdom left behind a military training unit to assist with the newly created [[Belize Defence Force]].

The UDP regained power in the [[Belizean general election, 1993|1993 national election]], and Esquivel became prime minister for a second time. Soon afterwards, Esquivel announced the suspension of a pact reached with Guatemala during Price's tenure, claiming Price had made too many concessions to gain Guatemalan recognition. The pact may have curtailed the 130-year-old border dispute between the two countries. Border tensions continued into the early 2000s, although the two countries cooperated in other areas.

In 1996, the [[Belize Barrier Reef]], one of the Western Hemisphere's most pristine ecosystems, was designated as a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]].

The PUP won a landslide victory in the 1998 national elections, and PUP leader [[Said Musa]] was sworn in as prime minister. In the 2003 elections the PUP maintained its majority, and Musa continued as prime minister. He pledged to improve conditions in the underdeveloped and largely inaccessible southern part of Belize.

In 2005, Belize was the site of [[2005 Belize unrest|unrest]] caused by discontent with the PUP government, including tax increases in the national budget. On 8 February 2008, [[Dean Barrow]] was sworn in as prime minister after his [[United Democratic Party (Belize)|UDP]] won [[Belizean general election, 2008|a landslide victory]] in general elections. Barrow and the UDP were re-elected [[Belizean general and local elections, 2012|in 2012]] with a considerably smaller majority. Barrow led the UDP to a third consecutive general election victory in November 2015, increasing the party's number of seats from 17 to 19. He said the election would be his last as party leader and preparations are under way for the party to elect his successor.

On 11 November 2020, the [[People's United Party]] (PUP), led by [[Johnny Briceño]], defeated the [[United Democratic Party (Belize)|United Democratic Party]] (UDP) for the first time since 2003, having won 26 seats out of 31 to form the new government of Belize. Briceño took office as Prime Minister on 12 November.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sanchez |first=Jose |date=12 November 2020 |title=Belize elects opposition leader to succeed retiring leader |url=https://in.reuters.com/article/belize-election-idINKBN27S2AL |work=Reuters India |access-date=13 November 2020 |archive-date=12 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412124347/https://in.reuters.com/article/belize-election-idINKBN27S2AL |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2023, Belize became the second Central American country to be awarded certification for the elimination of [[malaria]] by the [[World Health Organization|WHO]].