Belize Travel Guide - History

The Mayan civilisation lasted around 1,000 years and ended around the year 900 AD. There are many theories why the Mayan civilisation came to an end, such as internal fighting or not enough food to feed the ever expanding population, but no one knows for certain exactly what happened. A small population of Mayan Indians still exists in Belize today, mainly in the Toledo district.

Following the Maya Indians, many other Indian tribes inhabited the country of Belize. By the mid 17th century Belize had become a popular hideout for pirates due to the many cayes along its coastline. Around 1650, English pirates known as baymen began logging mahogany with the aid of black slaves from Africa and sending the timber back to England.

Although the English had been occupying the country since the mid 17th century, it took until the year 1862 before the ‘British Honduras’ was considered to be a part of the British Commonwealth. When black soldiers returned to British Honduras after fighting in WWI, they began to protest at the unfair treatment and racial discrimination they received from the British colonial bureaucracy.

For 60 years from 1920 to 1980 the people of British Honduras fought for independence from Britain and through the combined efforts of the labour unions, the workers and the nationalist movement, they eventually won. On 21st September 1981 the country that used to be known as British Honduras earned its independence and became Belize.