Coat of arms of Belize

The Coat of Arms of Belize was adopted upon independence, and is only slightly different from the coat of arms used when Belize was a British colony.

The circular border of the coat is formed by twenty-five leaves. Within the circle is a mahogany tree, in front of which is a shield tierced per pall inverted. Within the shield are the tools of a woodcutter in the upper sections and a ship in the lower one. These are symbolic of the importance of mahogany in the 18th and 19th century Belizean economy.

The shield is supported by two wood-cutters of different races. The one on the left is holding an axe, while the one on the right is holding an oar. Again the importance of the mahogany and its importance to boat building are represented. At the bottom is the national motto: Sub Umbra Floreo (Under the Shade I Flourish).

The flag of Belize features the coat of arms in its center.

The flag of Belize

The flag of Belize is a continued version of the earlier flag of British Honduras (the name of Belize during the British colonial period).

British Honduras obtained a coat of arms on January 28, 1907, which formed the basis of the badge used on British ensigns. The coat of arms recalls the logging industry that first led to British settlement there. The figures, tools, and mahogany tree represents this industry.

From 1950 onward an unofficial national flag was in use. It was blue, with a modified version of the arms on a white disc in the centre (sometimes a blank white circle was used as the coat of arms was difficult to draw). The national motto, Sub Umbra Floreo, meaning “I Flourish in the Shade”, is written in the lower part of the coat of arms.

Description

The flag is royal blue, with a white disc at the centre containing the national coat of arms held by a white and a black man surrounded by fifty mahogany leaves. The flag is bordered at top and bottom by two red stripes that represent the red on the guards in Britain.

The colors on the flag are respectively those of the country’s national parties, the People’s United Party (PUP) and United Democratic Party (Belize) (UDP). The UDP, established in 1973, had objected to the original blue and white design, those two colors being the PUP’s representative colors.

The two red stripes at the top and bottom were added to the original design at independence. The coat of arms was granted in 1907. Red stripes were added to denote the color of the opposition party. Blue is the party color of the PUP (People’s United Party. The 50 leaves recall 1950, the year PUP came to power.

Uniqueness

The flag of Belize is unique in that it contains twelve colors, three more than on any other national flag. It is also the only country to have human beings depicted on its national flag, although the flags of British dependencies Montserrat and the Virgin Islands also depict humans.

Other flags

Flag of British Honduras 1919-1981, (a similar flag was used from 1870-1919)

This unofficial civil flag of Belize 1950-1981 was the basis for the current national flag

The flag of the governor of British Honduras before 1981 was this flag with the coat-of-arms in the centre

Flag of the Governnor-General of Belize 1981-present

Combatants and Overview

The battle took place between an invading force from Mexico, attempting to claim Belize for Spain, and a small force of resident woodcutters called Baymen, who fought for their livelihood assisted by black slaves. After the final two and a half hour battle, ravaged by sickness, the Spaniards withdrew and the British declared themselves winners.

Background

The territory that is now Belize was under dispute from as early as the mid 1750s by Great Britain and Spain. While Spain never occupied Belize, she apparently considered it part of her Central American territories, such as Mexico and Guatemala.

The British had entered the territory as of 1638 to harvest logwood and later mahogany. Spain recognised this trade in the Treaty of Paris (signed in 1763) but did not undertake to draw boundaries (which would have suggested that Spain was giving up claims of sovereignty to the area), leading to further disputes.

Indeed, from 1779 to 1782 the settlement was practically non-existent, its settlers, known as the Baymen, and their African slaves having been deported to Havana, Cuba.

The Treaty of Versailles and the Superintendency

In 1783, hostilities were brought to an end by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which allowed the Baymen rights between the Belize and Hondo rivers; this was extended with the 1786 Convention of London to the Sibun River.

Cutting rights were granted to the settlers on the condition that the settlement be recognised as belonging to Spain; Superintendent Col. Marcus Despard was to administer the terms of the treaty. Due to conflicts with the inhabitants Despard resigned, but by 1796 it was clear the issue would have to be settled.

Escalation and Preparations

Humphreys relates that in a 1796 visit to the area, Visitador Juan O’Sullivan claimed the British were encroaching on Spanish territory in Mexico by cutting near the Rio Hondo. Upon his return to Spain, hostilities broke out between Great Britain and Spain as a result of the Napoleonic Wars. The Spanish viewed the situation seriously and determined to remove the British.

Colonists appealed to Jamaican Lieutenant Governor Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres, for assistance. Even though he was in the midst of the Maroon Wars, Balcarres nonetheless sent muskets and ammunition to the settlement and a further shipment arrived on Lt. Thomas Dundas’ ship HMS Merlin in December 1796. But upon his arrival, Dundas noted panic in the settlement and the subsequent dispatching of slaves to cut logwood instead of preparing to defend the settlement.

Balcarres then named Major (promoted to Lt. Colonel) Thomas Barrow Superintendent of the settlement. Barrow, a seasoned veteran of war according to Humphreys, immediately began whipping the unruly Baymen into shape, and martial law, stopping all activities in the settlement, was declared on 11 February 1797.

On 18 March, magistrates Thomas Potts, Thomas Graham and Marshall Bennett all asked Barrow whether there were any incoming messages from Jamaica. Barrow admitted that more help would be on the way soon, to alleviate the fears of the Baymen, but Humphreys calls the actions of Potts and company “cowardly” and says that even after that reassurance morale was low.

The June Evacuation Meeting

Impatient with the plans to defend the settlement, the Baymen called a public meeting for 1 June 1797. At this meeting, the Baymen voted 65 to 51 to defend the settlement and cooperate with Barrow.

This initial support wavered considerably between then and September 1798, as reports came in of the size of the Spanish fleet. Don Arturo O’Neill Tirone, Yucatán Governor and Commander of the expedition, had secured:

…two very large frigates, an armed brig, and two sloops carrying two 100 pounders, and four gunboats carrying each a 24 pounder in bow; with several other armed vessels, arrived… at Campeachy, and taking aboard about 300 troops, then sailed and (made a rendezvous) at the island of Cozumel;…the two frigates and the brig left the fleet there and as the deserters understood, returned to La Vera Cruz… A schooner of 22 guns, to which they (the deserters) belonged, then became commodore…All the small vessels of the fleet were to be sent to Bacalar to assist in embarking the troops at that place, said to consist of 12 companies of 100 men each…

This estimate was severely reduced due to outbreaks of yellow fever and dissent in the Spanish army. Nevertheless, it was enough to frighten the Baymen into posting lookouts near the boundaries of the territory.

Baymen’s Preparations

The Merlin’s command in 1798 was Captain John Moss, a strategist on the order of Barrow. By 18 July 1798 the fleet had reached Cozumel, leading the settlers to agree to arm their slaves, an act that affected the outcome of the battle due to the slaves’ knowledge of warfare. There were still some who were cautious and demanded evacuation, including Potts, but Balcarres ignored them and imposed martial law on 26 July. The Settlement lineup consisted of the following:

Merlin, HM’s sloop of war; two sloops, Towser and Tickler, with one 18 pounder and 25 men each; one sloop, Mermaid, with one short 9 pounder and 25 men; the schooners, Swinger and Teazer, with six four pounders and 25 men each; seven gun-flats, one 9 pounder and 16 men each.

In addition there were 700 troops ready to deter attack by land.

The Battle

From 3 to 5 September, the Spaniards tried to force their way through Montego Caye shoal, blocked by the defenders. The military commanders, Moss and Barrow, differed on where to put their resources for the next phase of the fight: Barrow thought they would go to the land phase, while Moss decided on defending St. George’s Caye. Moss arrived in time to stop the Spaniards, setting the stage for 10 September.

September 10th

At 1:00 p.m. that afternoon, the Spaniards and British lined up off St. George’s Caye. The Spaniards stormed through the channel, and at 1:30 engaged the British in a two-hour fight which ended in defeat for the confused Spaniards. Moss reported no one killed and the Baymen in good spirits.

Barrow was dispatched and arrived in time to see the end of the battle and prevent the slave men from boarding the enemy. The Spaniards were in full retreat by 13 September, and Barrow agreed to send vessels to further push the Spaniards back.

Aftermath

Conditions in Belize did not improve much after the battle, though the threat of Spanish attacks decreased significantly. The event is celebrated every 10 September in Belize as St. George’s Caye Day or National Day.

Caracol

Caracol or El Caracol is the name given to a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District of Belize. It is situated approximately 40 kilometres south of Xunantunich and the town of San Ignacio Cayo, at an elevation of 460 metres above sea-level, in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. The site was the most important political centre of Lowland Maya during the Classic Period within Belize.

In 650 CE, the urban area of Caracol had a radius of approximately 10 kilometres around the site’s epicenter. It covered an area much larger than present-day Belize City (the largest metropolitan area in the country) and supported more than twice the modern city’s population.

Discovery

The site was first reported by a native logger named Rosa Mai, who came across its remains in 1937 while searching for mahogany hardwood trees to exploit. Mai later reported the site to the archaeological commission for British Honduras, as the British colony was known at the time. In 1938 the archaeological commissioner, A. H. Anderson, visited the site along with a colleague H. B. Jex, spending two weeks in preliminary surveys and noting a number of carved monuments, stelae and Maya inscriptions.

It was Anderson who gave the site its name —from the Spanish: caracol “snail, shell”, but more generally meaning spiral- or volute-shaped— apparently on account of the winding access road that led to the site.

History

Ancient Caracol as a site was occupied as early as 1200 BCE. Its greatest period of construction was in the Maya Classic period, with over 40 monuments dated between 485CE to 889CE which record the dynastic sequence of the rulers. All are in Classic Choltian, the prestige tongue of the Lowland Maya. Its real name is provisionally translated from its glyph, as of 2003, ox witz ha (hispanicised, “Oxhuitza”) or “place of three hills”; K’antumaak is also possible.

The town grew into one of the largest ancient Maya cities, covering some 65 square miles (168 km²) with an estimated peak population of about 120,000, or possibly as many as 180,000 people.

Caracol was at first a client state of the more powerful city that is today called Tikal, but was probably called Mutal by its inhabitants, 70 km to the northwest. Tikal’s influence weakened during the mid sixth century; losing control of Naranjo, between the two cities, to rival Calakmul.

In 553 CE Tikal’s king Double Bird appointed a new lord over Caracol in attempt to outflank Naranjo. But then Caracol also allied itself with Calakmul. Three years later, Tikal declared an “axe war” against Caracol – “a war with intent to destroy” – and defeated it; but not, it turned out, decisively.

In 562, Lord Kan (“Water”) I of Caracol, alongside Calakmul, declared a “star war” against Tikal – a holy war, planned in accordance with astrology – and captured and sacrificed Double Bird.

This event is seemingly concurrent with archaeological and epigraphic evidence indicating the beginning of the Tikal mid-Classic hiatus, when an apparent decline in the Tikal site’s population, a cessation of monument building, and the destruction of certain monuments in the Great Plaza occurred as Caracol’s population and urban development seemingly skyrocketed. After that, the Tikal site took on cultural characteristics of Caracol.

Lord Kan I passed on his throne to the eldest of two brothers 26 June, 599. His younger brother succeeded him 9 March 618 and took the name Lord Kan II. He performed a ritual of alliance in Calakmul’s territory the following January.

Caracol’s sometime ally Naranjo by this time had meanwhile made feelers toward Tikal. So, in 28 May 626, Lord Kan II preemptively attacked Naranjo. He attacked again 4 May 627, and sacrificed its king. This destabilized Naranjo, provoking a third attack 27 December 631. He did it a fourth time 4 March 636. On 24 November 637, he capped it off by celebrating his first katun of reign at Naranjo itself; and, on 6 December 642, he imposed the Hieroglyphic Stairs monument upon it.

In 682, Tok-Chan-K’awil of the Tikal royal family-in-exile at Dos Pilas installed his daughter as queen in Naranjo, removing it again from Caracol’s demesne. In 800 CE, Hok K’awil captured the lord of Ucanal. The last recorded date in Caracol (and Choltian-speaking Belize) is 859 CE, on Stele 10.

Excavations, Investigations, and Modern Development

The site was first noted and documented in archaeological terms in 1937. More extensive explorations and documention of the site was undertaken by Linton Satterthwaite of the University of Pennsylvania in 1951 and 1953. A project of archaeological excavations and restorations of the ancient structures at Caracol started in 1985 and is ongoing.

The southern acropolis

The project is currently directed by Drs. Arlen and Diane Chase of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, United States. The site is maintained by residential wardens from the Belize Institute of Archaeology, a sub-division of the National Institute of Culture and History, a government-run agency.

In the Spring dry season of 2009 they conducted a LIDAR survey with an aircraft that allowed a very rapid assessment of the entire site and surrounds, with results published in May 2010.

The site currently accommodates an average of 15-20 tourists per day, with greater numbers during the peak season around Easter. A museum to hold the large monuments found at the site is currently being constructed. A visitor center is already at the site, and recent developments include new directional and informational signs and a house for the residential staff.

The only road Caracol may be accessed by is paved for the last ten miles and leads to the Western Highway between San Ignacio and Belmopan and to Santa Elena.

Caana (“sky-palace”) is the largest building at Caracol. It remains one of the largest man-made structures in Belize.

Other Maya sites within the Cayo district include Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, and Chaa Creek.

Main Street in San Ignacio

San Ignacio is a town in western Belize that serves as the capital of Cayo District. It got its start from Mahogany and chicle production during British rule. It began to attract different people from the surrounding areas, which led to the diverse make up of the town at present day.

San Ignacio is situated on the banks of the Macal River, and the Mopan River, about 68.5 miles (115 kilometres) west of Belize City and 22 miles (35 km) west of the country’s capital, Belmopan.

Demographics

San Ignacio School Children

The population is largely Mestizo and Kriol, with some Lebanese and Mopan. San Ignacio also boasts a fairly large Chinese population, most of whom emigrated from Guangzhou in waves in the mid-20th century. A sizable Mennonite community resides near San Ignacio.

In 2009 the combined population was estimated at 20,000 people but a new census in 2010 counted only 9,925 inhabitants in San Ignacio proper, of whom 4,856 are males and 5,069 are females. The total number of households is 2,593 and the average household size is 3.8.

In recent years San Ignacio has absorbed the formerly separate village of Santa Elena. San Ignacio and its sister-town Santa Elena make up Belize’s second largest urban area. The two towns are connected by Belize’s only suspension bridge, the one-lane Hawksworth Bridge across the Macal river, built in 1949. The two are collectively referred to as the “Twin Towns” although San Ignacio has a larger population.

Government and Institutions

San Ignacio is currently governed by a Town Council affiliated with the United Democratic Party (UDP). The mayor is John August Jr. Town council elections are made every three years to elect a new town mayor, both, UDP(united Democratic Party) and the PUP (people united party)candidate participate in town elections.

San Ignacio has three main colleges. Sacred Heart College of Catholic denomination is the biggest and largest institution with both a high school and a junior college division. Eden Seventh Day Adventist High School and Saint Ignatius High School (Catholic) is also found here. Galen University was founded in 2003 and is located at Central Farm, a couple of minutes away from San Ignacio. The University of Belize also has an agricultural campus next to Galen.

The city is served by the San Ignacio Hospital and the Loma Luz Adventist hospital in Santa Elena. It also has various clinics, doctors and pharmacies scattered around town.

Attractions

The area around San Ignacio is one of the most popular parts of the country for tourism. Nearby attractions include the ancient Maya ruins of Caracol, Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, El Pilar, Tikal (Guatemala). the cave Actun Tunichil Muknal, Chaa Creek Nature Reserve, and the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve.

Geography

Maya Mtns Cayo District Belize Central America

The Cayo District is the largest district in Belize. It is located on the western side of the country which borders Guatemala. The nation’s capital, Belmopan, is geographically located within the district.

Also in the Cayo district are the twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena. The twin towns are surrounded by rural villages such as Seven Miles (El Progresso), San Antonio, Valley of Peace, St. Margaret’s, Roaring Creek, Armenia, San Jose Succotz, Arenal, Buena Vista, Calla Creek, Esperanza, Cristo Rey, Georgeville, Unitedville, Blackman Eddy, Ontario, Camalote, Los Tambos, More Tomorrow and Spanish Lookout.

The Cayo district also contains the Pre-Columbian Maya ruins of Xunantunich, Cahal Pech, Chaa Creek, and Caracol. Major rivers in the Cayo District include the Macal River and the Mopan River.

Importance and Location

Spanish Lookout, Cayo District Belize

The Cayo District is primarily an agricultural district, with the chief crops being citrus, (oranges, grapefruit, and tangerine), as well as bananas. Recently oil was found in Spanish Lookout and is now in production.

There are 2 major highways in the District. The Western Highway runs from Belize City to the Guatemalan border, and the Hummingbird Highway which starts in Belmopan and ends at the juncture of the Coastal Road and the Southern Highway in the Stann Creek District.

In addition to the ruins listed above there are several other important nature reserves including two National Parks, Blue Hole (park) and Guanacaste National Park. Ecotourism is also an integral part of the region’s economy.

A number of important Mayan archaeological sites lie within the Cayo District. Among these are Xunantunich, Chaa Creek and Cahal Pech.

According to the 2000 census, Cayo District had a population of 53,715 people.

Political Divisions

Politically, Cayo is divided into six constituencies:

• Belmopan: Containing the capital and surrounding suburbs; newly created. John Saldivar (UDP) is the sitting representative.
• Cayo Northeast: Another new constituency centered on Spanish Lookout. The UDP’s Elvin Penner is the sitting representative.
• Cayo North: Current representative Salvador Fernandez (UDP).
• Cayo Central: Current representative Rene Montero (UDP).
• Cayo West: The UDP’s Erwin Contreras, former footballer, is the standing rep for this seat.
• Cayo South: Currently held by Ramon Witz of the UDP.

Population and Housing

2010 Population and Housing Census has Cayo district’s total population as 73,202 residents,of this 36,803 are males and 36,399 are females. The total number of households is 15,497 and the average household size is 4.7.

Rural and Urban Development

The total population in Cayo urban area was 36,455; 17,939 males and 18,516 females. 7,468 total households in 2010 and a 4.9 average household size.

The total population in Cayo rural area was 36,747; 18,864 males and 17,883 females. 8,029 total households in 2010 and a 4.6 average household size.

The first exploration of the ascent occurred in British expeditions of 1888 and 1889, but the explorers actually scaled a nearby peak that they mistakenly labelled Victoria Peak

Beach at San Pedro

Ambergris Caye, is the largest island of Belize located northeast of the country in the Caribbean Sea. Though administered as part of the Belize District, the closest point on the mainland is part of the Corozal District.

The Caye (pronounced as “key”, meaning an island, derived from Spanish: cayo) is about 40 kilometres (25 mi) long from north to south, and about 1.6 kilometres (1 mi) wide. It was named after large lumps of ambergris which washed ashore here.

The Belizean island, where it has not been modified by man, is mostly a ring of white sand beach around mangrove swamp in the centre.

A Maya community lived on the island in Pre-Columbian times, and made distinctive polished red ceramics, most notably small well molded figurines of animals.

San Pedro on Ambergris Caye

San Pedro Town is the largest settlement and only town on Ambergris. There are also a number of small villages and resorts.

Captain Morgan’s and Mata Chica resorts north of San Pedro played host to the first season of Fox’s Temptation Island in 2000, aired in 2001. More recently, the availability of skydiving during the winter has become a draw for tourists so inclined.

Tourism development of Ambergris Caye began in the early 1970s and grew considerably in the later years of the 20th century. The main attractions are the Belize Barrier Reef and its beaches. That barrier reef is the second largest in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

The caye has a small airstrip serviced by Tropic Air and Maya Island Air, and can be reached by plane from Belize City as well as by numerous fast sea ferries. In the meantime Ambergris Caye can also be reached by ferry from Chetumal in Mexico.

Brain coral is a common name given to corals in the family Faviidae so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles an animal brain.

The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly 300 meters (980 ft) offshore in the north and 40 kilometers (25 mi) in the south within the country limits.

The Belize Barrier Reef is a 300 kilometers (190 mi) long section of the 900 kilometers (560 mi) long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which is continuous from Cancún on the northeast tip of the Yucatán Peninsula through the Riviera Maya up to Honduras making it one of the largest coral reef systems in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the New Caledonia Barrier Reef.

It is Belize’s top tourist destination popular for scuba diving and snorkeling and attracting almost half of its 260,000 visitors, and is vital to its fishing industry.

Charles Darwin described it as “the most remarkable reef in the West Indies” in 1842.

Species

The Belize Barrier Reef is home to a large diversity of plants and animals, and is one of the most diverse ecosystems of the world:

• 70 hard coral species
• 36 soft coral species
• 500 species of fish
• hundreds of invertebrate species

With 90% of the reef still needing to be researched, it is estimated that only 10% of all species have been discovered.

Environmental Protection

A large portion of the reef is protected by the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which includes seven marine reserves, 450 cays, and three atolls. It totals 960 square kilometres (370 sq mi) in area, including:

• Glover’s Reef Marine Reserve
• Great Blue Hole
• Half Moon Caye Natural Monument
• Hol Chan Marine Reserve
• Cays include: Ambergris Caye, Caye Caulker, Caye Chapel, St. George’s Caye, English Caye, Rendezvous Caye, Gladden Caye, Ranguana Caye, Long Caye, Maho Caye, Blackbird Caye, Three Coner Caye, Northern Caye, Sandbore Caye.

Because of its exceptional natural beauty, significant on-going ecological and biological processes, and the fact that it contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity (criteria VII, IX, and X), the Reserve System has been designated as a World Heritage Site since 1996.

Satellite Image of Barrier Reef, Belize

Despite these protective measures, the reef is under threat from oceanic pollution as well as uncontrolled tourism, shipping, and fishing. The main threats are considered to be hurricanes along with global warming and the resulting increase in ocean temperatures, which cause coral bleaching. It is claimed by scientists that over 40% of Belize’s coral reef has been damaged since 1998.

The Belize Barrier Reef has been affected by two mass-bleaching events. The first mass bleaching occurred in 1995, with an estimated mortality of 10 percent of coral colonies, according to a report by the Coastal Zone Management Institute in Belize.

In 1997 and 1998, a second mass-bleaching event occurred, coinciding with devastation effected by hurricane Mitch. Biologists observed a 48 percent reduction in live coral cover across the Belize reef system.

Usually, it is hard to distinguish whether the reason for coral bleaching is human activities or natural reasons such as storms or bacterial fluctuations. But in the case of the Belize Barrier Reef, many factors which make the distinction difficult don’t apply.

Human population in this area is much more sparse than the corresponding areas near other coral reefs, so the human activity and pollution are much lower compared to other coral reefs and the Belize reef system is in a much more enclosed area.

When coral bleaching occurs, a large part of the coral dies, and the remaining part of the ecosystem begins the process of repairing the damage. But the chances of recovery is low, as corals that are bleached become much more vulnerable to disease.

Disease often kills more corals than the bleaching event itself. With continuous bleaching, the coral reef will have little to no chance of recovery.