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Belize
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{{Belize infobox}}
'''Belize''' is a small nation on the eastern coast of
Central America, on the
Caribbean Sea bordered by
Mexico to the northwest and
Guatemala to the west and south. The country is a
parliamentary democracy and
constitutional monarchy which recognizes
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth II as Sovereign. The nation of
Honduras lies 75
kilometre km away (47
mile mi) across the
Gulf of Honduras to the east. The name is derived from the
Belize River, after which
Belize City, the former capital and largest city, is also named. In
Spanish language Spanish it is usually called ''Belice''. Known as
British Honduras until 1973, Belize was a
United Kingdom British colonialism colony for more than a century. It became an independent nation in 1981. Belize is a member of
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the
Sistema de Integracion Centro Americana (SICA) and considers itself to be both
Caribbean, and
Central American.
History
''Main article:
History of Belize''
Image:Xunantunich1976.jpg thumb|left|Xunantunich, Belize
The
Maya civilization spread over Belize between
1500 BC and
Anno Domini AD 300 and flourished until about AD 900.
The first
Europeans arrived in the area in the early
16th century and settlement began with British
privateers and
shipwrecked
England English seamen as early as 1638.
The origin of the name '''Belize''' is not clear, but one explanation is that it derives from the Spanish
pronunciation of Wallace, the name of the pirate who created the first settlement in Belize in 1638. Another possibility is that the name is from the Maya word belix, meaning "muddy water", applied to the Belize River.
The early "settlement of Belize in the Bay of Honduras" grew from a few habitations located at Belize Town and St George's Caye into a de-facto colony of the
United Kingdom during the late
18th century. In the early
19th century the settlement was called British Honduras, and in 1862 it became a Crown Colony.
Hurricane Hattie inflicted significant damage upon Belize in 1961. The government decided that a coastal capital city lying below sea level was too
risky. Over several years, the British colonial government designed a new capital
Belmopan at the exact geographic centre of the country, and in 1970 began slowly moving the governing offices there.
British Honduras became a
self-governing colony in January 1964 and was renamed ''Belize'' in June 1973; it was the United Kingdom's last colony on the American mainland.
George Cadle Price George Price led the country to full independence on
21 September,
1981 after delays caused by territorial disputes with neighbouring
Guatemala, which did not formally recognise the country until 1992.
Throughout Belize's history,
Guatemala has claimed ownership of all or part of the territory. This claim is occasionally reflected in
maps showing Belize as Guatemala's most eastern
province. As of 2005, the border dispute with Guatemala remains unresolved and quite contentious; at various times the issue has involved mediation assistance from the
United Kingdom and the
Caribbean Community CARICOM heads of Government. Since independence, a British garrison has been retained in Belize at the request of the Belizean Government. Notably, both Guatemala and Belize are participating in the confidence building measures, including the [http://www.guatemalabelize.com/ Guatemala-Belize Language Exchange Project].
Belize was recently the site of
2005 Belize unrest unrest directed at the country's ruling party concerning tax increases in the national budget.
Politics
Image:Protest 0082.JPG thumb|Belizean protests, 21st January 2005
''Main article:
Politics of Belize''
Belize is a
parliamentary system parliamentary democracy and a member of the
Commonwealth of Nations. The
head of state is currently
Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Queen Elizabeth II, represented in the country by a
governor-general, who must be a Belizean.
The primary
executive (government) executive organ of government is the
cabinet (government) cabinet, led by a
Prime Minister of Belize prime minister who is
head of government. Cabinet ministers are members of the majority political party in parliament and usually hold elected seats within it concurrent with their cabinet positions.
The bicameral Belizean
parliament is the National Assembly, which consists of a
House of Representatives and a
Senate. The 29 members of the House are popularly elected to a maximum 5-year term. Of the Senate's eight members, five are chosen by the prime minister, two by the leader of the opposition, and one by the governor general on the advice of the Belize Advisory Council. The Senate is headed by a president, who is a nonvoting member appointed by the governing party.
Belize is a full participating member of the
Caribbean Community Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Districts
Image:BelizeNumbered.png 100px|framed|
:''Main article:
Districts of Belize''
Belize consists of six districts:
#
Belize District
#
Cayo District
#
Corozal District
#
Orange Walk District
#
Stann Creek District
#
Toledo District
Geography
Image:Belize_map.png thumb|left|Map of Belize
''Main article:
Geography of Belize''
Belize is located between the
Hondo River Hondo and
Sarstoon Rivers, with the
Belize River flowing down in the centre of the country. The north of Belize consists mostly of flat, swampy coastal plains, in places heavily forested. The south contains the low
mountain range of the
Maya Mountains, whose
Victoria Peak is the highest point in Belize at 1,160
metres (3,806
foot (unit of length ft). The
Caribbean Sea Caribbean coast is lined with a
coral reef and islands known locally as ''cayes'', pronounced "keys". Belize is home to the longest barrier reef in the western hemisphere and the second longest in the world after the
Great Barrier Reef.
The
climate is
Tropics tropical and generally very hot and humid. The rainy season lasts from May to November and
hurricanes and
floods are frequent natural hazards.
Economy
''Main article:
Economy of Belize''
Image:Belize farming gm.jpg thumb|right|The majority of the Belizean economy is comprised of the tourism industry. Agriculture is also key part of the economy.
The small, essentially private enterprise economy is based primarily on
agriculture, agro-based industry, and merchandising, with
tourism (especially scuba diving) and construction assuming greater importance.
Sugar, the chief crop, accounts for nearly half of exports, while the
banana industry is the country's largest employer.
Citrus production has become a major industry along the
Hummingbird Highway.
The government's expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, initiated in September 1998, led to
Gross Domestic Product GDP growth of 6.4% in 1999 and 10.5% in 2000. Growth decelerated in 2001 to 3% due to the global slowdown and severe
hurricane damage to agriculture,
fishing and tourism. Major concerns continue to be the rapidly expanding
trade deficit and foreign debt. A key short-term objective remains the reduction of
poverty with the help of international donors.
Demographics
''Main article:
Demographics of Belize''
Culture
Image:Belize.BzeCity.MemorialPark.01.jpg thumb|Memorial Park, Belize City
Image:Belize.BzeCity.SwingBridge.01.jpg thumb|The Swing Bridge, on Haulover Creek. Belize City
''Main article:
Culture of Belize''
National holidays include ''
Baron Bliss Day'' on
9 March; ''
Commonwealth Day'' on the second Monday in March; ''
Labour Day'' on
1 May; ''The Battle of
St. George's Caye'' on
10 September; ''
Independence Day'' on
21 September, ''
Pan American Day'' on
13 October; ''
Garifuna Settlement Day'' on
19 November; and ''
Christmas'' on
25 December.
*
List of Belizeans
*
Music of Belize
Miscellaneous topics
Image:Belize mayan ruins3.jpg thumb|left|Mayan ruins in Belize
Image:Belize.AltunHa.Panorama.01.jpg thumb|left|Altun Ha archaeological site, Belize.
*
Communications in Belize
*
Foreign relations of Belize
*
Languages of Belize
*
Maya ruins of Belize
*
Military of Belize
*
Plants and animals of Belize
*
Ports of Belize
*
Transport in Belize
''Material in some of these articles comes from the
CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.''
Further reading
* ''Belize'' Carlos Ledson Miller ''(novel)''
* ''Belize: A Concise History'' P. A. B. Thomson
* ''Belize : Land of the Free By The Carib Sea'' Thor Janson
* ''Confederate Settlements in British Honduras'' Donald C., Jr. Simmons
* ''Fodor's Guide: Belize and Guatemala''
* ''Formerly British Honduras: A Profile of a New Nation of Belize'' William David Stetzekorn
* ''Insight Guide: Belize'' Huw Hennessy
* ''Lonely Planet World Guide: Belize'' Carolyn Miller Caelstrom and Debra Miller
* ''The Making of Belize'' Anne Sutherland
* ''Moon Handbooks: Belize'' Chicki Mallan and Joshua Berman
* ''Our Man in Belize: A Memoir'' Richard Timothy Conroy
* ''The Guatemalan Claim to Belize A Handbook on the Negotiations'' James S. Murphy
* ''The Rough Guide: Belize'' Peter Eltringham
* ''Time Among the Maya: Travels in Belize, Guatemala and Mexico'' Ronald Wright
* ''Thirteen Chapters of A History of Belize'' Assad Shoman
* ''Traveller's Wildlife Guide: Belize and Northern Guatemala'' Les Beletsky
External links
{{sisterlinks|Belize}}
-
Belize Web - Official website of national communications company BTL, features news site links and many online radio stations
-
Government of Belize - Official governmental site
-
Belize Tourism Board - Official Tourism site
-
Belize by Naturalight - Belize Portal
-
Belizean Journeys - Belize Online Magazine
-
Belize Forums - Community Forums on Belize
-
Belize.Net - Belize Specific Search Engine
-
Conservation in Belize - Nature Conservacy on Belize coral reef
-
Map - Map of Belize
-
Belize Travel Guide - Extensive articles on Belize
-
Guatemala-Belize Language Exchange news, project information, official country links, photos
{{North_America}}
{{Central America}}
{{Caricom}}
Category:Belize
Category:CARICOM member states
Category:Central American countries
Category:Former British colonies
Category:Members of the Commonwealth of Nations
Category:Monarchies
ar:بليز
an:Belize
ast:Belice
id:Belize
bg:Белиз
zh-min-nan:Belize
bn:বেলিজ
bs:Beliz
ca:Belize
cs:Belize
da:Belize
de:Belize
et:Belize
el:Μπελίζε
es:Belice
eo:Belizo
eu:Belize
fr:Belize
gl:Belice - Belize
ko:벨리즈
ht:Beliz
hr:Belize
io:Belize
is:BelÃs
it:Belize
he:בליז
ks:बेलीज
kw:Belisa
lv:Beliza
lt:Belizas
hu:Belize
ms:Belize
na:Belize
nl:Belize (land)
nds:Belize
ja:ベリーズ
no:Belize
nn:Belize
oc:Belize
pl:Belize
pt:Belize
ro:Belize
ru:Белиз
sa:बेलीज
sq:Beliza
sh:Belize
scn:Belizi
simple:Belize
sk:Belize
sl:Belize
sr:Белизе
fi:Belize
sv:Belize
tl:Belize
th:ประเทศเบลีซ
tr:Belize
uk:Беліз
zh:伯利兹
{{sisterlinkswp|Category:Belize}}
{{commonscat|Belize}}
{{catmore}}
Category:Central American countries
Category:Caribbean countries
Category:Members of the Commonwealth of Nations
ast:CategorÃa:Belice
bg:КатегориÑ?:Белиз
ca:Categoria:Belize
cs:Kategorie:Belize
da:Kategori:Belize
de:Kategorie:Belize
et:Kategooria:Belize
es:CategorÃa:Belice
eo:Kategorio:Belizo
fr:Catégorie:Belize
gl:Category:Belice
ko:분류:벨리즈
io:Category:Belize
id:Kategori:Belize
it:Categoria:Belize
lt:Kategorija:Belizas
na:Category:Belize
nl:Categorie:Belize
ja:Category:ベリーズ
no:Kategori:Belize
pl:Kategoria:Belize
pt:Categoria:Belize
ru:КатегориÑ?:Белиз
sl:Kategorija:Belize
sr:Категорија:Белизе
fi:Luokka:Belize
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Category:Belize
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