Belize (colonial)

Spanish conquistadors explore the land now called Belize and declare it a Spanish colony but choose not to settle because of its lack of resources like gold and the strong defense of the Yucatán by the Mayans.

English and Scottish settlers and pirates known as the Baymen enter the area in the seveneteenth and eighteenth centuries respectively and establish a logwood trade colony, slave economy and port in what becomes the Belize District.

Baymen first settle on the coast of what is now Belize in 1638, seeking a sheltered region from which they can attack Spanish ships.

The settlers turn to cutting logwood during the eighteenth century, establishing a system of slave labor using enslaved Subsaharan Africans.

The wood yields a fixing agent for clothing dyes that is vital to the European wool industry.

The Spanish grant the British settlers the right to occupy the area and cut logwood in exchange for an end to piracy.

The British first appoint a superintendent over the Belize area in 1786.

Before then the British government had not recognized the settlement as a colony for fear of provoking a Spanish attack.

The delay in government oversight has allowed the settlers to establish their own laws and forms of government.

During this period, a few wealthy settlers gain control of the local legislature, known as the Public Meeting, as well as of most of the settlement's land and timber.The Battle of St. George's Caye is a 1798 military engagement off the coast of Belize between a Spanish invading force from what will become Mexico, attempting to capture the Baymen-controlled territory for Spain from a small force of Baymen and their black slaves.Spain's last attempt occurs on September 10, 1798, when the Baymen and their black slaves repel the Spanish fleet in a short engagement with no known casualties on either side.

The anniversary of the battle is a national holiday in Belize and is celebrated by some Belizeans to commemorate the "first Belizeans" and the defense of their territory.

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