Africans In Belize: Why So Many?

Belize is a melting pot of cultures, with people of African descent making up a significant portion of the population. The earliest African arrivals in Belize, then known as British Honduras, were brought over as slaves by British colonists in the middle of the 17th century. The British, unable to find willing labourers to chop and haul logs and mahogany, relied on slaves from Africa. By 1824, the total number of slaves in British Honduras was close to 2,300, with the majority originating from Africa. Today, one in four Belizeans can trace their ancestry to these slaves, and they identify themselves by the term Creole, alluding to their cultural heritage as a fusion of British and African traditions.

The history of slavery in Belize

Belize, located on the east coast of Central America, has a long and complex history of slavery. Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, what would become Belize was contested between the United Kingdom and Spain, with the indigenous people suffering as a result.

The first British settlers in Belize were pirates, who robbed Spanish merchant ships and hid their bounty in the shallow waters and small islands. In the 18th century, the British settlement became a formal British colony, and the British brought slaves from the Congo and Angola. The earliest record of African slaves in Belize is from a 1724 Spanish missionary's account, which stated that the British had been importing slaves from Jamaica and Bermuda. By the turn of the 18th century, the number of slaves in Belize had reached around 2,300, with most originating from Africa.

The British exploited slave labour in Belize, despite treaties forbidding plantations in the region. Mahogany, the chief export, was heavy lumber that required a lot of labour to process and transport. Slaves in Belize were primarily tasked with processing timber and mahogany, with most male slaves cutting timber. This work was seasonal and often took place away from families, in temporary camps in the forest. During the rainy season, slaves would help float the lumber downriver for processing. The various positions required for chopping and manufacturing lumber necessitated skilled slave labour, and many slaves also worked in other skilled occupations like blacksmithing and nursing.

Slavery in Belize was harsh and oppressive, as evidenced by the numerous slave revolts that took place. Many slaves escaped to neighbouring countries like Honduras and Guatemala, but a strict racial hierarchy made systemic change difficult. Under British rule, mixed-race Creoles, who were mostly of African and British descent, enjoyed more privileges than African-born slaves but less than the white minority, who held almost all administrative and economic power.

Slavery in Belize officially ended in 1838, five years after the British Parliament passed the Emancipation Act. However, forms of indentured servitude and discrimination persisted for decades, with former slaves and their descendants remaining economically dependent on their ex-owners. Today, Belize's population remains diverse, with many tracing their ancestry to African slaves.

The Creole ethnic group

The Creoles intermarried with Miskito from Nicaragua, Jamaicans and other Caribbean peoples, Mestizos, Europeans, Garifunas, Mayas, and Chinese and Indians. The latter groups were brought to Belize as indentured labourers. The majority of Creoles trace their ancestry to several of these groups.

The Creoles constituted the majority of the population until the 1980s and became synonymous with the Belizean national identity. In the 21st century, they are predominantly found in urban areas, such as Belize City, and in most coastal towns and villages.

Creoles have a wide range of physical features, ranging from dark skin and kinky hair, to fair skin and blonde hair, with many gradations in between. The term 'Creole' denotes an ethnic culture rather than any narrow standard of physical appearance.

In Belize, 'Creole' is the standard term for any person of at least partial Black African descent who is not Garinagu, or any person who speaks Kriol as a first or sole language. Thus, immigrants from Africa and the West Indies who have settled in Belize and intermarried with locals may also identify as Creole.

Belize Kriol, the language of the Creoles, is an English-based creole that is closely related to Miskito Coastal Creole, San Andrés-Providencia Creole, and Jamaican Patois. It is the first language of some Garifunas, Mestizos, Maya, and other ethnic groups, and the second language for most others in the country.

The Garifuna people

The Garifuna (or Garínagu in their language) are a people of mixed African and Amerindian ancestry. They are descended from the indigenous Arawak, Kalinago (Island Carib), and Afro-Caribbean people. The Garifuna originated on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and speak an Arawakan language, as well as Vincentian Creole.

The founding population of the Garifuna, estimated at 2,500 to 5,000 people, were transplanted to the Central American coast from Saint Vincent, which was known to the Garifuna as Yurumein, in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. In 1796, the Garifuna were exiled by the British to the Honduras Bay Islands, and one group subsequently moved to Belize in 1803. Today, the global population of Garifuna people stands at over 300,000, with communities in Honduras, the United States, and Belize. In Belize, they predominantly live in the southern towns of Punta Gorda and Dangriga, as well as in the villages of Seine Bight, Hopkins, Georgetown, and Barranco.

The Garifuna have their own distinct language and culture. Their language is an offshoot of the Arawak language, with French, English, Dutch, African, and Spanish influences. Almost all Garifuna are bilingual or multilingual, speaking the official languages of the countries they reside in, such as Spanish or English. Garifuna music and dance are well known for their heavy use of percussion instruments and distinctive drumming. Punta is an evolved form of traditional music played using these instruments and is the most popular genre of Garifuna music and dance. Garifuna food combines native Central American crops and African staples, including fish, chicken, cassava, bananas, and plantains.

In 2001, UNESCO proclaimed the Garifuna language, dance, and music in Belize to be a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity".

The impact of British colonialism

Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, was a British colony from 1783 until it gained independence in 1981. The British brought enslaved Africans to the territory to work in the logging industry, as they were unable to find willing labourers. This reliance on slave labour only increased when interest in mahogany rose in the 1770s, as the acquisition of mahogany was more labour-intensive than logwood. By 1824, the total number of slaves in British Honduras was close to 2,300, with most originating from Africa, specifically Angola, the Bight of Benin, and the Congo. The Eboe/Ibo peoples were among the most numerous of British Honduras’ slave population.

The British Crown abolished slavery in 1833, and today, one in four Belizeans can trace their ancestry to the African slaves put to work on those British lumber operations. These people now identify themselves by the term “Creole,” alluding to their cultural heritage as a fusion of British culture and African traditions.

The British also played a role in shaping the ethnic and cultural diversity of Belize. The country is home to people of various ethnicities, including those of African, European, Maya, Garifuna, East Indian, Chinese, and Middle Eastern descent. The British also contributed to the development of the Creole people, a distinct ethnic group that formed as a result of intermarriage between Africans and Europeans.

In terms of political impact, the British legacy in Belize is complex. While the country gained independence from Britain in 1981, it continues to be a member of the Commonwealth. Additionally, the border dispute with neighbouring Guatemala, which dates back to colonial times, remains unresolved and has been a source of tension and conflict.

In conclusion, the impact of British colonialism in Belize was profound and multifaceted. The British shaped the demographics, economy, culture, and political systems of the region, and their legacy continues to influence the country today.

The legacy of Spanish colonialism

Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, is the only Central American country to have been primarily colonized by the British. However, the Spanish were the first European presence in Belize, beginning excursions in 1508 and officially declaring conquest in 1542. The Maya resisted Spanish attempts at control of the region and expelled them in a massive uprising in 1546. The Spanish continued to make attempts to gain control of the region, destroying Mayan villages and cultural sites. In the 17th century, the British began to settle in Belize, and the Spanish saw them as interlopers in their territory.

The Spanish and British fought for control of Belize for nearly two centuries. The Spanish attacked British settlers continuously and forced them to leave the area on four occasions: in 1717, 1730, 1754, and 1779. However, the Spanish never officially settled in Belize, and the British always returned. The final Spanish attack against the British settlement took place in 1798 at the Battle of St. George's Caye, where the British officially expelled the Spanish from claiming control of the area.

In 1862, Belize officially became a British colony, named British Honduras, and was put under the governance of British Jamaica. In 1871, it became a crown colony when the Legislative Assembly was abolished. British Honduras remained subordinate to Jamaica until 1884, when it acquired a separate colonial administration under an appointed governor.

Today, Belize is a culturally diverse nation with a mix of mestizos (descendants of Spanish settlers and Indigenous Maya), Indigenous Maya, Creoles (descendants of African slaves and British settlers), the Afro-Indigenous Garifuna, Asians, and Europeans. English is the official language, but Spanish is also widely spoken, reflecting the country's history as a British colony in a Spanish-dominated region.

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