The area now occupied by Belize was once part of the great Mayan empire that covered most of northern Central America and reached its peak between 250 and 900 AD. The Spanish arrived in the region during the early 16th century. They set out to convert the Maya to Christianity and took many of them as slaves. However, Spain did not send settlers to Belize, considering it to be inhospitable and of little economic value.

The first Europeans to occupy what is now Belize were British buccaneers who recognized the value of the country’s hardwood forests. Spain granted logging concessions to the English but continued to claim Belize. The British defeated the Spanish in the Battle of St. George’s Caye on September 10, 1798. However, the colony of British Honduras was not officially founded until 1862.

People moved to British Honduras from other parts of the British empire, and the country’s economy began to grow and diversify. The capital was moved from Belize City to Belmopan in 1970, and the name British Honduras was changed to Belize in 1973. On September 21, 1981, Belize gained its independence from Britain and later joined the British Commonwealth.
Gautemala, which had long claimed Belize as part of its territory, signed a treaty in 1992 recognizing Belize’s sovereignty. During the late 1990’s, the Belizean Government and private businesses spent millions of dollars sprucing up downtown Belize City and cleaning up the flourishing crack cocaine trade. A special Tourism Police Unit was established and stiff sentences handed out to drug dealers and muggers.