“At first I was a little unsure of what to expect, but I had a great time. We learned a lot from our instructors and each other that we will take back and share with everyone.”              ~2005 Program Participant   

2,000 B.C. ~ 15^th Century

            Belize was part of the great Mayan Civilization that spanned southern Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Northern Honduras.  The classic period of the Mayan civilization was between 250 A.D. and 1,000 A.D.  This period of time saw the greatest level of Mayan construction and growth.

15^th ~ 16^th Centuries

            European countries like Spain, Portugal, France and Britain began their exploration and conquest of the “New World.”  Spain conquered the Aztecs of Mexico and the Inca farther south.  When the Spaniards came to Chetumal in Belize, the city’s chief refused to submit.  The Maya fought back and defeated the Spanish.  The Spaniards also failed at Lamanai and Tipu.  The Chol Maya in southern Belize also fought back.  The Spanish never developed lasting control over the Maya in Belize, but during the years of contact some 86% of Maya died from war and mostly disease.

17^th ~ 18^th Centuries

            The first Europeans to settle in Belize were British pirates.  By the time they came in the 17^th century, the Maya were no longer living near the coast.  The pirates used Belize’s many islands, atolls, and reef systems to establish bases to raid Spanish ships.  By the middle of the 17^th century the pirates had begun to cut logwood, used to make textile dies.  The Spanish and British fought throughout the 18^th century until the Treaty of Paris in 1763 gave the British rights to cut logwood under Spanish sovereignty of the area.  Then, in 1798, the Spanish attacked the settlement of St. George’s Caye.  The Baymen, as the British loggers were known, fought off the Spanish who never returned.  The land now known as Belize was named British Honduras.

20^th Century