A Brief History of Belize City

Some locals claim that Belize City is one of the swampiest, hottest and most humid places in the country, but is in no danger of sinking into the bog because it is built on a solid foundation of mahogany chips, sand ballast and empty rum bottles.

Trade

During the 1600s the wealth of the mahogany logwood trade was established. Logs were floated down to Belize City, so warehouses and wharves were built. Logging was hard; by 1690, the British realized that slaves would be needed to make this industry lucrative. Slaves were brought from Africa for the industry. The population quickly increased to an estimated 400 people and the capital city was moved from St. George’s caye just offshore, to the present site of Belize City.

By 1786 enough sand and brick ballast (it was replaced with mahogany for the return voyage) was dumped into the swamp at the mouth of the creek to create solid ground. The city soon had an influx of people interested in the logging industry either directly or indirectly. As a consequence, the population increased to over 2,000. In 1787 a hurricane obliterated the entire town except for one building. In an attempt to protect the people from future hurricanes, a second city was established 15 miles upriver. However, because of its location on the Caribbean Sea, Belize City continued to flourish.

Development

By 1790 there were 2,656 residents and Yarborough Cemetery, the city’s first, was opened. The 1800s saw the formation of Fort George Island, an area north of the Belize River that is now part of Belize City. There was also the building of St. John’s Church. A wooden bridge was built across the river and development of the south side of the city began. A new court house was constructed on Regent Street in 1819 and by 1857 a prison was built out of the bricks that had been brought from England as ballast in the bowels of the ships. By 1859 the population was at an explosive 6,000 people and before the turn of the century three newspapers had been established.

Peaks and Valleys

Through all this development, Belize City suffered from hurricanes and devastating fires but, like the phoenix, she rose again and again. The first hurricane, in 1787, destroyed everything except one building. A fire in 1806 got rid of many buildings and then another in 1856 destroyed almost everything on the north side of the city.

In 1862, the city was made the capital of British Honduras, an official British colony. Arson in 1863 caused the destruction of the south side of the city and then again in 1918 most of the public buildings were burned when soldiers rioted against the racism they were experiencing.

But by 1918 Belize City was built into a modern metropolis with banks and poorhouses, newspapers and motor cars. There were street lights, a telephone exchange, radio station and telegraph system. By 1931, important people like Marcus Garvey and Charles Lindbergh had come to visit and the population had risen to 16,687.

The year 1931 was disastrous for the city. On September 10th, the residents were celebrating the Battle of St. George’s Caye when a hurricane hit, ripping away houses and smashing down trees. More than 2,000 people were left dead or missing and the cost of rebuilding almost broke the city financially. But strong will prevailed. The city prospered and continued to grow until 1961 when Hurricane Hattie’s tidal wave and 96 mph/155kmh winds destroyed so much that the government moved its headquarters to the new capital of Belmopan, a few miles inland. Again the city was rebuilt and the residents, through these hardships, became possessive and proud of their town.

The country won independence from Britain and the first Belizean flag was hoisted over Government House on September 21, 1981.