Latin America and Central America: The History of Belize

Before the arrival of Europeans, the people of Belize, called Maya, lived in the land due to the ruins in La Milpa, Altun Ha, Caracol, and Xunantunich (Alford, Griffith & Bolland, 2021). With the entry of Spanish into the area during the 16th and 17th centuries, the conversion of Maya to Christianity was initiated, though it was not a successful step. The politics decentralized within this region had already been in progress along with the downfall of Maya civilization before the beginning of the Spanish. It should still be noted that the Maya could not be conclusively beaten without the apt resources to fight the Spanish. Before the Spanishs incoming, the said civilization was considered one of the greatest civilizations of that time. They excelled in building temples shaped in a pyramid and gigantic stone buildings. They were experts in working with gold, copper and even skilled in agriculture.

Research has suggested some of the reasons for the downfall of Belizes former civilization, Maya (Britannica, 2021). One of the reasons was a war-related disturbance of river and land trade paths. Other reasons inculcated their deforestation and dry winds; however, the agricultural people resided in village areas when the Spanish arrived. The progress that the land had made earlier was nowhere to be seen.

Belize observed some clash between the Spanish and British when British woodcutters tried to settle along the 17th century. The resistance from Maya civilization was evident as they were conducted as antagonist approaches and conflict against the new settlers make an important of Belize history (Hoffman, 2014, p. 17). They were taken as intruders by the Spanish as a result of which. The Spanish granted them signed treaties in 1763 and 1783 to cut wood and valuable mahogany (Alford, Griffith & Bolland, 2021). The Spanish still held the rule and control, which the British termed settlement.

Public meetings were held by the British to proceed with governmental affairs and formulating policies for the area. The appointments of superintendents were conducted to delegate people appropriately for the tasks. Forcefully, the British came into higher control in 1798 after a final attempt (Alford, Griffith & Bolland, 2021). The Constitution was created, the superintendent was assigned the authority, and the land was granted in 1817 to formally take hold of the region by creating a Legislative Assembly comprising 18 members.

Occasionally, Mexico also claimed its authority over Belize. The communications between Guatemala and Belize were due to the conflict arising for land boundaries that later prolonged to 20th and 21st centuries as well. Even through communication, Guatemala did not consider the treaty to have been established and declared it null and void since they suggested that communication did not officially happen.

In 1862, British Honduras deemed Belize as a British...

…and mostly slavery (Hoffman, 2014, p. 15). After Africans were brought as slaves, the greater influence is seen on this region from the African and Maya civilizations, who dispersed knowledge about cultures, made cultural and historical contributions, and outlined education and agricultural stimuli within the geographic region.

History further tells that education was used to maintain colonial powers within Belize society. It was never meant to empower the citizens, rather contain a social order in the missionary schools in the Caribbean area for formulating and sustaining hierarchies (Rellihan, 2008, p. 47). Further, gender has played a major role in the power structure for colonialism since the out-doing of girls in the Caribbean was apparent in the education field. Yet, they were not translated into economic, social, or political enablement, deeming it a major barrier in the progression towards the true transformation of societal thinking regarding democracy and gender inclusion.

The state is now considered formally democratic, still rooted in authoritative control. It is marked by the states control over the citizens so that social power is tightly under control with a tight concentration of unification in terms of gender and race (Wainwright, 2020). In terms of globalization, it has currently been actively involved in the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) for the encouragement of tourism, agricultural practices and relevant policies, advancement of the health system, food security and safety programs, labor market, and its progress with…