The Country
The People
The Country
Home to the western hemispheres largest barrier reef which is only second in size to Australia’ s Great Barrier Reef, Belize although small covering only 8,800 square miles, is very diverse in its make-up in both ecosystems and cultures. To the east is the reef which stretches for 200 kms almost the whole length of Belize’ s coastline where the Caribbean Sea gentle massages the mangroves. In the north the mangrove swamps turn into savannah whilst to the south they eventually lead to the tropical rainforests and the Maya Mountains.
© Joseph Thomas
The People
The whole of this region of Central America was once dominated by the Maya and today, as in neighboring Mexico and Guatemala, Majestic Maya ruins can be found throughout the country. The descendants of this great empire still live among a creole majority, a mix of slaves and slave owners. To the north and on the northern Cayes( low laying sandy islands) scattered along the reef, there are Mestizo who migrated to Belize during the Mexican caste wars. To the west there are migrants from many of the other Central American countries and on the east coast near the middle of the country there are Garinagu, a race that although from Africa, avoided becoming slaves. In the south there is a large East Indian community and there are also three Menonite communities in the country and more recently, an increasing number of Americans and Canadians have settled in Belize and so it is a country with great diversity of cultures.
© The Belize Tourism Board
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