Past political factors
Belize exists as one of the countries located in the coastal regions of Central America, formerly known as British Honduras, which change in 1973. The state was discovered by the Spaniards and made it a district. Moreover, in the early 19th century, the island became British territory. As per The Commonwealth (2020), the emancipation of Central American from the rule of the Spaniards made the British to claim the region 1836. After World War II, Belize faced various economic issues that were influenced by the economic depression experienced by the British (Bridgewater, 2012). As a result, the inhabitants formed the People’s Committee in 1949 due to worsening economic condition to address various issues, including independence (The Commonwealth, 2020). The people’s committee gave birth to the People’s United Party (PUP), which concentrated on the constitutional reforms which extended the voting rights to the adults. Belize held the first universal suffrage election in1954 and PUP won by a landslide which marked the start of the three decades of dominance by the PUP in the political arena. Notably, in 1956George Cadle Price, one of the pro-independence activists took the leadership of the PUP as well as the head of government in 1961. Furthermore, the British granted British Honduras independence in 1964 due to the presence of the new constitution hence changing the name to Belize in 1964. According to The Commonwealth (2020), the independence of the country got delayed based on the Guatemalan claim over its sovereignty to Belize hence full independence occurring in 1881. The country held the first national election in 1884 in which United Democratic Party (UDP) defeated PUP, therefore, Manuel Esquivel replacing Price as the prime minister. However, in the 1989 election, Price returned tom power with his leadership of PUP. Over time the country politics was dominated by these two major political parties under different leadership (The Commonwealth, 2020). As one of the commonwealth state, queen heads the country represented by the governor-general in which the system changed to the prime minister.
Belize Economic Factors
The early settler on British Honduras conducted various economic activities, but logwood was the main business. Bridgewater (2012), posits that the logwood attracted different Europeans powers like Spaniards and British due to its values and high demand in the European market. Weaver (1997) argues that the log acted as the primary source of the black dye used in various industries in Europe. The discovery and large use of the synthetic dye in late 18th century resulted in decline demand in logwood, leading to exploitation of other forest products such as mahogany and chicle (Weaver, 1997). In the 1880s, logging of mahogany emerged as the backbone of the pre-colonial British Honduras economy (The Commonwealth, 2020). Over logging resulted in depletion of the mahogany trees, which resulted in the decline of the industry. Moreover, the sugar industry succeeded as the third primary source of the colonial economy. As per The Commonwealth (2020), starting mid-1880s, Maya cultivates sugarcane, but the sugar production based on industry began in 1937 after opening of the milling factory in the northern part of Belize. Equally, the business of sugar production expanded in 1964 after British based sugar conglomerate of Lyle and Tate purchased the small sugarcane mill located at Libertad (Hausmann & Klinger, 2007). As a result, foregone investors boosted the industry, which increased both production and productivity (Bridgewater, 2012). Notably, after the sugar industry became the main economic factor, the country faced various challenges that significantly resulted in the decline of production (Hausmann & Klinger, 2007). Natural calamities like drought, as well as other factors like pests and diseases critically influenced the sector in a negative way (Bridgewater, 2012). On the same note, some human factors like labor shortage and constant fluctuations of sugar prices and demand created enormous challenges to the Belizean economy.
Belize Social Factors
The country possesses diverse social factors based on the diversity of the population that lived in the country as native inhabitants. Based on religion as a social factor, Belize most population accounted for Roman Catholic, indicating that a high percentage of the Belizeans exist as Catholics (Buhler, 1976). In 1971, 64.4% of the state populated lived as Roman Catholic hence a country of Roman Catholic majority (Buhler, 1976). However, the percentage decrease over time due to the increase in protestant churches in the country. According to Lewis (2000), education formed a significant social factor in the history of Belize as it combined the influence of the early Jesuit structure and system of the United States. Religion significantly influenced the education system of the country as they directly or indirectly influenced the establishment of the schools (Lewis, 2000). Bridgewater (2012) explains that the primary figure in higher education exists as the University of Belize that originated from the University College of Belize established in 1986. Notably, the country pre and post-colonialism era possess the social structures that were highly influenced by various factors. The population experienced differences in the distribution of social status, power and wealth. Despite the gap between the rich and poor, the Belizeans maintained the closes relationships among the different economic classes bringing together the rich and poor. Furthermore, Belize supported equality based on ethnicity and racial backgrounds hence limited social issues related to various forms of discrimination. Similarly, local elites possess political and economic powers (The Commonwealth, 2020). Notably, the middles class people shared different community functions such as its mobility, cultural respectability as well as education. Therefore, the beliefs and practices that people involved in the act as distinction factor for the middle-class individuals with those grass root people who make the majority of the population.
References
Bridgewater, S. (2012). A natural history of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest. University of Texas Press.
Lewis, K. (2000). Colonial Education: A History of Education in Belize.
Weaver, P. L. (1997). Mahogany in Belize: a historical perspective (Vol. 2). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station.
Buhler, R. O. (1976). A history of the Catholic Church in Belize (No. 4). Belize Institute for Social Research and Action.
Hausmann, R., & Klinger, B. (2007). Growth Diagnostic: Belize. Center for International Development, Harvard
rd University: Boston, MA, USA.
The Commonwealth. (2020). Belize : History | The Commonwealth. Retrieved 4 February 2020, from https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/belize/history