200 - 800 A.D.
| Maya cities flourish all through Belize. |
900- 1500 A.D.
| Maya cultural decline in Southern and Central America |
1520s
| Cortes crosses Southern Belize |
1530s
| Montejo attempts to conquer Belize for Spain. Nachankan and Belize Maya defeated Spanish. |
1650s
| British buccaneers begin to settle Belizean coast. |
1660
| Bartholomew Sharpe, famous British pirate, makes Belize his base and begins to harvest logwood for sale to U.K. |
1670
| Godolphin (Madrid) Treaty opening all of the Americas to British colonization. |
1717
| Spanish force from Peten drives out Baymen. |
1720s
| First record of African slaves in Belize. |
1754
| Spanish drive out Baymen who return within a year. |
1763
| Treaty of Paris: Spain permitted British settlers to cut logwood; no boundaries defined. |
1765
| Admiral Burnaby codified Settlement's Regulations, known as "Burnaby's Code". Public meetings passed resolutions boundaries of logwood works |
1765/68/73
| Slaves' revolts. |
1779
| Spanish forces capture Belize and take Baymen and slaves to Yucatan. Slaves freed after declaring loyalty to Spain. Baymen sent to Cuba. |
1783
| Treaty of Versailles: Spain recognizes British rights to cut logwood in Belize between the Hondo and Belize Rivers. |
1784
| Settlers return to Belize; Despard appointed first Superintendent of the settlement. |
1786
| Convention of London expands British rights in Belize to the Sibun and permits mahogany cutting. |
1787
| British evacuate Mosquito Shore and 2,214 "Shoremen" and their slaves came to Belize. Public meeting determined qualifications for owning mahogany works. |
1788
| Maya attacked mahogany works on New River. |
1798
| Battle of St. George's Caye. |
1802
| 150 Garifuna already settled at Stann Creek. |
1807
| Abolition of slave trade:-British domains. |
1817
| Superintendent takes away power of settlers to issue lands; large body of runaway slaves reported in the interior. |
1820
| Slave revolt. |
1821
| Mexican and Central American independence. |
1831
| Act passed to give equal rights to "colored subjects" as to whites. |
1832
| Large number of Garifuna arrive in Belize (Garifuna Settlement Day- November 19th ). |
1834/38
| Slavery abolished. Land ordered to be sold and no longer issued free. |
1847
| War of the Castes in Yucatan sends thousands of refugees into Belize. |
1856
| North side of Belize City destroyed by fire. |
1859
| British- Guatemala Treaty establishes modern boundaries of Belize. British Honduras Company (later B.E.C.) formed. |
1862
| Belize becomes a Colony of "British Honduras". |
1865
| Labourers brought from West Indian islands and China, especially for work on sugar estates of B.H. Co. |
1866
| British troops routed by Maya in Yalbac Hills. |
1867
| Reinforced British Troops destroy Maya villages and crops in Yalbac. |
1871
| Belize declared a Crown Colony after Assembly dissolved itself in 1870. Three of the four unofficial members in new Legislative Councilrepresent landed interests.
|
| 1894 | Constables mutiny. Belizeans workers riot for better pay. |
| 1906 | Belize City gets electricity.
|
| 1914 | World War I - Many Belizeans volunteers served in Egypt, Mesopotamia & Palestine. |
1919
| Belizean troops riot upon return home. |
| 1922 | Marcus Garvey visits Belize. |
| 1929 | Great Depression begins. |
| 1931 | Great Hurricane - over 2,000 dead.
|
| 1933 | Guatemala re- asserts claim to Belize. |
| 1934 | Antonio Soberanis leads workers protests. |
| 1939 | World War II- Belizeans soldier see action in Italy & Egypt. |
| 1949 | B.H. dollar devalued. |
| 1950 | Founding of the P.U.P. |
| 1952 | National strike led by General Workers Union. |
| 1954 | Vote for all adults. |
| 1964 | Self Government. |
| 1968 | The "Webster Proposals": Draft treaty presented by U.S.A. media tor for Anglo- Guatemalan dispute, rejected by government and people. |
| 1970s | Internalization of Belize's cause. |
| 1971 | Belize joins CARIFTA. Belmopan becomes capital of Belize. |
| 1973 | Country's name legally changed to "Belize". Aliens Landholding Ordinance passed. |
| 1975 | First pro- Belize resolution passed by General Assembly of United Nations. |
| 1976 | Belize given "special status" in Non-Aligned Movement. |
| 1981 | Independence.
Belize joins Commonwealth, United Nations and Non- Aligned Movement.
George Price of the People's United Party (PUP) is the first Prime Minister
|
| 1984 | PUP is defeated for the first time in 30 years. Manuel Esquivel of the United Democratic Party (U.D.P.) becomes the Prime Minister of Belize. |
| 1986 | Belize's first university open. |
| 1989 | PUP wins general elections and George Price is again named Prime Minister. |
| 1990 | 12 years after its formation, three Belizeans take command of the Belize Defence Force (B.D.F.) as Commandant of BDF, Guard Commander, and Commander of Air & Maritime Wing. |
| 1991 | Guatemalan President Jorge Serrano Elias recognizes Belize's right to self determination ten years after independence. Belize is admitted into the Organization of American States (OAS). |
| 1992 | Guatemalan Constitutional Court upholds President Serrano's decision to recognize Belize as an independent state and to establish diplomatic relations. |
| 1993 | UDP with Prime Minister Esquivel has a second term in office after the P.U.P. government calls elections early. |
1994
| Responsibility for Belize's defense changes from British Forces to the Belize Defence Force as the British garrison withdraws from the country.. |
| 1996 | Hon. George Cadle Price steps aside after 40 years as leader of the PUP. Said Musa becomes the new Party Leader. |
| 1998 | PUP returns to power with Said Musa as Prime Minister of Belize. Dean Barrow becomes the UDP's Party Leader. |
| 2001 | Maya in Belize sign Declaration of Ancestral Rights. UNESCO proclaims The Garifuna Culture as a Masterpiece of an Intangible and Oral Heritage. |
| 2003 | PUP wins general election to become the first government to serve two
consecutive terms since Independence. Said Musa is Prime Minister. |
| 2008 | UDP under Prime Minister Dean Barrow forms the new government . |
| *2000 | AD-1981 Information extracted from: |
| (2009) | Toward an independent Belize .A history of Belize: Nation in the making. Retrieved from http://www.belizenet.com/history.html. |
About Belize
