Belize
Where the reef meets the rainforest, and Maya, Garifuna, Creole, Mestizo, and Mennonite communities all call the same small nation home.
Belize's independence was carried by George Price, known as the Father of the Nation. He founded the People's United Party in 1950 and led the country for four decades under British rule, then became its first Prime Minister when Belize became fully independent on September 21, 1981. It is a small, human example of the same idea this whole hemisphere is built on, that one nation's patience can carry a whole people home.
The national motto, "Sub Umbra Floreo," Latin for "Under the Shade I Flourish," was written to capture exactly that spirit. It is a small piece of wisdom shared across the Americas in a hundred different words, the same common ground this whole project stands on.
Get to Know Belize
Capital: Belmopan. Official language: English, the only country in Central America where it holds that status. Currency: Belize dollar, pegged at two to one with the US dollar. Formerly British Honduras, Belize became fully independent in 1981.
Fun Facts
- The Great Blue Hole, a submarine sinkhole over 300 feet deep, was made famous by Jacques Cousteau and remains one of the top dive sites on Earth.
- The Belize Barrier Reef is the second largest coral reef system in the world, after Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
- Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary was the world's first jaguar preserve.
Why Visit
Belize packs the Great Blue Hole, the Belize Barrier Reef, and hundreds of miles of living coral into one small coastline, then backs it with rainforest. Caracol and Xunantunich hold some of the most impressive Maya ruins in the Americas, Cockscomb Basin protects the world's first jaguar preserve, and Garifuna Settlement Day each November fills the south with drumming and dance. It is one of the few places where reef and rainforest sit close enough to visit both in a single day.
Made in Belize
Belize is known for the wooden furniture and dairy products of its Mennonite communities, Marie Sharp's habanero hot sauces grown and bottled in the Stann Creek Valley, and the cacao and chocolate of the Toledo district. This space is reserved for a future Local Marketplace Spotlight, featuring Trust Standard certified Belizean businesses once that pillar of the Americas Ecosystem exists. Soon.