The Curious Case of Belize's Independence

Belize gained independence from Britain, its colonial overseer, in 1981. The independence movement in Belize, which had its first seeds planted in the wake of a devastating hurricane in 1931 in which the British government did not provide adequate assistance, truly began in 1950 when the British devalued the Belize dollar.

So why did Belize miss the wave of independence that swept across Africa and Asia throughout the 1950s and 1960s? The reason was that Guatemala claimed the entirety of Belize as its own. If the British withdrew, Guatemala's powerful U.S.-backed military would sweep into Belize and take the land for its own.

The dispute began in the wake of an 1859 treaty between Britain and Guatemala. Britain believed the treaty was of a boundary variety while the Guatemalans believed it was one of cession. Britain wanted to grant Belize, called British Honduras before 1973, independence, but was willing to cede some land to Guatemala to quell any impetus for invasion.

Belize's leaders, such as George Price, demanded independence with the entirety of Belize in tact. They also wanted a sustained British defense guarantee. The British were reluctant to defend the Belizeans against a potential Guatemalan invasion.

Finally, through a policy of gaining support from such international organizations as CARICOM and the non-aligned movement, Price was able to convince Britain to grant full independence to Belize and guard its sovereignty in 1981. Though the Guatemalan land claim issue has been sidelined, even now, it isn't closed.