BELIZE, or BALIZE

This article appears in Volume V03, Page 683 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: BEC-BER

BELIZE, or BALIZE , the

capital

CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

and principal seaport of British Honduras, on the Caribbean Sea, in 17 29' N. and 88 W. Pop. (1904) 9969. Belize occupies both banks of the river Belize, at its mouth. Its houses are generally built of

wood

, with high roofs and wide verandahs shaded by cocoanut or cabbage palms. The principal buildings are the court

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

, in the centre of the town, government

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

, at the southern end, Fort George, towards the north, the British bank of Honduras, the

hospital

, the Roman Catholic convent, and the Wesleyan church, which is the largest and handsomest of all. Mangrove swamps surround the town and epidemics of cholera, yellow fever and other tropical diseases have been frequent; but the unhealthiness of the climate is mitigated to some extent by the high tides which cover the marshes, and the invigorating breezes which blow in from the sea. Belize is connected by telegraph and telephone with the other

chief

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

towns of British Honduras, but there is no railway, and communication even by road is defective. The exports are mahogany, rosewood,

cedar

CEDAR (Lat. cedrus, Gr. iapos)

, logwood and other cabinet-woods and dye-woods, with cocoanuts, sugar,

sarsaparilla

SARSAPARILLA

, tortoiseshell, deerskins, turtles and fruit, especially bananas. Breadstuffs,

cotton

fabrics and hardware are imported.
Belize probably derives its name from the French balise, " a beacon,'.' as no doubt some signal or light was raised here for the guidance of the buccaneers who once infested this region. Local tradition connects the name with that of Wallis or Wallace, a Scottish buccaneer, who, in 1638, settled, with a party of logwood cutters, on St George's Cay, a small island off the town. In the 18th century the names Wallis and Belize were used interchangeably for the town, the river and the whole country. The history of Belize is inextricably bound up with that of the rest of British Honduras (q. v.).

End of Article: BELIZE, or BALIZE

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/BEC_BER/BELIZE_or_BALIZE.html">
BELIZE, or BALIZE
</a>

(Previous)
BELIT (signifying the " lady," par excellence)

(Next)
BELJAME, ALEXANDRE (1842-1906)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email