Belize City
Encyclopedia
Belize City is the largest city in the Central American nation of Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

. Unofficial estimates place the population of Belize City at 70,000 or more. It is located at the mouth of the Belize River
Belize River
Belize River is a 180-mile river in Belize that drains more than one-quarter of the country as it winds along the northern edge of the Maya Mountains across the center of the country to the sea just north of Belize City . However, the Belize River/Mopan River Catchment contains over 45 percent of...

 on the coast of the Caribbean
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and industrial hub. Several cruise ships drop anchor outside the port and are tended by local citizens. The city was almost entirely destroyed in 1961 when Hurricane Hattie
Hurricane Hattie
Hurricane Hattie was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the strongest, reaching a peak intensity equivalent to Category 5 hurricane intensity...

 swept ashore on 31 October. It was the capital of British Honduras
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...

 (as Belize was then named) until the government was moved to the new capital of Belmopan
Belmopan
Belmopan , estimated population 20,000 is the capital city of Belize.Belmopan is located at , at an altitude of 76 metres above sea level. Belmopan was constructed just to the east of Belize River, inland from the former capital, the port of Belize City, after that city's near destruction by...

 in 1970.

History

Belize City was founded (originally as "Belize Town") in the mid-17th century by British lumber harvesters
Baymen
The Baymen are the earliest European settlers of the eventual colony of British Honduras, modern day Belize.- Settlement :The first Baymen settled in the Belize City area in the 1650s. They were buccaneers and pirates trying to outrun the Spanish rulers in Mexico and Central America. They found...

. It had previously been a small Maya
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...

 city called Holzuz. Belize Town was ideal for the British as a central post because it was on the sea and a natural outlet for local rivers and creeks down which the British shipped logwood and mahogany. Belize Town also became the home of the thousands of African slaves brought in by the British to assist in the forest industry. It was the coordination site for the 1798 Battle of St. George's Caye
Battle of St. George's Caye
The Battle of St. George's Caye was a short military engagement that lasted from 3 to 10 September 1798, off the coast of what is now Belize...

, won by the British against would-be invaders, and the home of the local courts and government officials up to the 1970s. For this reason, historians often say that "the capital was the Colony", because the center of British control was here.

This sentiment remains true today. Even though people like Antonio Soberanis, George Price
George Cadle Price
George Cadle Price PC was the first Prime Minister of Belize and is considered to have been one of the principal architects of the country's independence, and is today referred to by many as "the Father of the Nation"....

 and Evan X Hyde
Evan X Hyde
Evan Anthony Hyde is a writer and journalist. He publishes and writes for the nation's largest newspaper, the Amandala, as well as oversee its subsidiaries, KREM Radio and Krem Television...

 all lobbied to take their movements outside, and other ethnic groups such as the Garifuna and Mestizos sprang up elsewhere in the country, people looked to Belize Town for guidance.

Belize Town slowly improved its infrastructure and has been the object of numerous infrastructural projects. Nevertheless, many of the streets built from colonial days are still small and congested, a majority of houses are still susceptible to fire and damage from hurricanes, and the city is always awaiting something calamitous to happen.

Natural disasters

Belize City has been directly struck by two hurricanes since 1900, the 1931 hurricane
1931 Belize hurricane
The 1931 Belize hurricane was a devastating Category 3 hurricane that hit Belize City on September 10, 1931, killing an estimated 2,500 people. Although much weaker than Hurricane Hattie of 1961, it remains the deadliest hurricane, and natural disaster, in Belize's history...

 and 1961's Hurricane Hattie
Hurricane Hattie
Hurricane Hattie was the deadliest tropical cyclone of the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the strongest, reaching a peak intensity equivalent to Category 5 hurricane intensity...

, and at various times areas of the City have been burnt down, the most recent being the 1999 Albert Street fire that burnt out Mikado's, and a 2004 fire that destroyed the Paslow building. The city has also been hit hard by the 2010 Hurricane Richard. Fires on Northside and Southside have burnt out great stretches of housing, but the Fire Department has been able to quench most of these. The city is also susceptible to flooding problems in the rainy season, but timely repairs and a letup in the rain usually help.

Location and geographic setting

Belize City spreads out to Mile 6 on the Western Highway and Mile 5 on the Northern Highway, at the Haulover Bridge.
The City proper is usually divided into two areas: Northside, bounded by the Haulover Creek and ending in the east at the Fort George area, and Southside, extending to the outskirts of the City and the Port area and including downtown. Politically, it is divided into ten constituencies, described below.

Freetown, the westernmost constituency on Northside, is home to the Belama, Coral Grove, Buttonwood Bay and Vista Del Mar suburbs. Within the city proper it extends up to around the former Belize Technical College area.

Caribbean Shores includes Kings' Park, a small suburb north and west of Freetown Road, West Landivar, home to two of the University of Belize
University of Belize
The University of Belize ' is an English-speaking multi-locational institute for higher education, and the National University of the Central American country of Belize...

's three City campuses, and residential University Heights.

Pickstock inhabits the banks of the Haulover Creek extending to Barrack Road. St. John's Cathedral
St. John's Cathedral, Belize City
St. John's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Belize City, Belize. The cathedral was the first church to be built in the colony of British Honduras. It was constructed in 1812, although it has numerous alterations dating to more recent renovations...

 stands attractively upon its well-manicured lawn on the southern end of Albert Street. St. John’s is the oldest Anglican Church in Central America, and one of the oldest buildings in Belize. The orange bricks came to Belize aboard British ships as ballast. Construction began in 1812, and the church was completed in 1820.
St. John’s is the only Anglican cathedral in the world outside of England where the crowning of kings took place.

Fort George is perhaps the most colonial area in the City and contains Memorial Park, the Baron Bliss
Baron Bliss
Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss, commonly known as Baron Bliss , was a British-born traveller who willed some two million U.S...

 Grave and Bliss Lighthouse and the Museum of Belize.

On the Southside, Lake Independence, Collet and Port Loyola are home to some of the City's poorest residents. "London bridges", rickety wooden pallets linking dwellings, and low-strung poles are not uncommon here. On the east side of Central American Boulevard are Mesopotamia, Queen's Square and Albert, which are slightly better. Albert contains the downtown streets of Albert and Regent Streets.

Bridges and other infrastructure

The divisions of the City are linked by three bridges: the Swing Bridge, located at Market Square and North Front Street; the Belchina Bascule Bridge at the Douglas Jones Street and Youth for the Future Drive junction, and the Belcan Bridge linking Central American Boulevard and the Roundabout leading to the Northern Highway and Caribbean Shores. Numerous smaller bridges link individual streets.

The three main canals running in Belize City, are Haulover Creek, Burdon Canal and Collet Canal. All of them run through the Southside.

Air travel

The city is served by Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport
Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport
Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport is an airport that serves Belize's largest city, Belize City. It was named for politician Phillip Stanley Wilberforce Goldson, who died in 2001....

, which is located in Ladyville, northwest of Belize City, and by Belize City Municipal Airport
Belize City Municipal Airport
Belize City Municipal Airport is an airport that serves Belize City, Belize. It is only one mile from the city center, and is therefore more centrally located to the city than is Belize City International Airport. It mostly services travel to Belize's cays, most commonly those that cannot be...

, located within the city itself.

Climate

Belize City features a tropical monsoon climate
Tropical monsoon climate
Tropical monsoon climate, occasionally also known as a tropical wet climate or tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate in climate classification, is a relatively rare type of climate that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category "Am."Tropical monsoon climates have monthly...

, with warm and humid conditions throughout the course of the year. The city has a lengthy wet season that runs from May through January and a short dry season covering the remaining three months. However as is the characteristic of several cities with tropical monsoon climates, Belize City sees some precipitation during its dry season. March is the Belize City’s driest month with only 38 mm of precipitation observed, a somewhat unusual month for a city with this climate type. Typically the driest month for a city with a tropical monsoon climate is the month after the winter solstice, which in Belize City would be January. Average monthly temperatures remain relatively constant throughout the course of the year, ranging from 23°C to 28°C.

Educational institutions

Belize City has the most educational institutions at any level in the nation of Belize. Most City children attend high school. The majority of schools are co-ed, with the exception of three, all on the Northside: Saint John's College (boys), Saint Catherine's Academy (girls) and Pallotti High School (girls). One Southside school that was previously all girls, Sadie Vernon Technical (Belize Continuation), integrated recently.
They are 3 different private schools in Belize City. Belize Elementary School which is a primary school and the continuation, Belize High School which is located at the UWI Open Campus on Princess Margret Drive. Another private school in Belize City is the Hummingbird Elementary School.

Culture

Belize City's culture is considered similar to that of Caribbean capital cities such as St. George's, Grenada
St. George's, Grenada
St. George's, population 89,018 , with an agglomeration of 4,500 people , is the capital of Grenada, . The city is surrounded by a hillside of an old volcano crater and is on a horseshoe-shaped harbor....

 or Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...

. Always busy in the daytime, there is the hustle and bustle one would associate with a city of 70,800. Notable cultural events include Garifuna Settlement Day (November 19), Belize City Carnival (September), Baron Bliss Day (March 9).

Economy

The majority of working Belizeans travel to work in downtown offices or else ply their trade on the street sides. Belize City is home to branches of all the major banks of Belize and the Central Bank, as well as nearly all insurance centers, marketplaces and the like.
Belize City is the hub for both national and international air, sea and road travel.

Government

Belize City is operated by a mayor-council form of government. The Belize City Council is composed of 10 councillors (generally reflecting the ten constituencies located in Belize City
Constituencies of Belize
||Belize's 6 districts are politically divided into 31 constituencies. Each constituency sends one representative to Belize's House of Representatives for 5-year terms. This election is known as the General Election. Each person votes for the candidate they would want to represent their...

) and a mayor, all elected in municipal elections held every third year in March.
After the most recent municipal elections in 2009, the current Mayor is Zenaida Moya
Zenaida Moya
Zenaida Victoria Moya is a former government official and the mayor of Belize City, Belize elected in elections held in March 2006. She is a member of the United Democratic Party . She is Belize City's first female mayor.-Childhood and education:...

 of the United Democratic Party
United Democratic Party (Belize)
The United Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in Belize, and currently the ruling party, having won the 2008 general elections. A centre-right conservative party, it is currently led by Dean Barrow.-Founding:...

, she is Belize City's first female mayor.

Rural and urban development

The total population in Belize City North Side was 16,116; 7,620 males and 8,496 females. 5,078 total households in 2010 and a 3.2 average household size.
The total population in Belize City South Side was 37,416; 18,266 males and 19,150 females. 11,078 total households in 2010 and a 3.4 average household size.

Belize City in film

The City of Belize has been featured in two movies: The Dogs of War
The Dogs of War (film)
The Dogs of War is a 1980 war film based upon the novel The Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth, directed by John Irvin. It stars Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger as part of a small, international unit of mercenary soldiers privately hired to depose President Kimba of a fictional "Republic of...

(1980), starring Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...

 and The Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast
The Mosquito Coast is a 1986 American film directed by Peter Weir, based on the novel by Paul Theroux. The film stars Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, and River Phoenix. The film tells the story of a family that leaves the United States and tries to find a happier and simpler life in the jungles of...

(1986), starring Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. He is famous for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series. Ford is also known for his roles as Rick Deckard in Blade Runner, John Book in Witness and Jack Ryan in...

.

Sister cities

Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...


External links

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