Belize, though a small country, actually went through so much before it gained its independence.

Belize started out with the native settlers governing only themselves.  By a policy of Public Meeting, they had lived under a system called Primitive Democracy.  As the years passed, Burnaby’s Code (a set of rules and regulations) was proposed and implemented in 1765.  With further revisions, Belize was finally able to produce an Executive Council in 1840.  In 1853, a Legislative Assembly took the place of the Public Meeting.

From the 16th century BC until the 4th century AD, Belize was mainly populated by Amerindian groups namely the Arawaks, Mayas and Caribs – people who were dependent largely on fishing, hunting and agriculture.  The first ever Europeans to set foot on Belize were the Spaniards.

Later on, the United Kingdom was granted permission by the Spaniards to set up camps in Belize.  A war followed a few years after and United Kingdom triumphed over the Spaniards, after which the name British Honduras was given to Belize.

Another crisis came when Guatemala questioned the colonization of Belize by the United Kingdom and claimed that Belize was actually part of their territory.  In order to avoid invasion by Guatemala, in 1981 the United Kingdom proclaimed Belize as an independent nation and Belize in return agreed to become a protectorate of the United Kingdom.