Belize is the only country in Central America where English is its official language. The name of the country comes from the domestic river Belize River and the largest city, Belize City, which is the old capital of Belize, and the new capital is Belmopan. Belize is bordered by the Gulf of Honduras in the east and across the bay from Honduras, the closest distance between the two countries is only 75 kilometers, with a total area of 22,966 square kilometers and a population of less than 400,000, making it the least populous country in the Central American Isthmus.
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The capital is Belmopan, but the new capital, the former old capital is Belize City, in 1961, it was razed by a hurricane, killing and injuring more than 300 people, and had no choice but to move the capital to Belmopan in 1970.
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The territory is mountainous, swampy and tropical jungle. The terrain can be roughly divided into two parts: the southern half of the terrain is dominated by the Maya mountains, and the northern half is low areas and swamps.
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The only thing that can be said about this country is that the original inhabitants of this land long ago were the Mayans, who created a splendid ancient civilization here.
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If you like your Mayan ruins to be slightly off the beaten track, then Rubatan in the south should fit this bill. Tourists rarely venture too far from the beach resort of Peraschia, making these ruins the country's best kept secret. This is also where most of Belize's modern Mayans live, providing a great opportunity to appreciate the ancient and modern side by side.
Ancient Mayan ruins
However, since the Age of Discovery, European colonists began to occupy this land, the first to come to Belize was Spain, sent a lot of black slaves to cut down trees, and soon British colonists occupied this place, and carried out colonial rule for more than 300 years.
It became a Spanish colony in the early 16th century.
In 1638 English colonists invaded.
In 1862, it officially became a British colony and became British Honduras.
After World War II, with the upsurge of national liberation movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America, Belize's call for independence became louder and louder, but because neighboring Guatemala claimed sovereignty over it and opposed its independence, it implemented internal autonomy in 1964, but defense and diplomacy were still in charge of Britain. In 1973, it was changed to its current name. Belize did not gain independence until 1981 and became a member of the Commonwealth.
Because Belize was colonized by Spain and the United Kingdom, English is its official language, and most people also speak Spanish. Belize is also the only country in Central America to make English an official language.
Belize is not only historically colonized, God does not seem to favor it, in 1961 Super Hurricane "Harty" set off huge waves, swept through the old colonial capital of Belize, causing all the old capital to be immersed in the sea, 3/4 of the houses were washed down, causing great damage. It can be said that this is the first capital in the world to be destroyed by a hurricane, and it can be described as unlucky.
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As a result, Belize is preparing to move its capital to Belmopan in the centre. Belmopan was originally a small city in the Central Plains, with beautiful scenery and excellent transportation, with Mayan mountains to the southeast to keep hurricanes from the Caribbean Sea. In 1972, Belize officially moved its capital to Belmopan, which is now the capital.
However, after Belize spent a lot of money to move the capital, the old capital Belize City has never suffered extreme disaster weather again, and now it has become the largest city, inhabited by about 70,000 people, equivalent to 20% of the country's population. With a population of less than 20,000, Belmopan is one of the least populous capitals in the world.
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Belize Blue Grotto is also known as the "British Honduras Blue Grotto".
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The Great Blue Cave is the largest underwater cave in the world, located about 96.5 kilometers off Belize, adjacent to Lighthouse Reef. The Great Blue Cave has a circular appearance, with a diameter of about 304 meters and a depth of about 145 meters. It is one of the ten geological wonders of the world. The Great Blue Cave is a limestone cave formed during the ice age when the sea level was low, and later the roof collapsed due to the rise of the sea, and it became an underwater cave. Due to the depth of the water of up to 145 meters, it has a dark blue color.