Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

BELIZE, or BALIZE

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 683 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

See also:

BELIZE, or BALIZE , the See also:capital and See also:principal seaport of See also:British See also:Honduras, on the Caribbean See also:Sea, in 17° 29' N. and 88° W. Pop. (1904) 9969. Belize occupies both See also:banks of the See also:river Belize, at its mouth. Its houses are generally built of See also:wood, with high See also:roofs and wide verandahs shaded by cocoanut or See also:cabbage palms. The principal buildings are the See also:court See also:house, in the centre of the See also:town, See also:government house, at the See also:southern end, Fort See also:George, towards the See also:north, the British See also:bank of Honduras, the See also:hospital, the See also:Roman See also:Catholic See also:convent, and the Wesleyan See also:church, which is the largest and handsomest of all. See also:Mangrove swamps surround the town and epidemics of See also:cholera, yellow See also:fever and other tropical diseases have been frequent; but the unhealthiness of the See also:climate is mitigated to some extent by the high tides which See also:cover the marshes, and the invigorating breezes which See also:blow in from the sea. Belize is connected by See also:telegraph and See also:telephone with the other See also:chief towns of British Honduras, but there is no railway, and communication even by road is defective. The exports are See also:mahogany, See also:rosewood, See also:cedar, See also:logwood and other See also:cabinet-See also:woods and dye-woods, with cocoanuts, See also:sugar, See also:sarsaparilla, See also:tortoiseshell, deerskins, turtles and See also:fruit, especially bananas. Breadstuffs, See also:cotton fabrics and hardware are imported. Belize probably derives its name from the See also:French balise, " a See also:beacon,'.' as no doubt some See also:signal or See also:light was raised here for the guidance of the See also:buccaneers who once infested this region. See also:Local tradition connects the name with that of See also:Wallis or See also:Wallace, a Scottish buccaneer, who, in 1638, settled, with a party of logwood cutters, on St George's Cay, a small See also:island off the town.

In the 18th See also:

century the names Wallis and Belize were used interchangeably for the town, the river and the whole See also:country. The See also:history of Belize is inextricably See also:bound up with that of the See also:rest of British Honduras (q. v.).

End of Article: BELIZE, or BALIZE

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
BELIT (signifying the " lady," par excellence) 		[next]
BELJAME, ALEXANDRE (1842-1906)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries