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Belize: History and Facts
The Mayan civilization spread into the of that period. European contact began in logging, and sporadic attacks by Indians
area of Belize between 1500 B.C. and 1502 when Columbus sailed along the coast. and neighboring Spanish settlements. Both
A.D. 300 and flourished until about 1200. The first recorded European settlement was Spain and Britain lay claim to the land until
Several major archaeological sites—nota- begun by shipwrecked English seamen in Britain defeated the Spanish in the battle of
bly Caracol, Lamanai, Lubaantun, Altun Ha, 1638. Over the next 150 years, more English St. George’s Cay (1798). It became a colony
and Xunantunich—reflect the advanced settlements were established. This period of Great Britain in 1840, known as British
civilization and much denser population was also marked by piracy, indiscriminate Honduras, and a Crown colony in 1862.
