Talk:Belize/Archive 1

flora and fauna
Hey what about a section on the flora and Fauna of Belize? I have the alot of pics problem is I can't Identify all of em. Belizian 22:09, 5 February 2004 (UTC)

Caribbean Wikipedians' notice board
I would like to announce the establishment of the Caribbean Wikipedians' notice board. Anyone with an interest in the Caribbean is welcome to join in. Guettarda 1 July 2005 03:53 (UTC)

removal
I removed two things that I don't understand the need for.
 * 1) Honduras lies just across the Gulf of Honduras to the east.
 * 2) Main article: Districts of Belize

In the first case, I don't know why the phrasing has been modified to imply that Hounduras and Belize are very close in the description of what borders Belize. Belize and Honduras no more border each other than do the Netherlands and Denmark; in both cases there is an other nation and some sea in between. As far as "Districts of Belize", again I see no need for a separate article; it seems already covered. -- Infrogmation 17:31 Apr 13, 2003 (UTC)


 * The mention of Honduras is warranted less due to the close proximity (though they are much closer to one another than the Netherlands and Denmark), but rather because of the related former name of Belize, British Honduras, and the shared body of water in between them, the Gulf of Honduras, which may add some confusion. I thought your original objection lay in the text suggesting the two countries bordered on land, so I changed that. At any rate, there is certainly no harm done in mentioning in Honduras hi.


 * The link to the Districts article is needed for the country template. Though most countries do not have these articles and other are mere lists, this is not what the template had in mind. The District article is supposed to delve deeper into the governmental structure and historical background of the districts. The primary example for this is still Provinces of the Netherlands. -Scipius 17:59 Apr 13, 2003 (UTC)


 * Just a hunch, but the portion about Honduras- and the Gulf of Honduras might have been added since Belize was formerly known as "British Honduras." CaribDigita 21:50, 19 Mar 2005 (UTC)


 * I question the true relevance of Honduras being mentioned in the opening paragraph. It holds no relevance to the rest of the paragraph and does not modify it at all. I suggest deletion of the sentence. --Tainter 00:57, 5 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Belize and Honduras are inextricably linked by geography, language, culture, ethnicity, and history. Our Garifuna brethren arrived in Belize from Honduras proper. Thousands of Belizeans - African - Mestizo and Ladinos - trace their ancestors to Honduras. Several thousand Hondurans live and work in Belize and fuel our economy in the banana, sugar, citrus and construction sectors. Hundreds of Belizean families live in the Bay Islands of Honduras where they have spread our language of Belizean Creole. Honduras, just like Guatemala and Mexico are indeed required in any discussion of Belize. Many prominent Belizeans in the business, culture and music industries were born in Honduras but raised and realised in Belize.

And no, this is not a hunch. I am Belizean to the bone.

BelizeExpert 05:37, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

" Since independence, a British garrison has been retained in Belize at the request of the Belizean government" In case you would like to make corrections, the Garrison was turned over to the belize defense force in 1994 and the british soldiers went from 1300 to 150, although in the last five years there has been an increase including the continuation of jungle training but mainly because of other base closures... In case you would like to correct that..

Also the belize expert is correct that the cultures are intwined and your geographical suggestion only reveals you have never been to holland, denmark, belize or honduras.. It is not intended as a stab.. it is just a fact, that to get to denmark from holland you will travel through germany.. But not by sea as that would be longer, whereas in belize one can arrive at a thousand different places in honduras by crossing the sea. Catweasel (talk) 01:11, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Map
A controversy has erupted over the choice of map for this article. The two candidates are shown here, along with any others that other Wikipedians may choose to enter. Feel free to make any comments. The lower map may also appear in the corresponding Geography article for this country. Kelisi 02:30, 2 Apr 2005 (UTC)

I prefer the lower kelisi map, --SqueakBox 03:06, Apr 2, 2005 (UTC)

Image:Belize_map.png Image:Belizemap3.gif

commonwealth boxes
I hope you two guys are talking to each other about those two commonwealth boxes that keep getting put into and taken out, so you can reach an agreement. Belize is starting to take over my watchlist! (My vote, by the way, is to keep them out: This is a case where too much is worse than not enough) - DavidWBrooks 20:31, 3 May 2005 (UTC)

Language?
This article says that about half of the population of Belize speaks Spanish as their mother tongue, while the Demographics of Belize article says that it's around 35%. Which is it? People need to cite their sources. Can anyone with any knowledge of this please address this situation and correct whichever one is wrong? aliceinlampyland 20:45, 31 October 2005 (UTC) You are wrong: the article says that 43% of the population speaks Spanish, more than English or Creole. SPANISH is the main language of Belize and should be recognised as an official language. Well, it's tough. The mix varies all over Belize. In the north, where there is a high Mestizo mix, everybody speaks 'kitchen spanish' but they also speak Kriol and generally prefer it, judging from the teachers I know. Senor Reek (talk) 14:31, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Ok. Sources????
I'm seeing a lot of numbers right this moment getting switched around and overwritten by two 'annon' posters. Do you both- or either one of you have a source. or more than one source availble to cover what's being posted?

Not that I'm up-tight about it right this moment, but you may be challenged about this later on. CaribDigita 18:29, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

Mr. Credence
Credence is an acredited trait which one only acquires by a combination of common knowledge and legitmate research. My sources are as legit as a Catholic marriage. I di bring dis infamation from P.G.(Punta Gorda, Belize) and back, my bwy. So nuh talk bout weh you nuh know, Aight homebwy!

If you dont understand that, check out Belizean Creole for even more on Belizean Culture. Anonymous Belizean 19:21, 16 November 2005 (UTC)

Check these out http://www.kriol.org.bz.htm/ http://www.belizeanjourneys.com/ http://www.bjmjr.com/afromestizo/belize.htm

I think its a terrific idea to include Belize and the information of this fledgling nation in Wikipedia. I am a Belizean living and studying in the U.S. I am just ashame of some of the comments made here with such a poor behavior and attitude from Belizeans. My Belizean compatriot, everything is a work in progress and a project of this magnitude deserves patience, knowledge and bright contribution. If you are suffering from cultural or emotional instability please do not comment here. If you can think clearly, Corozal, Orange Walk, and Cayo are spanish speaking districts. We have 6 districts, and even Stann Creek and Toledo have spanish who immigrated from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemal over the past 2 decades, so 50 percent with spanish as their mother tongue is closer to being correct than your 35%. (L. R. Waight/journalist/January 4th 2006)

The Old Days and happy Britain and Belize
Am going to Belize in July for 6month do many belize remeber the good old days? when Britain and Belize were one nation :) --Miller 15:28, 27 April 2006 (UTC)—
 * Hint hint. I wouldn't travel on that personal platform. They never were "one". Profits from the colonies were often packaged bundled up and shipped out faster then you could say Belize. Britain would get paid first and then the other nation could be second. Also a citizen in the colonies weren't just allowed to pick-up and move to Britain. CaribDigita 04:20, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

Doesn't it suck bad that France gets to keep the larger French Guinea but British Hondurous is now "independent"? British decolonization went far too far, especially when compared to other countries with empires. It seems these last few colonies to become independent were done so for the sake of it and for PC reasons rather than any real need for such a thing. Still, I would consider Belize to be a protectorate of the United Kingdom, what with the British garrison still in place to protect it, something that also suggests that "independence" was way too premature. The UK and British Hondurous should reunify! YourPTR! 21:14, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

Actually, the British have no official presence here although they do train here. French Guiana I think is completely different from Belize; we wanted the chance to figure out our own destiny. Are Guadeloupe and Martinique better off independent, or departments of France? The Netherlands Antilles are breaking up, what would we do as a colony again after 25 years on our own? That's like moving back into your parent's house at 40 years old.--206.27.244.59 20:17, 10 May 2007 (UTC)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Belize. Not a return to colonial status, but an equal nation with England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. That is your answer my friend. Hopefully one day we can also do without the Northern bit in the title when the rest of Ireland rejoins. In the meantime, we will just have to rejoice in sharing the same Monarch. :) YourPTR! 22:41, 23 June 2007 (UTC)


 * lol. "The empire" is long--- gone and it is not coming back!!!!  The U.K. largely isn't a superpower anymore so this is all very wishful thinking at best...  Britain also doesn't have any economic ties to their former colonies much anymore to push this.  Even the current colonies of Britain use either their own currency or else the US$ for trade...  It as been (like what?) over 50 +/- or so years since Britain let their colonies use the pound...  Belize likewise is getting a lot of their economic support either from Taiwan or China these days- so it is much more likely to see a China-Belize political union. lol
 * IMHO. Britain changed ever since it turned over Hong Kong back to China.. Needless to say, Britain (at the time of independence in the region) was very happy to turn their American colonies over to the United States' sphere of influence so that Britain herself could focus solely on rebuilding itself after W.W II without having to take care of the "impoverished" colonies. CaribDigita 01:27, 15 July 2007 (UTC)


 * If not w/ Britain, Canada might be a nice idea! Lots of Canadians travel to Mexico (and with just another hour or so) by plane they could land in Belize.  Belize did actually try to join the Canadian Federation during the 1950-1960's.
 * Belize would appeal to Western Canadians since Belize is in the same timezone as western parts of Canada. While the English-speaking Caribbean might more appeal to Eastern parts of Canada. Provincial_creationism 151.203.23.97 22:57, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

English vs. Spanish in Belize
In the first paragraph it says that Belize is the only English-speaking country in Central America. While I know that the official language of Belize is English, i don't know if I would call it an English-speaking country. (Notice I said "i don't know.") i really don't know though, because when i was there, most of the people i met met spoke spanish as their first language, and in many cases did not speak english at all. i was mostly in rural areas though, and i know that stuff like this varies from place to place within a country, so i'm not going to change anything based off of my knowledge, but if there is some one who knows better, i still think that phrase should be changed. Lastofthetribe 19:20, 16 June 2006 (UTC)


 * No, I disagree. Not only is English the official language, it is the first language of the majority of the people, and the common language of the vast majority. You encounter lots of folks that only speak Spanish, but you do that in most U.S. cities in the Southwest, too. - DavidWBrooks 21:35, 16 June 2006 (UTC)


 * There's quite a few Guatemalans that are squatting in rural parts of Belize trying to take the country back. That could- have been what you encountered? CaribDigita 17:45, 6 August 2006 (UTC)


 * I don't know about "squatting," but certainly in the west - near San Ignacio, for example - the number of people who were born in Guatemala and who speak more Spanish than English is greater than it is on the coast. It's still fair and reasonable, however, to describe Belize as CA's only English-speaking country, I think. - DavidWBrooks 17:52, 6 August 2006 (UTC)


 * CIA World Factbook -- "Guatemalan squatters continue to settle in the largely uninhabited rain forests of Belize's border region..." See bottom. CaribDigita 22:10, 6 August 2006 (UTC)


 * The official language of Belize is English. If you go to court, the proceedings are conducted in English and all other official business is conducted in English.  Being surrounded by Spanish speaking republics, the Spanish language is very prevelant and as you pointed out, it is often the first language of many immigrants in the rural areas.  However, it is accurate and fair to describe Belize as the only English speaking country in Central America.  If you doubt that, look at the traffic signs in Belize and compare them to the traffic signs in Mexico, Guatemala, et. al.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by PanBwai (talk • contribs) 17:52, 9 September 2007 (UTC)


 * SPANISH is the most widely spoken language in Belize. Most Belizeans are bilingual but SPANISH was spoken by 43% of the population six years ago, more than English or Creole. Now, with incrasing immigration from nearby countries, SPANISH is spoken by over half of the Belizean population.

BelizeExpert 05:56, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

I like to say that Belizeans speak English, "sorta." Both Kriol and Spanish affect the way they speak English. (they often omit past tense and plurals.) CCC, where I taught for a year and a half, teaches English, because they are educating young people to become Ladies and Gentlemen, capable of ruling themselves! (The government uses ENGLISH, and generally uses it pretty well.) I think it's accurate to say that Belize is the only english-speaking country in C.A. Everyone pretty much understands English, and that sure isn't true in Mexico or any place else in C.A.Senor Reek (talk) 14:37, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Demographics
I notice that the percentage of people under 65 is 50%. I suspect that, since the percentage under 15 is listed as 40%, either the percentage or the age is incorrect! InvictaHOG 19:04, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

Source? It sounds like an advert
"Belizeans are by nature a tolerant, friendly, fun-loving people. It has long been regarded as both a curse and blessing on the nation, with some critics saying that Belizeans are not willing to sometimes fight for what they want and end up having foreigners walk all over them.

Courtesy is important to most Belizeans. It is not uncommon for Belizeans to greet each other on the street even if they have never seen each other before, or for acquaintances to spend minutes at a time chatting, oblivious to what is happening around them. Belize has retained an old world charm long lost in other countries."

Please, cite a source, mabye more. It sounds too much like advertising. I think it could be right (see, for example some articles on http://www.joebageant.com). GeoAtreides 07:54, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Who is removing Belizenews.net link?
I am tired of the person removing the belizenews.net link from the link section. That link is not spam and has every right to be there. I see they're not removing belizenews.com. I hope it's not that site trying to monopolize the board.

belizeans


 * There is an anti-Belizean Wikipedia employee on the loose on this site who sees red whenever an indigenous Belizean site that has some advertising support is listed. She deletes most Belize links but keeps Government and Touri$m Board sites untouched. She goes by the handle [Notmyrealname.]

BelizeExpert 06:27, 7 October 2007 (UTC)


 * Talk page comments should be directed at article content, and not other editors. Your recent misinformed edits and threats are in violation of WP:CIV, WP:LEGAL, and WP:NPA. Notmyrealname 19:08, 9 October 2007 (UTC)

Editors calling Belizeans.com site spam!
Wikipedia, which is "The Free Encylopedia" to the world is being controlled by a few overzeolous editors who think a site about the people of Belize www.belizeans.com is a spam site. Belizeans.com is a site that deals with "Belizeans", people of "Belize", and it's culture. The site is not spam. It contains important information that helps Wikipedia users to learn more about the country of Belize, it's people, it's mores, culture, history and events. The site contains a few ads that most site contains, but yet these editors are ruining the Wikipedia experiance and guidelines by continously removing the link and by threatening to block my IP because I stand up for the Belizean peoples. I will cease to post the link until this matter is mediated as per the Wikipedia dispute rules. It seem the indegenous people of Belize voice is being censored. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Belizeans (talk • contribs).

Fully support you Belizeans. She delights in removing valid links to genuine Belizean web sites. This lady targets independent websites and favors state-controlled media.

BelizeExpert 06:43, 7 October 2007 (UTC)

Official language
Not willing to start an edit war over this but Spanish is not an official language of Belize. More than enough people speak it (I took classes from Grade 7/Standard Five through Junior College) but not enough to qualify it as a national language on the order of English. I will fix this to say that significant numbers of people speak Spanish; if we're going to include that then Belize Creole should be added too for the same reason.--Aaronhumes 22:37, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

SPANISH is the mother language of 46% of the people of Belize according to the 2000 Census (probably much more in 2009 due to immigration) so it is evident that SPANISH SHOULD BE THE FIRST OR SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF BELIZE. Without any doubt.

SPANISH SHOULD BE AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE IN BELIZE. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.31.72.164 (talk) 16:15, 12 March 2009 (UTC)

Proposed WikiProject
In my ongoing efforts to try to include every country on the planet included in the scope of a WikiProject, I have proposed a new project on Central America at WikiProject Council/Proposals whose scope would include Belize. Any interested parties are more than welcome to add their names there, so we can see if there is enough interest to start such a project. Thank you for your attention. Badbilltucker 17:04, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Culture and correction
Added some stuff on the culture of Belize. Going to work on the sources. And to whoever says Belmopan is the capital of Belize District, kindly check your geography; it's in Cayo. Belize country, yes, district, no.--Aaronhumes 21:25, 12 January 2007 (UTC)

Clarification on Religion?
I noticed that the religion section states that about half of the population is Catholic and 1/4 Protestant, with the other 25% comprised of several other religions, but the Demographics of Belize page states that 80% of the population is Catholic. Just wondering which is true?

Corrected. The numbers match now.--206.27.244.160 18:52, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Racial Tolerance and Religion
~When writing, individuals cannot be impartial with information in an encyclopedia~

"Racial tension is very uncommon because of the predominance of the Christian faith, and the constant admixture of the different ethnic groups. Many people simply identify as "Belizean", since Christians do not differentiate on the basis of race."

This is quite a broad statement..... "Many people simply identify as "Belizean", since Christians do not differentiate on the basis of race."

Black people came to the Americas because upstanding "Christian" men in Europe, thought that Africans were no less than animals. This continued until the mid sixties in the U.S and later in South Africa because Southern U.S. "Christian" men still thought that they were better than Blacks, who were also Christians.

Yes the "Christian" faith binds different groups in many parts of the world, But could it be that the different groups are binded because of recent (last 200 years) common history and culture?

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.51.149.113 (talk) 05:22, 28 May 2007 (UTC)

Merge with Culture of Belize article
I suggested merging the Culture of Belize article into this one. It looks like the standalone Culture article contains mostly: 1. information that is already in the Culture section of this article, like ethnic demographics, and 2. definitions of these ethnic groups, which mostly duplicates the information in those articles. Zadeez 01:01, 18 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Please note that all country articles have a Culture of subarticle as a matter of convention. Feel free to trim it down/expand it (or merge certain portions) as you see fit. But it should remain as a separate entry. Hope that makes sense. El_C 01:12, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Belize's size
Belize is not actually the smallest country on the American mainland. El Salvador is. Use of the term "smallest" should be restricted to descriptions of size. I suggest using "least populated" if that is the intention. -Laikalynx 20:09, 21 March 2007 (UTC)


 * I'll be darned - you're right. I thought Belize was smaller in area. - DavidWBrooks 21:36, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Belize.Net
The text in that link says Belize.Net but the link goes to belize.com. Can i fix this?

Rungu 15:48, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Guatemala's reference for Belize
"""Throughout Belize's history, Guatemala has claimed ownership of all or part of the territory. This claim is occasionally reflected in maps showing Belize as Guatemala's most eastern province."""

The above could be changed to say

"""Throughout Belize's history, Guatemala has claimed ownership of all or part of the territory. This claim is occasionally reflected in maps showing Belize as Guatemala's twenty third province."""

This is exactly what they refer to Belize as. I'll try to provide some citations

CITATION SOURCE: http://www.ciaonet.org/atlas/countries/bz_data_loc.html (i'm not sure what qualifies as a citation. If this does not qualify, please let me know)

At the center of Guatemala's claim was the 1859 treaty between Britain and Guatemala. From Britain's viewpoint, this treaty merely settled the boundaries of an area already under British dominion. But Guatemala later developed the view that this agreement was a treaty of cession through which Guatemala would give up its territorial claims only under certain conditions, including the construction of a road from Guatemala to the Caribbean coast. Guatemala said it would repudiate the treaty in 1884 but never followed up on the threat. The dispute appeared to have been forgotten until the 1930s, when the government of General Jorge Ubico claimed that the treaty was invalid because the road had not been constructed. Britain argued that because neither the short- lived Central American Federation (1821-39) nor Guatemala had ever exercised any authority in the area or even protested the British presence in the nineteenth century, British Honduras was clearly under British sovereignty. In its constitution of 1945, however, Guatemala stated that British Honduras was the twenty-third department of Guatemala. Since 1954 a succession of military and right-wing governments in Guatemala frequently whipped up nationalist sentiment, generally to divert attention from domestic problems. Guatemala has also periodically massed troops on the border with the country in a threatening posture.

Rungu 16:04, 31 May 2007 (UTC)


 * Here's what Guatemala claims - 151.203.23.97 23:19, 23 June 2007 (UTC)

border vs adjacency zone
what i believe is important when writing any serious article about Belize is the fact that at this very point in Belize's history, it no longer has a border. the OAS negotiations has replaced the border with an adjacency zone. i'm not 100% certain of the sequence of events and timelines that led to this and will do the required research so this can be considered for inclusion.

--Rungu 16:44, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

how are external links determined?
seems to me that some of the external links attached to this page are not really relevant?

--82.96.75.94 18:53, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I went over the guidelines about adding external links; it seems that external links that doesnt contribute to the article are not suppose to posted. --irperera 14:26, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

On the other hand, there are some links and references that are missing. In references, there are NO books by Lan Sluder -- a man who has dedicated a significant portion of his life to telling people about Belize. By his own account, he makes very little money on these books. By my opinion, his books are the best on Belize as it is right now. You have included Our Man in Belize (c 1961) and it is droll but not useful.

Lan has two websites which are immensely useful to people who are trying to find out more about Belize as they decide where to go when they leave the US. They should both be in your link list.

Similarly, I came to Belize in 1999, and spent six years here. I have dedicated thousands of hours to describing Belize from my fresh eye, and accounting the tribulations I went through to live in a third world country. My site (belizenorth.com) should be a link here. It is not a commercial site -- actually costs me about $1000US a year, and my income from being an Amazon Associate has been $2.35 so far. I get 100,000 hits a month from people who want to learn about Belize. They all say they had trouble finding my site.

Can I add some references & links? I don't want to get into a link war like Manuelo Romero did. I use Wiki constantly, and there are a number of other topics which link to my site.

Senor Reek (talk) 20:11, 18 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia is NOT a "repository of links" or a "vehicle for advertising". External links policy on Advertising and conflicts of interest states You should avoid linking to a website that you own, maintain or represent, and in this case, you own belizenorth.com. Unfortunately your  conflict of interest editing would involve contributing to Wikipedia in order to promote belizenorth.com. Such a conflict is strongly discouraged. Please see the welcome page . Avoid breaching relevant policies and guidelines. You're here to improve Wikipedia -- not just to promote belizenorth.com right?  --Hu12 (talk) 21:56, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

border countries
the bordering countries and geographical entities is not mentioned in the intro or in the geography section. Jordz 08:03, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

Request for comment on "royal" residence of the Governor-General
Editors of this article may wish to comment on the edits being made at Official residence, advancing the unusual view that the official residence of the Governor-General of Belize, and those of his equivalents in other jurisdictions, are "royal" residences (i.e. official residences of the monarch), and that this aspect (assuming for the moment that it exists) deserves mention in a list of official residences, alongside "vice-regal", the somewhat opaque term being substituted for "Governor-General" and the like. (For your further information, the "royal" issue began in the "Canada" entry. Afterward, the same editor spread it to the entries on "Belize" and a number of other countries.  He did so in conjunction with his "general cleanup" of the article.  The "cleanup" is also making the article worse in some other ways, in my opinion.  You might wish to look at that, too, but those are separate, or at most indirectly related issues.  I would not bother mentioning these tangentials, here, but in the cases where I have left them out, the royalising editor has placed a follow-up note saying that I've "...omitt[ed] the point that the ["royal"] edits ... are part of a broader cleanup...", obliging me to place another follow-up, alike to this parenthetical, to dispell the implication that I've been less than fully truthful about the situation.  Sorry for this digression; I'd much rather have stayed focussed on the main issue.) -- Lonewolf BC 21:22, 15 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Note: User:Lonewolf BC is here conveniently editing my words placed elsewhere. In full, I have stated: the edits at Official residence are part of a broader cleanup of the article to create a uniform standard; "royal" and "vice-regal" in place of the specific Barbadian Monarch and Governor-General of Barbados brings the Barbados section into line with others which use (by other editors' contributions) "royal," "vice-regal," "presidential," "prime ministerial" and the like.
 * Comments are certainly welcome at Talk:Official residence to improve the article as a whole. --G2bambino 21:26, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

belize has many african animals —Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.139.56.70 (talk) 13:51, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

vandalism occured
The Infobox was vandalised and as I didn't know how to roll it back and couldn't see the edits - I have just removed the graffiti and put a the infobox header on this.

It needs rolling back to its previous state.

leatherbear 14:21, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

Request For Comment and Support from Belizeans - Links and attribution being deleted by Notmyrealname
We have listed Belize.com - Belize.com the oldest Belize website - founded in 1994 by a Belizean and Belizean-Americans as an external link. Now an individual who attempts to conceal her identity by using the handle "Notmyrealname" keeps deleting this link. She evens keeps editing this discussion page to obfuscate the example links we are posting!

Dis yah editor has been over a period of time vandalising Wikepedia links to other honest and indigenous Belizean websites including Belizeans.com and BelizeNews.com to name a few victimised websites. Many of the affected webstes are run by belizean-indigenous-owned entities. So far noh wan has called out this biased editor who appears to have an agenda as she moans about "tourism" websites but does not dare touch the Belize Tourism Board or Government fluff site listings or any state controlled media? She only targets independent and family operated web sites and those not controlled by the Belize government.

The anonymous user has even deleted our attribution to an original picture of a Mayan ruin that we've uploaded to the image gallery. I seh:

" have removed some of the links you have placed on the article for Belize because they appear to violate Wikipedia's policy against spam. Please review this page to get a clearer idea of what kind of links are appropriate. Please also note the prohibitions against conflict of interest. If you think your links are appropriate, please discuss them on the article talk pages first. Notmyrealname 16:44, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

From: webmaster@Belize.com

To: whatever is your name - not that there is anything wrong in attempting to conceal your identity ;o)

We've reposted the link to Belize.com that you've been deleting - this time in second place if that will make you more comfortable.

You suggest we are a spam site and we find this highly offensive.

Please take some time to read a little about our background here:


 * About Belize.com - About Belize.com

Best Regards from sunny Belize.

M.A. Romero - my RealName

Dis yah huyu egg need attention. Belizeans unite and rail up pan dis yah biased editor noh! Next she will be deleting links to our Garifuna brethren!


 * Dear M.A. Romero: I have removed your link again. Wikipedia's policy against Linkspam is a bit different than people's usual understanding about "spam" as it relates to email. Basically, WP:EL clearly prohibits posting links to promote a commercial website. WP:SPAM Clearly states: "Adding external links to an article or user page for the purpose of promoting a website or a product is not allowed, and is considered to be spam." Additionally, WP:COI clearly states that "COI editing often involves contributing to Wikipedia in order to promote yourself or the interests of other individuals, companies, or groups. When an editor disregards the aims of Wikipedia to advance outside interests, they stand in a conflict." Inserting links to your site are in clear violation of these policies. If you insert them again, they will be deleted again, and you may face blocks and blacklisting. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a site for tourism. If you disagree with my assessment of the validity of your link, please discuss it on the talk page of the article to get the approval of other editors before inserting it again.Notmyrealname 17:53, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_talk:BelizeExpert"

BelizeExpert 17:25, 6 October 2007 (UTC)


 * I have removed Belize.com - not having seen this discussion beforehand - because there was no information there, just links to other sites. It doesn't tell the reader anything new, and Wikipedia isn't a link farm to every site with any connection to the article. I left the Belize news portal because it provides information that doesn't seem easily available elsewhere. - DavidWBrooks 11:13, 10 October 2007 (UTC)


 * I have removed his image as well. It seems like he's done here. -- Ricky81682 (talk) 02:27, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

"I have removed Belize.com - not having seen this discussion beforehand - because there was no information there, just links to other sites."

Belize is small and nearly everyone family, the owner of belize.com has no problem to be political and biased, just like the person that was removing his link.

It is important culturally to not include any form of "selling", mainly because of the historical corruption it causes so easily, as anywhere, but more swiftly in a place like Belize, that used to communicate by standing on the edge of the road at dusk to discuss the day's events.. By foreign intrusion (tourism) even that is almost lost...Catweasel (talk) 01:26, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Can you rewrite this sentence?
Currently the first sentence of the History section reads "Amerindians which led way to the Mayans...". I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean, but I'm sure it's not good English. ike9898 (talk) 18:36, 2 February 2008 (UTC)


 * Done. Carl.bunderson (talk) 20:27, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Culture and tourism
With no offence intended towards whoever wrote it, the Culture and tourism section is really an incomprehensible mishmash of information, some of which has little to do with culture or tourism. Some other parts of the article aren't much better, unfortunately. Does anyone know of a country page that is actually, well, good, and could serve as the basis for some reorganization? DO56 (talk) 21:37, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Indians
I've undone an edit which changed "Indians" to "Native Americans" in the line "During the 1860s a large influx of Indians and American Civil War veterans from Louisiana and other Southern states established...", as there was a good deal of Indian immigration to Belize but probably no significant influx of Amerindians/Native Americans. 128.119.18.217 (the editor) was probably confused because of the syntax, thinking the "Indians" were coming from Louisiana too, or reflexively responding to the use of "Indians" in the context of the Americas. Either way, I think the sentence is about people from the subcontinent. DO56 (talk) 19:46, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

crystal skull
With "Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull" new movie beginning in a couple of weeks, there should be in the main article, a paragraph about the crystal skull discovered in Belieze by Mike Mitchel-Hedges and his dau Sammy in 1924 at Lubaantun, Belize.

This is about the only crystal skull (of many others that appear all to be fakes) that is considered real (after six years of testing) and perhaps dating back 3,000 to some say 75,000 years. Even to Atlantis.

See esp mitchell-hedges website at http://www.mitchell-hedges.com/ and also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_skull#Mitchell-Hedges_skull
 * A paragraph? I think that would be excessive. In fact, even a sentence would probably be excessive, because the skull is a curiosity, not something of real significance to Belize. And as crystal skull makes clear, there's no conclusive evidence it is from Belize at all. Could you please elaborate on why this should be covered here? DO56 (talk) 20:08, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Belize-Guatemala border issue
The Belize Prime Minister The Hon. Dean Barrow says that a referendum could be coming on the border dispute between Guatemala and Belize. It may ask if the UN's International Court of Justice in the Hague should be sought to hand down a final resolution on the border dispute.

Source: Commentary: Hundreds of Belizeans pack Manhattan Center (By Wellington C. Ramos), Published on Saturday, 5 July 2008, Caribbean Net News.

Mr Mendez started off by giving a background of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister and then the Foreign Minister came to the podium to speak.

The Foreign Minister spoke about the need for Belizeans living in the United States to support their government and assured the audience that they will pave the way for collaboration and participation of Belizeans living abroad in all aspect of Belize’s development. He also said that his biggest goal is to make significant efforts to settle the Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute. This he said, will be put to the Belizean and Guatemalan citizens in a referendum to decide if the matter should be sent to the International Court of Justice in Hague for a final resolution.

CaribDigita (talk) 20:23, 6 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the link. I'll add his statement to Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory and, if the dispute is sent to the ICJ, that would belong in the main article. DO56 (talk) 21:09, 7 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Source 2: Move to solve Guatemala - Belize border dispute, Published on Saturday, 13 August 2008, Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

CaribDigita (talk) 10:30, 13 August 2008 (UTC)


 * The plot thickens. Mexico too has a claim on Belize in the event that Guatemala wins? Commentary: Guatemala's claim to Belize is unjustified and must come to an end

On September 15, 1821, a junta convened by the Captaincy General of Guatemala declared independence for its provinces of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, San Salvador and Chiapas. They later gained their independence from Mexico in the year 1823. In the year 1840, the United Provinces of Central America, which included the countries of Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, broke away from Guatemala and demanded their independence. They then became independent countries in Central America. Mexico and Guatemala later went to war over the Province of Chiapas, which Mexico won, taking the province from Guatemala. 'Mexico later signed a Treaty with Great Britain giving up all their rights over Belize inherited by Spain under the Vice-Royalty of New Spain up to the Sibun River in 1893. However, Mexico has stated that they would reserve their right to re-claim Belize if Guatemala is given any part of the territory of Belize in the future. "

CaribDigita (talk) 07:18, 15 December 2008 (UTC)

International organizations
I've removed the mention of international organizations (CARICOM, Commonwealth, and SICA) from the intro because they don't seem to be essential information. Further, I don't see any particular reason those three should be mentioned but the UN, OAS, and WTO shouldn't be. Given the difficulty in determining which international organizations would be important enough to merit a mention in the intro, I think none is best. DO56 (talk) 21:09, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

The Belize + Honduras initative to swap parts of their territories to Guatmala in 2002?
During one of the meetings of CARICOM, Belize had announced that it was going to consider giving a portion of their territory up (along with Honduras) to Guatemala so the later could have better nautical access to the Caribbean Seas. I found a copy of the map showing what Belize and Honduras each contributed (or proposed to contribute to Guatemala.) Anyone think it is worthy of mention?


 * Map
 * More about the map #1
 * More about the map #2

CaribDigita (talk) 09:58, 13 August 2008 (UTC)


 * I think it's worth mentioning, but I think it would be more suited to Guatamala than this article. Carl.bunderson (talk) 22:05, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

Economy
There's no section or discussion whatsoever in the article for the Economy. Someone should think about that. M.Nelson (talk) 03:28, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Water area
Area Total 	22,966 km2 [...] Water (%) 	0.7

The abundance of lagoons along the coasts and in the northern interior reduces the actual land area to 21,400 square kilometers. How can the percentage of water be 0.7% if the percentage of land is 93.2%?--87.162.17.49 (talk) 20:45, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

coats of arms
Does Costa Rica and Belize really have the same coat of arms? Den fjättrade ankan 21:40, 21 Nov 2003 (UTC)


 * The coat of arms is correct for Belize and wrong for Costa Rica. I'll remove it from there. Thanks for spotting that! -- Infrogmation 21:48, 21 Nov 2003 (UTC)

The man on the left in the coat of arms seems to be of a politically correct, unspecified race, when in actuality he is supposed to be stereotypically white. The government buildings don't hide it, and I never saw a flag in Belize that didn't show the man's having whiter skin than mine, and I'm mostly English. -- Caleb (trevithickAThotmailDOTcom)207.98.186.238 (talk) 23:55, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

Learn from Trinidad and Tobago
Belize should learn from Trinidad and Tobago, where Spanish will become the second official language by the year 2020. Belize has the advantage that already 60% of the population is fluent in Spanish (mother language of over 46% of the population) so it will be much cheaper than in Trinidad and Tobago to make Spanish the second official language. If the Government of Belize continues denying the Spanish language an official status similar to English that will lead to Secession. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.23.26.169 (talk) 07:40, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

---

wrong?!
"Belize is the least populous non-island nation outside of Europe."(intro--史凡 (talk) 13:36, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

Why Bicycle race included in British section?
Just wondering why? Maybe a new section or make it flow better. —Preceding unsigned comment added by RufusTeleStrat (talk • contribs) 16:02, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

Especial graphic contribution
I am including this file which is relted to the concept of supranationalism in which Belize takes part. Thanks --Camilo Sanchez (talk) 06:21, 13 November 2009 (UTC)

Spanish as an Official Language
If 63% of the population in Belize speaks Spanish as the first or second language, then Spanish should be an Official language of Belize. The sooner the Government realizes about that reality and necessity, the better.--80.31.73.71 (talk) 20:45, 6 December 2009 (UTC)

Spanish as the official language?
English is to be our country´s official language no matter what. This gives us more possiblilties of communicating with the world. What should be suggested is that spanish people learn english as well. Stop being lazy with only language. Learn as much as you can. Spanish is the second language in Belize, but it can´t be first. That would separarte us from many possibilities commerce. Since spanish is already used gives us the advantageand with the rest of Latin America,and to participate in the Ibero American Summits, then Spanish should be an official Language in Belize. Belize would be bilingual like Puerto Rico, taking advantage from both languages, and from both regions (Anglo America and Latin America) That is the only way for Belize: bilinguism. Spanish should be one of the two official Languages of Belize. Your hate against the Spanish culture doesn´t guarantee any future for Belize and will have bad consequences because the People wants to be respected instead of being discriminated.--88.24.242.195 (talk) 05:55, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

According to the Government of Trinidad & Tobago Spanish will be an official language in Trinidad by 2020. If Trinidad can do it when just a few thousand people speak Spanish, then Belize can do the same.--88.24.242.195 (talk) 06:24, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

See also section missing link
In the "See also" section "Commonwealth of Nations" should probably be wikilinked as Commonwealth of Nations. 67.86.74.107 (talk) 02:06, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

Contradictory Information
The main article, Tourism in Belize, gives significantly different figures for Belize' tourist income, compared to the tourism section in the linked over just titled "Belize." I do not know which figures are correct, but they can't both be right. Trapiche (talk) 16:15, 31 July 2010 (UTC)

iubhl;ui
"Belize is culturally unique among its Central American neighbors; it is the only nation in the region with a British colonial heritage." If it has british colonial heritage then why is the article im american english... bit odd —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.86.197.76 (talk) 17:40, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

Peter Wallace?
The current (unsourced) text tying the origin of the name Belize to a Peter Wallace doesn't make sense. As it stands: "Others have suggested that it stems from the conquistador's mispronunciation of 18th century pirate Peter Wallace." This is suspicious to say the least, as Captain Peter Wallace was active in the 17th century, and conquistadors would belong primarily in the 16th. This text was most recently added on Sept. 30 by an IP, but identical text has been reverted as vandalism in the past. I initially removed it as a re-insertion of repeated vandalism. My edit was reverted by User:Guate-man. I have left the text in, but with a citation needed tag. If this actually is a notable hypothesis for the origin of the name Belize, it needs some correction and a reliable source. --Amble (talk) 19:39, 25 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Added a source and tried to clean up the info . The basic idea seems well supported. Any attention from subject-matter experts is of course welcome. --Amble (talk) 20:42, 25 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Added Peter Wallace (buccaneer), though might be replaced with an article regarding the event rather than the individual. Asdfjrjjj (talk) 03:15, 16 April 2022 (UTC)

Recognized regional languages?
Does anyone have any source that suggests that Kriol, Spanish, Garifuna, Maya and Plautdietsch are recognized as 'regional languages' by the Belizean government? Although this would be a positive development if it were true I doubt it is. saɪm duʃan Talk|Contribs 09:02, 13 December 2010 (UTC)

"Travel into Belize"
Isn't this entire section a bit commercial, a little unfortunate for the whole project? Jetro (talk) 10:29, 15 October 2011 (UTC)
 * Agreed, removed

What on earth does this mean?
"British Honduras earned £53.6.9 on average per" I see a reference, but I don't have JSTOR access.-- SPhilbrick  T  22:03, 10 December 2011 (UTC)
 * looks like a reference to the pre-decimal era in which there were pounds, shilling, and pence. 71.58.222.181 (talk) 21:37, 11 December 2011 (UTC)

What Is The Big Deal?
If you go on the Barbados page, it is essentially a tourism brochure. The attractions link is collapsed/hidden, so you have to expand/show it to actually see attractions. This has been done on numerous pages — Preceding unsigned comment added by Pgbk87 (talk • contribs)
 * They shouldn't be. An "attraction list" is not very encyclopaedic. CMD (talk) 16:01, 4 February 2012 (UTC)

Origin of the word Belize
Although I don't have any insights into this mystery, it looks like The Gentleman's Magazine refers to the "Belize River" in 1791, so that should at least provide a starting point for antedating. Kaldari (talk) 08:34, 29 August 2012 (UTC)
 * A French map from 1780 lists it as "R. Batiz ou R. Bellese".
 * The 1726 book A History of the Voyages and Travels of Captain Nathaniel Uring mentions it as the "Bellese River" on page 362. Kaldari (talk) 03:37, 11 September 2012 (UTC)

Area of Belize
In the Geography section the first paragraph states, "The area of the country totals 22,960 square kilometres (8,865 sq mi)"[there is no source listed] but in the Environment Preservation and Biodiversity section, it states, "Belize's low human population, and approximately 8,867 square miles (22,970 km2) of undistributed[emphasis added] land..."[the source data for this is numbers 37 & 38]. Source 37 is: "'BELIZE'. Encyclopedia of the Nations. 2007. Retrieved 15 February 2008." That page does not actually list the area but it links to the page with the area. That page records the area as: "22,966 sq km (8,867 sq mi)". Source: Belize - Location, size, and extent. Accessed 23 Nov. 2013. Source 38 is a print resource that a cursory search did not result in online access to the source. I did not dig that deep though. I also have noticed that 8867 sq mi is NOT equal to 22970 sq km. 8867 sq mi is equal to 22966 sq km. The figure of 22970 sq km is equal to 8869 sq mi. In the grand scheme of things it is only a slight difference and if one rounds to the nearest 10, doesn't make any difference.

The info box on the page that has all of the information about Belize states that the area is "22,966[1] km2 (150th) 8,867 sq mi" and the source listed for that information is "Census 2010 Provisional Population and Households, by Sex and Major Geographic Divisions". In the references at the bottom of the page, this info links to resource 1a, which adds "2010 Population of Belize. statisticsBelize.org. Retrieved 5 July 2013." in addition to the title and link above.

According to the page titled "Physical Features" by The Government of Belize, "The area of the mainland and cayes is 8,867 square miles." It does not give the area in sq km but the conversion is 22965 sq km. Source: Government of Belize: Physical Features. Accessed 23 Nov. 2013.

Infoplease lists the area as: "Land area: 8,803 sq mi (22,800 sq km); total area: 8,867 sq mi (22,966 sq km)". The source for that is Belize Facts & Figures. Accessed 23 Nov. 2013.

Index Mundi lists the area as: "Area: total: 22,966 sq km land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km". It does not show the conversion to sq miles. But I have calculated those as: Area: total: 8867 sq mi land: 8805 sq mi water: 61.77 sq mi. It further defines what each subtotal of the area measurements includes. "Total area is the sum of all land and water areas delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines. Land area is the aggregate of all surfaces delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines, excluding inland water bodies (lakes, reservoirs, rivers). Water area is the sum of the surfaces of all inland water bodies, such as lakes, reservoirs, or rivers, as delimited by international boundaries and/or coastlines." Source: Index Mundi Belize Area page Accessed 23 Nov. 2013. I did notice that this page listed as a source the CIA World Factbook which I have listed below. I didn't notice that until AFTER I had looked up the information on the CIA World Factbook or I would not likely have included this source. But since I've included it, I'll leave it.

The CIA World Factbook's information on Belize states the following information: "total: 22,966 sq km country comparison to the world: 152 [which differs from the info box on Wikipedia which says 150] land: 22,806 sq km water: 160 sq km ". Source: The CIA World Factbook Belize. Accessed 23 Nov. 2013. As with the Index Mundi information, the CIA World Factbook does not have the information in sq miles. The conversions for the total area is: 8867 sq mi, land area 8805 sq mi, and water: 61.77 sq mi.

The amount listed in the Environment Preservation and Biodiversity section is more than what is listed on any of the other sources. I am curious as to how the country of Belize can have an area of "undistributed land" that is larger in area than the total area it has as a country. Aside from just removing that phrase, I am unsure of the best way to fix the statement. The other slight differences (such as a number being 22965 sq km vs 22966 sq km or 8803 sq mi vs 8805 sq mi  are easily attributed to how the numbers are rounded or in the case of the 8803 sq mi vs 8805 sq mi, whether they are rounded or not.  Those differences are slight. One example is the conversion for 8867 sq mi to sq km is 22965.42458, so rounding to either 22965 or 22966 is correct, depending on the number of decimals one uses in rounding. If one rounds using 2-3 decimals, then the 22965 is correct, but as the number is at 5 decimals, it would round up to 22966. And while the Environment Preservation and Biodiversity section rounds up, and the difference is only a few miles/kilometers, the rounding up combined with the usage of the word undistributed land makes it seem as if Belize has a larger area than it does. WayneyP (talk) 07:07, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

— Preceding unsigned comment added by WayneyP (talk • contribs) 05:28, 24 November 2013 (UTC)

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Tourism Bureau Edits?
I'm inclined to tag this article as. Compared to other english articles about countries, this one reads with all sorts of flowery language about the country instead of a more factual presentation. I believe it should be nominated for a re-edit with this in mind. 108.81.226.148 (talk) 17:49, 12 November 2015 (UTC)

Anyone speak English here?
The position of being "extra special" mahogany and logwood cutters undergirded the early ascriptions of the capacities (and consequently the limitations) of people of African descent in the colony.
 * Needs clarifying, to put it mildly. Valetude (talk) 15:11, 16 December 2015 (UTC)

Chocolate
Wasn't cacao export just as important from the Belize Bay area as mahogany? Wasn't slave labor used in the picking of cacao in Belize?

Those questions I haven't found sources to answer but the cacao industry is growing strongly in Toledo and one of the success stories is the Mayan Gold Bar that started production in the 1990's Belize. Craig Sams of Whole Foods (then Green & Black) went to the mountains of Toledo district to find organic beans to replace the supply a coup had blocked from Togo. He met with Justino Peck of the Toledo Cacao Growers Association which had been left without a trade partner when Hershey vacated the area. There is a Toledo District Mayan Cooperative that negotiates prices on cacao and a Toledo Cacao Festival.

The Belize Valley was a historic cultivation site for cacao from possibly even pre-historic, Olmec times:

"According to Harrison-Buck, the team has successfully uncovered evidence of a theobromine signature, but the signature is difficult to consistently isolate from older orchard sites. Eventually, by comparing chemicals in soil from these various sites, they're hoping to map out the molecular signposts that indicate ancient cacao cultivation, and reconstruct where cacao was produced in the Belize Valley in historic or even prehistoric times." - from the Smithsonian

The importance of chocolate to Belize historically and from 1994 (probably earlier as many of the cacao trees in Toledo are over 100 years old) onwards means it should be mentioned in this article and in the cuisine and economics articles. 97.85.173.38 (talk) 16:32, 26 January 2016 (UTC)

Sub umbra floreo - under the tree?
doesn't "umbra" mean "shadow"? Siuenti (talk) 17:07, 1 March 2016 (UTC)

This is bothering me.
Why is this page written in British English? Ask any Belizean: they'll say they speak American English, not British -despite what you might assume from the country's history, national anthem, and whatnot. — Preceding unsigned comment added by HeartOfTheOceans (talk • contribs) 18:15, 3 March 2016 (UTC)
 * I took a look at various websites in Belize, and it seems that spelling is fairly evenly split between British and American usage. It does seem that Oxford spelling for words like "organize" and "optimize" is standard though:
 * Government of Belize website: "colored" but "neighbouring", both "labor" and "labour", "specialized", "organizations"
 * Belize Fisheries Department: "optimize"
 * Belize Defence Force: "defence", "kilometres", "organization"
 * Channel 5 Belize: uses "uncategorized" in interface, 696 matches for "color", 413 matches for "colour", 3 matches for "legalise", 40 matches for "legalize"
 * This seems to be enough to justify switching to British Oxford English, but maybe not switching to American English. Kaldari (talk) 22:08, 11 September 2016 (UTC)

Sovereign State
The lead sentence of the article should read as Belize being a Sovereign State as opposed to the extremely loose term Country. 66.46.53.106 (talk) 02:16, 9 June 2016 (UTC)
 * I disagree. The term "country" is much more widely used and understood than "sovereign state". Kaldari (talk) 22:52, 11 September 2016 (UTC)

Copyright problem removed
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Comment
SPANISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE Being the language with more native speakers in Belize, and the official language of the rest of Central Americca, SPANISH SHOULD BE AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF BELIZE --213.60.237.52 (talk) 11:56, 23 October 2017 (UTC)

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Etymology
How is it that the Mayan word belix (or beliz), meaning "muddy-watered", i.e. swamp, has the same root as the ancient Greek word for swamp ἕλος (v-elos -aspirated-) which takes an aspiration at the beginning of the word, and which aspiration we know that it can take the form of pronounced "V". i.e. velos, therefore belos, so that we have beliz and belos?

Does anyone see any resemblance or is it just me?Ate Nike (talk) 10:18, 26 August 2017 (UTC)

So how is it the Mayans have Greek words? And not only the Mayans, but the whole world. From Japan, China, Indonesia, central Asia, Europe, Africa, and America. Compare words from all of these places and you will find the same root with a Greek word. How is it that the linguistic academics speak of Indo-european theory when you can find that the words are common all over the world?

How is it that the academics ignore the Greek expedition by Dionysus to India (5000 BC) which is documented by Nonnos, and also the archaic settlement in India of Greek tribe Dravides which solves the mystery of any Greek words that the Hindu have (like pater, duo, and the rest nonsense of indoeuropean theorists when you see the enclitic endings of the words appear only in Greek grammar)? Let alone all the archaic Greek colonisations all over the world.

Or Hercules' expedition to America (3000 BC) documented by Plutarch. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ate Nike (talk • contribs) 09:10, 26 August 2017 (UTC)

English has so many Greek words and elements of Greek grammar and word endings that makes it essentially a Greek dialect, yet of barbaric form.

Take another example. The ancient Egyptian language which they say that it is an Afro-asiatic language, i.e. not Indo-European. Then take the syllabic pronunciations of each of the Egyptian hieroglyphics and you will see that the word of each ideographic object is the same as the root of the Greek equivalent word for the object that is depicted by the hierogryphic.

And let's not forget the Greek meander symbols on the Mayan pyramids or the legends of the Indian tribes about white men arriving at their land (which were not vikings as some may hastily assume). The modern natives of all America are aware of those thing and it's in their spoken tradition. And the Hispanic and English regimes have suppressed this truth from the educational systems in these countries.

Such things are not a surprise to educated men. For example, the Cambridge professor Joseph Yahuda, the author of the book entitled "Hebrew is Greek".Ate Nike (talk) 08:58, 26 August 2017 (UTC)
 * This is absolutely false. There are Sanskrit works that are older than the oldest Greek works. AryamanA (talk, contribs) 01:36, 22 January 2018 (UTC)
 * You mean the oldest SURVIVING Greek works. Cause there is the expedition of the Greek Dionysus to India about 3000 to 5000 years before Alexander the Great, as we know from the survining Greek work by Nonnos "Dionysiaka". There is a chapter in that book that describes how Alexander found Greek monuments from the previous expedition by Dionysus. Dionysus taught you philosophy. Any common words that the Hindu have with the Greeks is because of the expedition of Dionysus. You are not informed in the Anglo-Saxon world you live in. Also, Archaic Greeks had travelled to Latin America before the Vikings but not the Hindu.Ate Nike (talk) 17:29, 23 January 2018 (UTC)
 * lol, yeah right, talk about historical revisionism. I can also claim that Christianity is a Hindu sect. AryamanA (talk, contribs) 19:02, 23 January 2018 (UTC)

Suggestion for a grammatical correction
The reference version, for purposes of this "suggestion", is the "Latest revision as of 11:22, 13 February 2018" of this article, which was the latest version (or "revision") of this article, when this "suggestion" was written.

This [the last few words of a sentence] does not seem correct
The first sentence of the "Music" section ("Belize") of [that reference version of] this article, ends with:"[...] has become one of the most popular music in Belize."That does not sound correct to me, and I suspect that it was unintentional, and/or that it was written or edited by someone who was not a native speaker of the English language.

Ideas ["suggestions"] for improvement
I suggest that the sentence would be more correct (and no less understandable) (maybe more understandable) if (in the above "blockquote"d << last few words of a certain sentence >>) the word "music" were to be preceded by [something like] one of these 3 choices:


 * types of
 * kinds of
 * genres of

Someone somewhere may have failed to know (or to care about) the fact that (in English), a phrase such as "one of the most" should be followed by [an adjective -- such as "popular" -- and then] a plural noun. Or, maybe they just did not notice that the phrase "one of the most" is followed by [the adjective "popular" -- and then] the noun "music" ... which seems to be a mass noun ("uncountable") (neither singular nor plural).

But, ... never mind the history of "how it got to be this way". That might not be important. IMHO the question for now is: "How should it be fixed?".

I suggest one of the 3 bullets "listed" above.

Do you agree?
Any comments? --Mike Schwartz (talk) 04:57, 17 February 2018 (UTC)

Economy
"Belize also offers nonresidents the ability to establish offshore accounts. Because of this loophole ..."

This isn't some kind of "loophole". Many countries, including the United States, allow non-residents to open bank accounts. It may be that Belize banks apply know-your-customer rules less stringently than banks in some other countries (I have no idea whether they do or not; I'm merely suggesting something that, if true, could justify a statement about Belize's offshore bank accounts). Unless someone adds reliably-sourced justification I'll remove that statement about "loophole".

It is true that the CIA World Factbook, under "Transnational issues", includes the clause "money-laundering activity related to narcotics trafficking and offshore sector", but that does not justify mentioning money-laundering in this article. Note that the CIA World factbook distinguishes between "money-laundering activity" (Belize and a lot of other countries) on the one hand, and "significant money-laundering center" (a smaller number of countries, e.g. Mexico). There is no mention of money-laundering in the Wikipedia article on Mexico. It is unreasonable to tar Belize with the brush of "money-laundering" unless and until it is mentioned in (at least) all Wikipedia country articles which the CIA World Factbook regards as having more significant money-laundering activity than Belize. Sayitclearly (talk) 08:53, 1 May 2018 (UTC)

Is there any problem????????
I have added the historical aspect to the introduction section because it is not mentioned at all. The current edits in the page are impoverished to history side in the main introduction and these edits as long it benefit's the article I don't need to discuss this thing but, one of the users suggested to me discussing this issue. Mr. James Dimsey (talk) 14:18, 9 November 2018 (UTC)


 * Mr Dimsey, I found your edits to be extensive and changing the basic information present in the article. The lead of the article need only give a brief overview of the facts. It need not delve deeply into the history of the country right off the bat. The removal of the former name of the country (British Honduras) and the removal of the paragraph about Belize's diversity appeared problematic. WikiDan61 ChatMe!ReadMe!! 14:35, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

@WikiDan61 Your current edits on the page lacks the historical aspects and, does not mention in any of these paragraphs the history of Belize. Besides that these edit benefit the reader in all details and the article in general, you said that you should not dig deeper into history and others. Take for example, the article of the United States it is diucss topics in a depper way so, that the reader has a clear background to the United States. Belize's history is not as the history of the United States, all these aspects should be clarified in the article even if there is not a necessarily consensus on this issue as long as the edits add information and facts even if the article content changed it is very important step in improving the page. Mr. James Dimsey (talk) 15:34, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

As part of the British Empire (1862–1981)
We have this:
 * In the early 19th century, the British sought to reform the settlers, threatening to suspend the Public Meeting unless it observed the government's instructions to eliminate slavery outright. After a generation of wrangling, slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1833.[25] As a result of their slaves' abilities in the work of mahogany extraction, owners in British Honduras were compensated at £53.69 per slave on average, the highest amount paid in any British territory.[22]

But, this surely conflicts with the paragraph after the next one?, which says:
 * In 1836, ...the British claimed the right to administer the region.
 * In 1862, Great Britain formally declared it a British Crown Colony...

In particular, it's not made clear how the abolishion of slavery in the British Empire could alter things in an area that the British didn't even claim a right to for three more years - and didn't actually administer until almost 30 years later. - Snori (talk) 19:45, 12 December 2018 (UTC)

A nonsensical sentence
Substantial ethnic-demographic shift has been occurring since 1980 when Creoles/Mestizo ratio has shifted from 58/48 to now at 26/53, with Creoles moving to the US and Mestizo birth rate and entry from El Salvador. Woods, Composition and Distribution of Ethnic Groups in Belize 1997 The ending is gibberish. Please, correct (I have corrected some grammar).--Adûnâi (talk) 09:13, 6 August 2019 (UTC)

Language Ranking
The article says,
 * Belize has a very diverse society that is composed of many cultures and languages that reflect its rich history. English is the official language of Belize, while Belizean Creole is the most widely spoken national language, being the native language of over a third of the population. Over half the population is multilingual, with Spanish being the second most common spoken language. It is known for its September Celebrations, its extensive barrier reef coral reefs and punta music.[14][15]

This seems to claim that while English is the official language, it ranks as 3rd or less in rank on language speaking. Article has Creole #1 and Spanish #2. Yet when I tried to access the sources for this claim, footnote 14 goes to an article that doesn't mention "language." And footnote 15 does not lead to something which I was able to check. I am thinking that these claims need to be checked and also are probably now out of date. In this type or article, the present tense should be avoided, as it is likely to quickly become false. A statement should read like, "As of October, 2012, Creole was the most widely spoken language." (PeacePeace (talk) 02:03, 12 December 2019 (UTC))

Lack of information on indigenous genocide
It's honestly kind of appalling the way the information in this article is framed -- constant references to "exploration" but no references of the genocide inflicted upon indigenous populations... How can you accurately describe "Early colonial period (1506–1862)" without mentioning this? How can we talk about a nation formed through colonialism without actually addressing its violent colonial history? Every single country in the Americas is still affected by the history of racism, colonialism, and genocide, and to exclude honest information about that is just bullshit to be honest.

I'm not a user yet. I can become one if that somehow makes my point more valid. 11:54, 25 Aug, 2019 (PST) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:204:E600:8AC:6167:141C:9027:51D3 (talk)


 * In relation to Belize, do the concerns raised in this IP entry have any merit? Roger 8 Roger (talk) 02:34, 12 December 2019 (UTC)

Caribbean
There have been several contested edits concerning whether Belize is a Caribbean country. My view is influenced by the Caribbean article, which says: Belize has a Caribbean coast, so it is not unreasonable to describe it as a Caribbean country. There is a parallel with the Mediterranean, where countries with Mediterranean coasts are described as Mediterranean (see list of Mediterranean countries).

My understanding is that Belize has significant cultural and political links to the Caribbean islands, probably more so than its Spanish-speaking neighbours. Belize is a full member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

I will restore the previous text, not least because the current version has the misleading link Central American. Please discuss the issue here if you disagree with me. Verbcatcher (talk) 17:35, 30 May 2020 (UTC)

Two Prime Ministers?
Why are there two prime ministers of Belize? The articles Dean Barrow and Johnny Briceño both say that they are the PM. Which is the "prime minister desginate" (elect) and which is the incumbent? See my revert of an edit here:. P,TO 19104 (talk) (contribs) 19:03, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Savannah99688.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 15:33, 16 January 2022 (UTC)