British Honduras

British Settlements on the Bay of Honduras
(1787–1862)
Crown Colony of British Honduras
(1862–1973)
Belize
(1973–1981)
British Settlements on the Bay of Honduras; (1787–1862); Crown Colony of British Honduras; (1862–1973); Belize ; (1973–1981)
1783–1981
	Flag (1919–1981) Coat of arms (1907–1967)
	Anthem: God Save the King/Queen ;
Status	Crown colony of the United Kingdom
Capital	Belize City (1862–1971); Belmopan (1971–1981);
Common languages	English, Spanish, Belizean Creole, Garifuna, Mayan languages
Monarch
• 1783–1820	George III
• 1820–1830	George IV
• 1830–1837	William IV
• 1837–1901	Victoria
• 1901–1910	Edward VII
• 1910–1936	George V
• 1936	Edward VIII
• 1936–1952	George VI
• 1952–1981	Elizabeth II
Governor
• 1787–1790	Edward Marcus Despard
• 1980–1981	James Hennessey
Legislature	Legislative Council
History
• Treaty of Versailles (1783)	1783
• Crown colony	1862
• Self-governing	1 January 1964
• Renamed	1 June 1973
• Independence	21 September 1981
Population
• 1861	25,635
• 1960	90,343
Currency	British Honduran dollar
ISO 3166 code	BZ
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Captaincy General of Guatemala
	First Mexican Empire
	Federal Republic of Central America
Belize

British Honduras^[a] was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973^[3] until September 1981, when it gained full independence as Belize. British Honduras was the last continental possession of the United Kingdom in the Americas.

The colony grew out of the Treaty of Versailles (1783) between Britain and Spain, which gave the British rights to cut logwood between the Hondo and Belize rivers. The Convention of London (1786) expanded this concession to include the area between the Belize and Sibun rivers.^[4] In 1862, the Settlement of Belize in the Bay of Honduras was declared a British colony called British Honduras, and the Crown's representative was elevated to a lieutenant governor, subordinate to the governor of Jamaica.^[5]

^ "Uniformity and Co-Operation in the Census Methods of the Republics of the American Continent". American Statistical Association. 1908. pp. 305–308. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
^ CARIBBEAN AND WESTERN ATLANTIC TERRITORIES (PDF). United Nations. 13 April 1962. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2025.
^ CARICOM – Member Country Profile – BELIZE Archived 19 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Caribbean Community. Accessed 23 June 2015.
^ Twigg, Alan (2006). Understanding Belize: A Historical Guide. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. pp. 57–58. ISBN 1550173251.
^ Bolland, Nigel. "Belize: Historical Setting". In A Country Study: Belize (Tim Merrill, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (January 1992). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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[asacensus-1] "Uniformity and Co-Operation in the Census Methods of the Republics of the American Continent". American Statistical Association. 1908. pp. 305–308. Retrieved 26 December 2013.

[2] CARIBBEAN AND WESTERN ATLANTIC TERRITORIES (PDF). United Nations. 13 April 1962. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 7 January 2025.

[caricom-4] CARICOM – Member Country Profile – BELIZE Archived 19 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Caribbean Community. Accessed 23 June 2015.

[5] Twigg, Alan (2006). Understanding Belize: A Historical Guide. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. pp. 57–58. ISBN 1550173251.

[cs-6] Bolland, Nigel. "Belize: Historical Setting". In A Country Study: Belize (Tim Merrill, editor). Library of Congress Federal Research Division (January 1992). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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