Belizean Creole people

Belizean Creoles

Total population
approx. 260,000 (including 21% of the Belizean population)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Predominantly Belize Kriol, English, Spanish
Religion
Predominantly Protestantism, Catholicism, Rastafari minorities
Related ethnic groups
Nicaraguan Creoles, Afro-Jamaicans, Baymen, Caracoles, Raizales, Afro-Caribbeans, West Indians, African Americans, Louisiana Creoles, Sierra Leone Creoles, West Africans

Belizean Creoles, also known as Kriols, are a Creole ethnic group native to Belize.

Belizean Creoles are primarily mixed-raced descendants of enslaved West and Central Africans who were brought to the British Honduras (present-day Belize along the Bay of Honduras) as well as the English and Scottish log cutters, known as the Baymen who trafficked them.^[2][3] Over the years they have also intermarried with Miskito from Nicaragua, Jamaicans and other Caribbean people, Mestizos, Europeans, Garifunas, Mayas, and Chinese and Indians. The latter were brought to Belize as indentured laborers. Majority of Kriols trace their ancestry to several of the aforementioned groups.

The Belize Kriol language, developed initially by interaction among the Africans and Europeans, was historically spoken only by them. The Creoles constituted the majority of the population until the 1980s and became synonymous with the Belizean national identity. In the 21st century, Creoles are found predominantly in urban areas, such as Belize City, and in most coastal towns and villages.