Category: Belize

Belize is a Central American country bathed by the Caribbean Sea. The capital is Belmopan and the largest city is Belize, the former capital. The official language is English, but Spanish and a variety of Creole are also spoken by a large part of the population. There are 364 thousand residents (2015). Until the end of the first millennium of the Christian Era, the lands of present-day Belize were inhabited by the Maya. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the region became a stronghold for English pirates and was incorporated into the British Empire in 1854 as British Honduras. In 1973, the country changed its name to Belize. In 1981, the country gained its independence, but the head of state remains the British monarch.