Pirates of the Cayes

A shipwreck. This disaster can mean the end of the line for most, but not for explorers.

This kind of accident may be nerve-wracking, but it provides an opportunity for adventure and

settlement. In fact, being washed ashore on Ambergris Caye may have been the best thing to

happen to these British pirates. The British landing and colonizing Belize contributed

significantly to the distinction of Belize from other Central American countries, and was the

main defining feature when looking at the pull factors Belize has.

Belize is a beautiful country with unhindered access to the Caribbean Sea, a major

shipping thoroughfare , thus making it a very strategic and desirable place to control. Along with

the picturesque white sandy beaches which give a stark contrast to the dreary coasts of England,

Belize has many natural resources. The tropical temperature conducive to growing many

different tradable goods such as bananas, cocoa, citrus, and sugar cane. The country also has vast

timber and tropical hardwood, mainly mahogany, which would have appealed to the early British

settlers as a major source of income when they were not pillaging passing ships they deemed

worthy of attack. In addition to those, which alone would provide reason enough for some to the

advantage of of control of this land, the surrounding waters were laden with plentiful tropical

fish, a good source of food.

 In addition to the appeal of the bountiful natural resources the land provides, the

location gave great access to the Atlantic ocean. Since these British buccaneers were a seafaring

people, it would have given them great pleasure to take over this land. Not only could they trade

easily because of the advantageous location of the country , they were also able to see passing

ships and thus able to determine whether or not it was worth it to pillage the ship. When the

British first landed in Belize, explorer John Lloyd Stephens wrote of, “His intentions of going to

Guatemala,”(Incidents of Travel… pg 47). This is before he realised the hostility of the

Guatemalans, as they had just fought a battle with San Salvador. Instead of being discouraged,

Stephens instead stayed in Belize where his boat was fixed.

At the time of the British peoples landing accidently in Belize, there was a set of laws on

the logging of mohangony, called the “location laws”. They state simply that:

“These resolution, as well as those of 1765-1766 relating to logwood,were

known as location laws, as they required that a person ‘locate’ a piece of
land with growing logwood or mahogany trees and stake his claim on the
basis of the respective resolutions. The lands so occupied were referred to
variously as “locations or “works”, but contrary to the terms of the treaties
between Britain and Spain(which granted merely usufructuary rights), these
lands were in fact treated as freehold property. They were bought and sold
and dealt with in all respects as freehold property. They were bought and
sold and dealt with in all respects as such from an early time, and certainly
by 1765.”(Assad Shoman pg. 229).

Belize, at this time, was technically the property of the Spanish, and when they heard of

the British and Scottish buccaneers who were settling there, they became upset. At this point in

time, the Spaniards were not really doing anything in Belize, however the location was a large

asset to them, and having another, especially these buccaneers, taking over their land, there was a
certain level of respect that made the Spaniards feel that they should be the ones to take back the

land that was rightfully theirs.

An argument can be made that because these buccaneers settled here, they actually made

Belize a very hostile environment, and therefore the Spaniards would not want to take back this

land. However the amount of natural resources that Belize would provide would outway the

minimal cost of lives that the Spaniards assumed would happen if they battled. Boy were they

wrong. Luckily for the British, Belize also provided a sort of natural protection, the Belize

barrier reef.

When the Spaniards attempted to take back Belize, their ships were stopped by this reef

because the water became extremely shallow very quickly. Even though the Spaniards were

stuck and clearly not a threat to the British buccaneers, that did not stop them from attacking full

out. They ransacked the ships and killed many of the Spanish. Another notable fact was that,

“​The pirates of Belize enlisted their slaves to fight beside them, and they defeated the Spanish

after the brief (but brutal) two-hour battle,”(The Ambler Pg. 1).

So although there is a dark stain on Belize’s history due to the British bringing slaves to

Belize, they later became very celebrated, as the day of St. George's Caye Battle, or just National

Day, and soon enough, Belize would be slave free. Assad Shoman, author of 13 Chapters of a

History of Belize writes on the subject of slavery in the mahogany trade, a main export of Belize.

“At this day, it [Belize] contains a population of six thousand, of which four
thousand are blacks, who are employed by the merchants in gangs as mahogany
cutters. Their condition was always better than that of plantation slaves; even before
the act for the general abolition of slavery throughout the British Dominations, they
were actually free; and, on the thirty-first of August, 1839, a year before the time
appointed by the act, by a general meeting and agreement of proprietors, even the
normal yoke of bondage was removed.”(Assad Shoman Pg. 184)
This quote explains how, even before the act to abolish slavery was in motion, the people who

were slaves were actually free, and treated much better than slaves in other countries. To this

day, Belize continues to have a high standard of work, however they also have a smaller

workforce. This showed the supply of people working was much less than the demand for people

working, so for many people in Central America, Belize would be a desirable location to move to

as you have a high chance of getting a good, steady job at which you will be treated fairly.

Another element that separates Belize from other Central American countries not

colonized by the British is the safe haven they provided. In the 1970’s to 1980’s there was a

plethora of small civil wars breaking out between different South American countries. The

quality of life in these places rapidly declined. Fortunately, Belize remained neutral as they were

under the rule of the British, which separated them from the other countries. While the civil wars

were happening, Belize offered a safe option of life and work for people fleeing their homes in

search of a better way of life.

Overall, Belize’s appeal extends far past just cosmetics. Although it is a very beautiful

country, there are many other appeals. Although the British at first tainted the land with the

slaves that they brought, in the end, the British settling in Belize was a major bonus to the

attractions of the country. Not only did Belize provide a safe haven for many people fleeing

dangerous countries, their high standards of work condition and minimum wage makes Belize a

very desirable place to live.