The Road to Independence

The road to Independence generally followed the course taken by other British colonies in the Caribbean up to the early 1960’s, but since then it has been distorted by a peculiar circumstance, the unfounded claim of Guatemala to the territory of Belize -a claim that has bred national disunity and seriously warped the political, social and economic development of Belize. 

With independence a serious task faces the Belizean people – not only to transform a society marked by centuries of colonial exploitation and dependency, but to build a national unity shattered by decades of political strain under the weight of the Guatemalan claim. 

A long history of resistance to oppression characterizes the road leading to September 21. This booklet sketches some of the main events in that history, from the time of the earliest inhabitants to that of the self-made diplomats of the internationalization. It highlights the actions, often small but always meaningful, of Belizeans struggling for freedom and dignity