Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a distributary of the Belize River. The Belize River empties into the Caribbean Sea eight kilometres from Belize City on the Philip Goldson Highway on the coast of the Caribbean. The city is the country's principal port and its financial and industrial hub. Cruise ships drop anchor outside the port and are tendered by local citizens. The city was almost entirely destroyed in October 1961 when Hurricane Hattie swept ashore. It was the capital of British Honduras until the government was moved to the new capital of Belmopan in 1970.
British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973, until September 1981, when it gained full independence as Belize. British Honduras was the last continental possession of the United Kingdom in the Americas.
Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a town in southern Belize, located on the Caribbean coast at the mouth of the North Stann Creek River. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District. Dangriga is served by the Dangriga Airport. Commonly known as the "culture capital of Belize" due to its influence on punta music and other forms of Garifuna culture, Dangriga is the largest settlement in southern Belize.
Government House is the name of many of the official residences of governors-general, governors and lieutenant-governors in the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories. The name is also used in some other countries.
The governor-general of Belize is the representative of the Belizean monarch, currently King Charles III, in Belize. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister of Belize. The functions of the governor-general include appointing ministers, judges, and ambassadors; giving royal assent to legislation passed by the National Assembly; and issuing writs for election.
The Belize River runs 290 kilometres (180 mi) through the center of Belize. It drains more than one-quarter of the country as it winds along the northern edge of the Maya Mountains to the sea just north of Belize City. The Belize River Valley is largely tropical rainforest.
The National Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the nation of Belize. It is divided into the House of Representatives, with 31 members, elected by universal suffrage, and the Senate, with 13 members, appointed by the Governor-General in consultation with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The presiding officer of the House is the Speaker, while the Senate is presided over by the President.
The House of Representatives of Belize is the lower chamber of the National Assembly, the other being the Senate. It was created under the 1981 constitution. Members are commonly called "Area Representatives".
Government House, St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda, is the official residence and office of the governor-general of Antigua and Barbuda. It was built in the 17th-century colonial style with Georgian architecture and extensive gardens. The residence is not open to the public.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Belize City–Belmopan is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in continental Central America. The diocese comprises the entirety of Belize, the former British dependency British Honduras. It is a Latin suffragan of the Archdiocese of Kingston and a member of the Antilles Episcopal Conference, yet still depends on the missionary Roman Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
The monarchy of Belize is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Belize. The current Belizean monarch and head of state since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Belizean Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled Kingof Belize and, in this capacity, he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions as representatives of the Belizean state. However, the King is the only member of the royal family with any constitutional role.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Belize:
The Belmopan Public Library located on Mot Mot Ln, Belmopan, the capital city of Belize, was inaugurated on August 24, 1970. The process of constructing a local library began after Hurricane Hattie, in 1961, devastated the previous capital, Belize City, located on the east coast of Belize. In the wake of this destruction the government of Belize agreed to relocate the capital further inland and it was during this time in 1961 that Belmopan was constructed from nothing but a thinly populated area of preserved bush otherwise known as jungle. During the construction of the new capital the local residents identified a need for a public library and the British Overseas Development Mission approved the funding of the Belmopan Public Library. The Honorable Santiago Perdomo, Ministry of Education, and Leo Bradley, Chief Librarian finally inaugurated the building in 1971 and the same building has been the location of the Belmopan Public Library for the last 41 years.
The Belmopan Museum is a long-planned national museum in Belmopan, the capital of Belize. The originally planned building was to be an ambitious state-of-the-art center for displaying information about the environment and society of Belize, including an exhibit of Mayan archaeology. The project was cancelled, but recently there have been plans to revive it. The Institute of Archaeology's library and collection of Mayan artifacts has been sporadically open to the public in the Archaeology Museum and Research Centre, Belmopan since the late 1990s.
The Bliss Institute is a theatre, museum, and National Arts Council in the cultural centre of Belize City. It is named after Baron Bliss.
The Supreme Court of Judicature of Belize is one of three types of courts in Belize, the lower ones being the Magistrate's Courts and the Court of Appeal. It is a court of original jurisdiction in both civil and criminal cases as well as an appellate court. It is governed by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (SCJA).
When the Holy Redeemer Catholic parish was founded in 1852, it was the only parish in Belize and from it missionaries covered the whole country. When other parishes were founded Holy Redeemer remained a parish with its own history but with its leadership connected to the Catholic church in all of Belize under titles of governance that evolved over the years from apostolic prefect to apostolic vicar to bishop. It has remained the hub of the diocese, the bishop's church, as well as a parish in its own right.
St. Peter Claver Catholic parish is located in Punta Gorda, Toledo District, Belize.
Belizean nationality law is regulated by 1981 Constitution of Belize, as amended; the Belizean Nationality Act, as revised; and various British Nationality laws. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Belize. Belizean nationality is typically obtained either by descent or registration. Descent relies on the principles of jus soli, i.e. by birth in Belize; or under the rules of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth abroad to parents with Belizean nationality; whereas registration applies to obtaining nationality after birth. There is currently no program in Belize for citizenship by investment, as the previous program lapsed in 2002. Nationality establishes one's international identity as a member of a sovereign nation. Though it is not synonymous with citizenship, rights granted under domestic law for domestic purposes, the United Kingdom, and thus the Commonwealth of Nations, has traditionally used the words interchangeably.
