18/08/2024
The battle of St. George’s Caye took place between an invading force from Mexico, attempting to assert Spanish claims to present-day Belize, and a small force of resident woodcutters called Baymen, who fought for their livelihood assisted by black slaves. After the final two and a half-hour battle, ravaged by sickness, the Spaniards withdrew.
The control of a territory including portions of what is now known as Belize was contested by Britain and Spain from as early as the mid-1750s. Although never occupying the territory, Spain considered it part of its Central American territories, which then included portions of present-day Mexico and Guatemala. The British had entered the territory in 1638 to harvest logwood and, later, mahogany.
Spain recognized this trade in the Treaty of Paris (signed in 1763) but did not end the dispute by ceding interest, delineating boundaries. From 1779 to 1782 the settlement was abandoned, Baymen and their African slaves relocating to Havana, Cuba following a Spanish attack. The Spaniards in the 1500s made constant attempts to control the Yucatán coast that include Belize. In the mid-17th century, some British sailors shipwrecked near the coast and they settled there. They were known as the Baymen and these buccaneer adventurers began to cut logwood in Belize and export them to Europe. The Spaniards never gave up claims on the Belize territory. They returned with 32 vessels, manned by 500 seamen and two thousand soldiers to effect the event.
The battle started on 3 September 1798 and ended on 10 September. This is where the Baymen won the victory over the Spaniards. After this great defeat, the Spaniards never came back again to Belize.
