Belize is a small country located below Mexico's Yucatan peninsula and east of Guatemala. It occupies 8,866 square miles which is slightly larger than nearby El Salvador, Central America's smallest country. Belize is culturally unique. Although it is predominantly Caribbean in culture and race, there is a large Spanish-speaking population which makes Belize the cross over zone between the Caribbean and Central America. The population of Belize is roughly 291,000 and the official language is English. (Wikipedia - July 2006 Population Estimates)

The Maya civilization (1500 BC - 1000 AD) dominates the early history of Belize where an estimated one million Mayans once lived. Although claimed for Spain along with the rest of Central America, the first European settlement recorded in Belize was the result of a shipwreck of English seamen in 1638. In 1840 it was formally named the "Colony of British Honduras". The name changed from British Honduras to Belize in 1973 and although it is still a member of the British Commonwealth, Belize became an independent nation on the 21st of September, 1981.