Belize is located to the South of the Yucatán Peninsula. From antiquity to the early modern period, it was part of the region in which the Maya civilisation developed. It was contested by Spain and Britain before being secured by the latter following the defeat of the Spanish in 1798. It became a British Crown colony in 1862. The border between Belize and Guatemala has been a perennial subject of dispute between the two countries. Belize achieved full independence from the UK in 1981 as a Commonwealth Realm, the only one in Central America. Current population c. 400,000.

Photos of Belize