The Cultures of Belize: The Lebanese

The History of the Lebanese in Belize

Much of Belize’s history before its independence can be framed in terms of distant ethnic groups arriving by force or duress and the tiny group of white British ruling elites that exploited their labor for profit. And while the Lebanese didn’t arrive in shackles like enslaved people from West Africa or with terms of indentured servitude like the Indian and Chinese workers who arrived following slavery’s abolition, most did arrive with practically no money, possessions, or contacts within the country. Instead, they were desperate men who had heard that Belize was rich in opportunity. That they were willing to travel so far to a country that was then just a small colony known as British Honduras.

The Lebanese began arriving in Belize during the early 1900s, but the situation was more complicated than the optimistic stories suggested to them. Though slavery had ended in 1833 and the indentured servitude that drew in many Chinese and East Indian laborers was on its way out, the systems of disenfranchisement were still strong — and what was then known as British Honduras only managed to be a prosperous colony by concentrating wealth among the small ruling elite. In many cases, the Lebanese immigrants who arrived never intended to end up in British Honduras and only arrived in Belize thanks to unscrupulous traders, other ports that denied them access, or a poor grasp of geography. The growing concentration of Lebanese populations in Mexico just to British Honduras’ north also helped encourage the migration of Lebanese into the colony.

Though the Great Depression was on the horizon — and would hit British Honduras especially badly — the mahogany and chicle farming industries in the colony were booming. Though a majority of these Lebanese immigrants were illiterate, they found opportunities as traveling merchants who carried supplies from the various remote settlements scattered throughout the colony. But most Lebanese workers quickly learned that the chicle industry offered the best opportunity for them to find wealth and stability. Chicle was a critical ingredient in chewing gum, and it required a labor extensive process to extract it from the Central American trees in which it’s produced.

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By the time that the Lebanese had arrived in the Cayo District — which was the heart of chicle production in Belize — many had built up money through framing or self-employed peddling and established connections with influential parties both in British Honduras and internationally. While the majority of workers doing the hard labor were indigenous Maya or Mestizo, the Lebanese settled effectively into roles as middlemen operating between local suppliers and international buyers. Others set up traditional retail shops and expanded the trade by bringing in new types of businesses like confectionary shops. The first wave of migrants may have been young, poor males — but they were followed by family members and a steady growth in personal wealth. As the towns of San Ignacio and Benque Viejo del Carmen became important trading hubs for the region, the Lebanese population became concentrated almost entirely in those two settlements.

The Lebanese Population in Belize Today

The Lebanese have now been in Central America long enough to span five generations — and without a major influx of new migrants, the population has remained tightly concentrated in the same two towns they originally settled in. The population of residents identifying as Lebanese numbered at 240 as of the 2010 consensus, but they often play a prominent if understated role in the civic growth and economic health of Benque Viejo del Carmen and San Ignacio. That said, those numbers might not reflect the full size of the population.

That’s a trait that could be related to the willingness of Lebanese immigrants to assimilate. The first generation to arrive considered themselves loyal to their families and their villages more than to any sense of national identity. Their desperation for a new life put them in roles as merchants and encouraged them to learn both English and Spanish. As they began to marry and start families, Lebanese immigrants were quick to adopt local names to reflect their new identities. It’s hard to argue that the Lebanese in Belize today are anything less than fully Belizean. And while they may only constitute a small portion of the overall population, they’ve found their place across practically every layer of society.