Why Belize Was Called British Honduras

October 30, 2024
by Larry Waight +

The present-day boundaries of modern-day Central America and the Caribbean often have ties to the artificial boundaries established by colonial treaties — so it should come as little surprise that the history of Belize is no different. Belize found its first settlers in the form of English buccaneers, and it would only become recognized as a British colony after successive treaties and conflicts between the British and the Spanish.

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How Honduras Got Its Name

British Honduras would officially become a colony in 1862, but that was over three centuries after the country of Honduras to the south first earned the name. When it was explored by Christopher Columbus in 1502, he gave the territory the name of “Honduras” — a Spanish word meaning “the depths” — thanks to the deep water directly off the coast. As the Spanish and English wrestled for control over the land which would eventually become Belize, Honduras quietly sat on the other side of Guatemala.

How British Honduras Got Its Name

When the Treaty of Versailles was signed between Spain and England in 1783, it provided Britain with express permission to cut logwood in the space between the Hondo River and the Belize River. These waterways served as critical paths of commerce during the time of the Maya Empire, and they served as sensible boundaries for the lumber-producing English settlers who relied on the rivers to ship out timber and to bring in slave labor and other goods for the growth of the settlements. The name of British Honduras came not due to any association with the Spanish colony of Honduras but instead from the fact that they both shared access to the body of water that had been sensibly named the Bay of Honduras. At the time when British Honduras earned its name, the central settlement — which is now located roughly where Belize City is today — was directly located on this bay.

How Belize Got Its Name

British Honduras earned its name thanks to a critical waterway, so it’s only fitting that Belize is named after its most prominent river. The Belize River largely traces the territorial line between Mexico and Belize, and it’s been the lifeline for society in this region for as long as society has existed. The exact origin of the Belize River’s name is uncertain, but the most recognized story is that it was derived from the Spanish mispronunciation of prominent local Scottish settler Peter Wallace.