Essay, Research Paper: Belize, The Country

When I was first asked to pick a country, I tryed to pick the smallest on
I could fine, because I thought that it would have the least amout of
information. I was soon prooven wrong, because when I looked up Belize on
the internet I was hounded with hundreds of pages of information. Most of which were things I didn't need, but every couple websites would have information that would prove usefull.

Lets start with the basic's, then we will get into the history of the country... It's total area is 22,960 square kilometers, which slightly smaller then our own state, Massachusetts. It's total land boundaries are 516 km, and country's that are bordering it are Guatemala and Mexico.

It's climate is nothing to be down about, because Belize has a very tropical. That means it's very hot and humid most of the day. There is, on the bad side, and very long rainy season which lasts from May to February, that's 10 months. And for a country to have a 10 month rainy season is harendus.

Belize's tarrain isn't as bad as it's climate. The whole country is mostly flat, yet it's does have some very low mountains in the south. Also, it's got a swampy coastal plain. It's lowest point is the Caribbean Sea, 0 m, and it's highest point is Victoria Peak, 1,160 m.

Please note: The national capital moved inland from Belize City to Belmopan because of severe hurricanes. Also, Belize is the only county is the Central American area without a coastline on the North Pacific Ocean.

The total population on Belize is 224,663. On a more techniqle note 43% of the population is between the ages of 0 and 14. 54% of the population is between the ages of 15 and 64, and only 3% of the poplation is over 64 years old. Please understand thought that the population count was done in July of 1997. Also, the average population growth is 2.42%.

Polotics

Executive branch:

Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since February 6, 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Volville YOUNG (since November 17, 1993). Head of Government: Prime Minister ESQUIVEL (since Junly 1993); Deputy Prime Minister Dean BARROW (July 1993). Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by governor general on the advise of the Prime Minister. Elections: none; the queen is the hereditary monarch; governor general appointed by the queen; prime minister appointed by governor.

Legislative branch;

Bicameral National Assembly consists of the senate (8 members; members are appointed for five-year terms, five on the advice of the Prime Minister, two on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and one after consultation with the Belize Advisory Council - the counsil serves as an independent body to advise the governor general with respect to difficult decisions such as granting pardons, commutations, stays of executions, the removal of justices of appeal who appear to be incompetent, ect.) and the Natiolan Assembly (29 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) Elections: National Assembly - last held in September, 1993.

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, the chief justice is appointed by the governor general on advise of the general minister.

*Factoid* there are exactly 27,408 televisions installed in Belize

*Factiod* there are NO railroads in Belize


Historical Sites

Baron Bliss Lighthouse: The tomb of Baron Bliss, one of the Belize's greatest benefactors. In honor of his memory, the 9th of March is celebrated as a public and bank holiday. A lighthouse was erected recalling his love for the sea.

Bliss Institute: This is the center of Belizean culture. Houses permanent exhibition of Maya artifacts from Caracol. On Bliss Promenade. National Arts Council is also located here.

Government House Museum: Built for the governors of Belize, it is one of the more elegant colonial structures in Belize City. Visiting dignitaries are entertained here. The Government House stands as an important landmark in the history of Belize. For the past two hundred years, the house was used as an adminstrative office and residence of the British governors of Belize. The Museum Exhibition reflects the theme 'Reflections in the History of Government House', and includes Archival Records, SilverWare and GlassWare Collections, Furniture Collection, and Maritime Collection.

St. John's Cathedral: The oldest cathedral in Central America. The foundation stone was laid in 1812. Four Mosquito Coast Kings were crowned here. St. John's is the only Alglican cathderal in the world, outside England, where the crowning of Kings took place.

Supreme Court: Burned down in 1918 and restored in 1923. The architecture style is colonial. It still retains it's 1923 apperence today. Paslow Building: Corner of North Front Street and Queen's Street.Another example of colonian architecture in the cuty. The building houses in General Post Office and other government offices.

Swing Bridge: This historicle bridge is still manually operated twice a day to allow fishing boats and other vessels to enter into the Belize River.

Old Surgar Mill: Built in the 1900's, this sugar mill was important from the Leeds Foundry in New Orleans. Ft. Cairs and Munday: In Orange Walk Town near the police station. Ft. Cairns is now the new town hall. Ft. Munday is a government rest home and historical center of battles between Belizean settlers and Maya Indians.