THE DISPUTE WITH GUATEMALA

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

In order to understand the position of the various parties involved in the dispute over Belize it is necessary to refer back to the historical situations from which the different parties derive their claims.

At the start of the Spanish Colonial period the countries today known as Belize and Guatemala were integral parts of the colonial administrative unit denominated the Vice-royalty of New Spain. Then in 1568 the territory known as the Captaincy General of Guatemala, which included Guatemala and most of the area covering present day Belize, was separated from the Audencia of Mexico (a sub-division of the Vice-royalty of New Spain) without the frontiers being delimited clearly. In 1599 the boundaries between the two were fixed at 18° latitude, but in 1678, and again in 1787, there were further boundary changes.

After the British conquest of Jamaica in 1655 there were frequent incursions into Guatemalan territory along the Caribbean coastal area by the British, mainly using Jamaica as a springboard. British privateers used the long string of cays (coral reef and sandbanks) along the Honduran coast as a refuge behind which to retreat in their attacks on homeward-bound Spanish fleets carrying gold and silver treasure from the New World. Soon Honduras Bay turned to cutting and exporting to Europe Logwood which was valuable for its dye and a British Logwood settlement was established at the mouth of the Belize River sometime between 1650 and 1690. Once the importance of the Belize area as a source of this valuable trade commodity was established, Governor Modyford of Jamaica urged the British Government to officially recognize the settlement. But recognition as a colony was not forthcoming for some considerable time.

In 1670 under the Madrid or Godolphin Treaty, Spain ceded to England all Spanish territories in the West Indies which were in actual British possession. Belize (or the Bay Settlement) with 700 British inhabitants by this time was not considered to fall within the scope of the treaty. It was not formally constituted as a colony by Britain, it had no governor or constitution and the Belizean settlers governed themselves through their own elected town meetings. Although excluded from the provisions of the treaty, the British woodcutters were allowed to continue their activities within what was deemed Spanish territory.

During the next 60 to 70 years the Spanish mounted a series of attacks on the Belize settlement, from Mexico and the Peten region of Guatemala, in an effort to dislodge the British woodcutters. They succeeded several times in destroying the town of Belize but on each occasion the settlers rebuilt it and continued their activities. Despite repeated requests, the government in Britain refused to recognize the settlement as a colony and to provide defence.

The Treaty of Paris in 1763, concluding the Seven Years' War, between Britain and France, permitted British subjects to cut, load and transport Logwood in the Belize area and granted the right to build and occupy homes but not to establish permanent agricultural settlements. In return Britain agreed to demolish all fortifications and acknowledged the right of Spain, as sovereign, to carry out periodic inspections. At one point a conflict arose between the Spanish envoy and the woodcutters along the Hondo River — the northern boundary between present· day Belize and Mexico. The woodcutters were ordered to keep within the confines of an area bordered by the Belize River and the New River (south and east of the Hondo and 20 miles inland). After discussions this was later rescinded and the settlers were allowed back in the area north of the New River.

British involvement in the American War of Independence (1776-1783) was used by Spain and France as an opportunity to declare war on Britain. The Spanish Governor of Yucatan responded to an attack by an expedition from Belize and destroyed the settlement on St George's Cay, the low lying sandbank settlement off the estuary of the Belize River. Total defeat of Belize was prevented by the chance arrival of British warships.

The concluding Treaty of Versailles (1783) for the first time clearly defined the area in which the British had usufruct rights to extract Logwood. This was permitted between the Belize River in the South and the Hondo River in the north, an area of 1,800 square miles (see map 2). It was also stipulated that the rivers were for navigation by both Spain and Britain and that the location of woodcutting camps was to be subject to approval of the Spanish commissioner. No establishments were to be set up on the off-shore cays and restrictions were imposed regarding construction work, cultivation and trade. The exercise of civil or military power and the building of fortifications were specifically prohibited. As regards sovereignty, the text expressed that "It is clearly understood that these stipulations shall not be held to derrogate in any manner whatever from her (Spain's) rights of sovereignty".

Naturally these restrictive agreements drew a hostile response from woodcutters working outside the defined boundaries. As a result of representations by Britain in the 1786 Convention of London the permitted wood-cutting area was extended southwards to the Sibún River (see map 2). Other important changes included permission to cut and ship mahogany as well as Logwood and permission to engage in farming, so long as plantation or estate-type agriculture was not established. Spanish sovereignty was still maintained. A commissioner from each government was charged with assuring that the treaty provisions were carried out. The price for these concessions was an agreement by Britain not to establish any colonial government in Belize except that necessary "to maintain law and order" and Britain agreed to cede the Mosquito Coast (now the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua) as far south as Costa Rica.

In the attempt to re-establish the town of Belize after the attack by Spanish forces from Yucatan during the Wars of Independence, Britain, in 1784, appointed a Superintendent of His Majesty's Financial Affairs. This constituted the first step in the slow move towards the establishment of crown rule in the colony, despite the fact that this was explicitly prohibited by the 1783 Treaty.

After 150 years of threatened existence Belize was put on a new, more settled basis by the expulsion, in I 798, of the Spanish in a Yucatan based invasion at the battle of St George's Cay, during the war between Britain on the one side and France and Spain on the other. Although the 1802 Treaty of Amiens required Britain to return territories conquered during this war with France and Spain, Trinidad and Ceylon were excepted and Belize was not mentioned. Some writers suggest that Belize was not referred to because it was unquestionably still regarded as under Spanish sovereignty. However, a few years later the British government was to express the view that Britain's title to Belize was fully established by conquest, referring to the St George's Cav victory. Meanwhile, the British presence in Belize continued, its position perhaps...