It's been a while since I've written. Actually probably one of the longest periods: about 10 days. A lot has happened. I found myself riding alongside some Africa Twin riders and we've created a trio I've affectionately called "Team Af Twin" for the Africa Twins we ride. After meeting at the Belizian border town of San Ignacio, we got to know each other and then gathered ourselves to get ready to cross into Guatemala.
The border here is the most controversial I've ever crossed. The government of Guatemala does not recognize Belize as owning it's southern half. Why is this? Well, many people put the border dispute, and the existence of Belize in general, on the actions of one Spanish man: Gonzalo Guerrero.
SPAIN GOES WEST
Once upon a time, just before the Americas were discovered, Spain was at war. It was called The Reconquista. Spain was pushing all of the Muslims out of the Iberian Peninsula and conquering in the name of The Vatican and their own Christian brand of "manifest destiny." The Spanish were gaining the good favor of The Catholic Church by pushing the Muslims out of Europe. The Muslims were pissed, and the Ottoman empire off to the east, (in today's Turkey) shut down the Silk Road, and therefore the spice trade. No more would goods from the far east pass through Muslim lands to get to Christian Europe.
During this Reconquista, a man by the name of Christopher Columbus went to the king and queen of Spain and asked them to finance a voyage west, where he would find a way to get the spice trade going again. At the time, everyone knew the Earth was round but the only ones who had seen the Americas were the Vikings some 500 years before. This wasn't common knowledge. The king and queen told Columbus that he'd have to wait until after The Reconquista was done and all Muslims were forced out of the peninsula.
During the fighting, a Spanish Soldier by the name of Gonzalo Guerrero was earning his military spurs. He fought against the Muslims and rose fast in the military. He was a part of the effort to force the Muslims out, and in 1492 they succeeded. The last Muslim stronghold was taken, the city of Granada.
After Granada, guess who showed up in the Spanish royal court again? Christopher Columbus. He was back, ready to sail west. The Spanish monarchy kept their word and commissioned several ships. Guess who went with? The soldier, Gonzalo Guerrero.
After discovering the new lands, the ship that held Gonzalo sank. He was shipwrecked and lost at sea with a few other men including his commanding officer. Only Gonzalo and his officer would survive, landing on the shores of today's Belize. It was there that the two survivors were discovered by the Maya.
GOING NATIVE
Gonzalo and his officer were taken in, and after a while they were assimilated. The commanding officer would teach Spanish, but Gonzalo went totally native. He let his hair grow out, tattooed himself, got himself some piercings, and even married a Maya princess. They would have 3 children, hailed as the first ever "Mestizos" or children of white and native mixed ancestry.
The Spanish began to conquer the Americas, making contact with natives and trading the American goods back with Europe. It was an enormous boon to Spain. Times were good, and the crown was thirsty for more.
A man by the name of Hernan Cortez was sent to the Americas. He was a military leader that would end up bringing about the end of the Aztec Empire, but before all that, he was a high-ranking soldier in the Spanish military. Cortez heard word that there were 2 shipwrecked Spanish sailors in the Yucatan Peninsula and commissioned a rescue mission to gather them.
Gonzalo and his commanding officer were contacted, found, and told to return back to the Spanish world after living with the Maya for years. The commanding officer was more than happy to return to his old life, but Gonzalo was not. He'd started a new life in the Yucatan with his family and his loyalty was now to a Maya monarch. He would not return. The Spanish tried but failed to get him to return home. It was at this time we no longer have any European accounts of Gonzalo, as his only fellow Spaniard left him behind.
THE LEGEND OF GUERRERO
Guerrero knew what was going to happen next. Contact with the Spanish was inevitable and it was bound to be violent. Gonzalo taught the Maya of his region everything he knew about Spanish warfare and tactics. His experience during the Spanish Reconquista was invaluable to the Maya. The Maya had to be prepared to fight against things they'd never even dreamed of. Firearms. Cannons. Horses. Cavalry charges. Naval troop movements. All of this was completely unheard of by the people Gonzalo surrounded himself in.
Eventually, Spanish contact came, and with it? War. The Maya of much of Mesoamerica put up a fight against their Spanish conquerors, but each time they failed against the Spaniards--- EXCEPT where Guerrero lived. The Maya resistance was too heavy for Spaniards to make a permanent presence in what is today's Belize.
Then, in today's northern Honduras, a white man covered in tattoos and piercings was recorded to have been found amongst the Mayan dead in a battlefield. It's said to be the body of Gonzalo Guerrero, the man who went native. The Maya, within the borders of today's Belize, put up such a good fight, the Spanish crown deemed it too much of an expense to put up a fight with them. The Maya of the region of Belize were left alone and they went unconquered for centuries.
The Spanish empire would conquer the surrounding continents and set up cities and trade networks around the Maya of today's Belize, but never put a settlement nor had a presence there. It was deemed marginal territory, where native resistance was too thick. Of course, Spain had a claim on the region, and all of today's maps would put it in Spanish hands, but there were no settlements, roads, or any permanent Spanish presence there.
THE BRITISH ARE COMING
The British were sitting on the sidelines of this new "Age of Discovery" for too long and decided to get a piece for themselves. "Damn the Spanish, they can't hold it all." The French and Dutch wanted in on this too. Islands in the Caribbean were conquered and administered by these New World Powers, and the Spanish had to tread lightly over the usurper claims. The Spanish couldn't defend EVERYTHING from them. There would be nonstop war.
The English had a compromise with the Spanish, and the Spanish 'rented out' some land claims in the region of today's Belize. The Spanish could get a little money from the British without having to go through the effort of pacifying the region of its natives.
To the surprise of the Spanish, the Maya put up little organized resistance when the British came. It had been too long since the days of Gonzalo, and the new British occupiers were willing to compromise with natives as they set up plantations and farms worked on by victims of the Slave Trade.
"British Honduras" was the name of the colony, administered through the Jamaican colony (also British) and the British set up their claims.
FREAKIN' NAPOLEON
Centuries pass. In the early 19th century, Napoleon comes to power, Europe erupts into a series of massive conflicts, and Spain gets occupied by the French. Napoleon sets up his brother Jose as the new monarch of Spain, but the people of Spain never submit to him. The Peninsular war begins, a guerrilla war that lasts the entirety of the Napoleonic Era, and Spain is too occupied to hold onto its American colonies.
The Spanish colonies began to break away. South America, Mexico, Central America-- one by one they all slip from Madrid's orbit in a series of Revolutionary Wars. Guatemala becomes the leader of Central America and it doesn't seem to want to concede that British Honduras exists. From this point forward, Belize is their biggest territorial conflict. Mexico signs a treaty with the British over the border of British Honduras. Mexico City has enough to deal with, with all of their massive territories and vast differences in cultures.
After a series of disputes, a treaty is signed in the mid-19th century between the British crown and Guatemala. Guatemala will submit to the existence of Belize, and a highway will connect Belize with Guatemala city so Guatemala can have trade and infrastructure spanning both coasts of the Central American isthmus. That treaty is still where the borders exist today.
GUATEMALA RENEGES ON THE DEAL
Guatemala has a change of heart after a change in government. New folks take over in Guatemala city. The road, that was a part of the treaty, has not yet been built. It's been decades. Guatemala then claims that Britain is not holding up its end of the treaty and therefore, Belize should not exist.
Over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries, Guatemala has a series of military troop movements on the border with Belize. The only way the British can lose is through some sort of Blitzkrieg, but the crown figures out what's going on every time. When Guatemala gets ready to invade, the British find out and stack up troops on Belize's jungle border. One time, an earthquake struck the capital of Guatemala after it had massed troops on the border. The military had to retreat to tend to the chaos, much to the celebration of Belizians. The people of Belize believed that God was on their side and sent an Earthquake to kill innocent people in Guatemala City to prevent the invasion.
In Guatemala, even to this day, it's politically popular to rally against this European occupier. Political parties and politicians in Guatemala rally against the British crown and their Belizian land holdings in every election cycle. Being 'soft on the colonizers' is bad politics, so tribalism seems to be the go-to for easy campaign points. Belizian land claims are never accepted as a part of political stances in Guatemalan politics. When Belize gained independence from London in the early 1980s, Guatemala was the ONLY nation to vote against Belize joining the UN. They've seen Belize as their convenient enemy. Belize, with a completely different economy, racial makeup, history, language, and culture, continues to fight for its right to exist.
CURRENT DAY
Finally, after many broken down peace talks, both nations held referendums to bring the case of the border dispute to international courts. Both nations put it on the ballot, and both passed. Both nations have brought their case forward. At the current time it's still in the courts. It will be there for years. Whatever the result, both nations will have to submit. If they decide not to, the international community will side with the winner and work to shun the denier.
All of this is because of the British gaining a land holding in Central America.
They got that land holding because Spain never held the region.
Spain never held the region because Maya resistance was too strong.
Maya resistance was too strong because of one Spaniard, Gonzalo Guerrero, the man who went native-- fabled to be the reason Belize exists at all.
-JT
5/23/2023