Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T14:52:46.027Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Composition and Distribution of Ethnic Groups in Belize: Immigration and Emigration Patterns, 1980-1991

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2022

Louis A. Woods ,
Joseph M. Perry  and
Jeffrey W. Steagall
Louis A. Woods
Affiliation:
University of North Florida
Joseph M. Perry
Affiliation:
University of North Florida
Jeffrey W. Steagall
Affiliation:
University of North Florida
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

In the history of human migration, rarely has a situation arisen in which simultaneous voluntary immigration and emigration flows have dramatically transformed the ethnic composition of an independent country. Belize since its independence in 1981 provides an example of such an unusual combination of circumstances. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, anecdotal evidence began to accumulate suggesting that the country's population was undergoing profound structural changes that included realignment of its settlement patterns and alteration of its ethnic mix.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 32 , Issue 3 , 1997 , pp. 63 - 88
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

∗

We wish to express our appreciation to the Division of Sponsored Research and Training at the University of North Florida for financial support for fieldwork in Belize and to the anonymous LARR reviewers for their helpful comments. Portions of earlier versions of this article were presented at several conferences: the Congreso Internacional de Geógrafos Latinamericanistas in Tegucigalpa, 3–6 January 1996; the conference of the Southern Economic Association in New Orleans, 18–21 November 1995; the Studies on Belize Conference at the Interdisciplinary Conference in Belize City, 24–27 October 1995; and the Interdisciplinary Conference on Belize in Jacksonville, Florida, 3–4 March 1995. We wish to thank the discussants for their informative comments. Any errors that remain are ours.

References

Alchian, Armen A. 1950 “Uncertainty, Evolution, and Economic Theory.” Journal of Political Economy 58, no. 3:211–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alvarez, Yvette 1988 “External Debt and Adjustment: The Case of Belize, 1980–1986.” Social and Economic Studies 37, no. 4:39–49.Google Scholar
Arthur, W. Brian. 1990 “Positive Feedbacks in the Economy.” Scientific American 262, no. 2:92–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barnett, Carla 1982 “Commercial Banking in Belize, 1960–1980.” Social and Economic Studies 31, no. 4:136–70.Google Scholar
Bauer, Peter T. 1965 “The Vicious Circle of Poverty.” Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, no. 95:4–18.Google Scholar
Bauer, Peter T. 1976 Dissent on Development. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Bauer, Peter T. 1984 Reality and Rhetoric: Studies in the Economics of Development. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
BELIZE, CENTRAL PLANNING UNIT 1982 Belize: Abstract of Statistics, 1981. Belmopan: Statistical Office.Google Scholar
BELIZE, GOVERNMENT OF n.d. International Conference, “Refugees and Refugee-Affected Areas in Belize: Diagnosis and Strategies for Durable Solutions.” In-house document.Google Scholar
BELIZE, MINISTRY OF FINANCE n.d. 1991 Population Census: Major Findings. Belmopan: Central Statistical Office.Google Scholar
Birdwell-Pheasant, Donna 1985 “Language Change and Ethnic Identity in Eastern Corozal.” Belizean Studies 13, nos. 5–6:1–12.Google Scholar
Bolland, O. Nigel 1986 Belize, a New Nation in Central America. Boulder, Colo.: Westview.Google Scholar
Bolland, O. Nigel 1988 Colonialism and Resistance in Belize: Essays in Historical Sociology. Benque Viejo del Carmen: Cubola.Google Scholar
BRITISH HONDURAS 1967 Report for the Years 1964–1965. Belize City: Printing Department.Google Scholar
Brownbridge, Martin, and Morgan, Murna 1991 “Investment, Savings, and External Financing in Belize.” Social and Economic Studies 40, no. 4:59–97.Google Scholar
Camille, Michael 1996 “Population and Ethnicity in Belize, 1861.” In PHILLIPS 1996, 45–63.Google Scholar
CARICOM n.d. 1980–1981 Population Census of the Caribbean: Belize. Kingston: Statistical Institute of Jamaica.Google Scholar
Cayetano, Sebastian R. n.d. Garifuna History, Language, and Culture of Belize, Central America, and the Caribbean. Privately published, probably in Belize City.Google Scholar
Coser, Lewis 1968 “Conflict: Social Aspects.” In Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, edited by Stills, David L., 232–36. New York: Crowell, Collier, and Macmillan.Google Scholar
David, Paul A. 1985 “Clio and the Economics of QWERTY.” American Economic Review 75, no. 2:332–37.Google Scholar
Davis, Susan E. 1991 “Designing Nationalism: Belmopan, Belize.” Landscape, no. 31:36–48.Google Scholar
Demko, George J., and Wood, William B. 1987 “International Refugees: A Geographical Perspective.” Journal of Geography 86, no. 5:225–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ergood, Bruce 1996 “Can Nationalism Survive the Ethnic Revival? The Belizean Situation.” In PHILLIPS 1996, 155–71.Google Scholar
Everitt, John C. 1983 “Mennonites in Belize.” Journal of Cultural Geography, no. 3:82–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Everitt, John C. 1984a “The Recent Migrations of Belize, Central America.” International Migration Review, no. 18:319–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Everitt, John C. 1984b “Belmopan, Dream and Reality: A Study of the Other Planned Capital in Latin America.” Revista Geográfica, no. 99:135–44.Google Scholar
Everitt, John C. 1986 “The Growth and Development of Belize City.” Belizean Studies, no. 14:2–45.Google Scholar
Gonzalez, Nancie L. 1986 “Garifuna Traditions in Historical Perspective.” Belizean Studies 14, no. 2:11–24.Google Scholar
Goodman, Leo A., and Kruskal, William H. 1954 “Measures of Association for Cross-Classifications.” Journal of American Statistical Association, no. 49:732–64.Google Scholar
Goodrich, Charles 1936 “Internal Migration and Economic Opportunity.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, no. 188:260–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grant, Cedric H. 1967 “The Cultural Factor in B.H. Politics.” World Quarterly 3, no. 4:53–55.Google Scholar
Hamilton, Nora, and Chinchilla, Norma Stoltz 1991 “Central American Migration: A Framework for Analysis.” LARR 26, no. 1:75–110.Google Scholar
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND 1996 International Financial Statistics Yearbook, 1995. Washington D.C.: IMF.Google Scholar
Jefferson, Mark 1939 “The Law of the Primate City.” Geographical Review 29, no. 2:226–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Judd, Karen 1990 “Who Will Define Us? Creolization in Belize.” In Fourth Annual Studies on Belize Conference, 29–41. SPEAReports no. 4. Belize City: SPEAR.Google Scholar
Krugman, Paul 1991 “History and Industry Location: The Case of the Manufacturing Belt.” American Economic Review 81, no. 2:80–83.Google Scholar
Krugman, Paul 1995 “Urban Concentration: The Role of Increasing Returns and Transport Costs.” In Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics, 241–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, Paul 1973 “The Mennonites of Belize.” National Studies, no. 1:12–13.Google Scholar
Medina, Laurie K. 1992 “Immigration, Labor, and Government Policy: Class Conflict and Alternative Paths toward Development.” In Independence Ten Years After, 144–58. SPEAReports no. 8. Belize City: SPEAR.Google Scholar
Moberg, Mark 1992 Citrus, Strategy, and Class: The Politics of Development in Southern Belize. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press.Google Scholar
Palacio, Joseph O. 1988 “Illegal Aliens in Belize: Findings from the 1984 Amnesty.” In When Borders Don't Divide: Labor Migration and Refugee Movement in the Americas, edited by Pessar, Patricia R., 156–77. New York: Center for Migration Studies.Google Scholar
Palacio, Joseph O. 1993 “Social and Cultural Implications of Recent Demographic Changes in Belize.” Belizean Studies 21, no. 1:3–12.Google Scholar
Parvenu, M. Andre 1986 “Refugee Migration and Settlement in Belize: The Valley of Peace Project.” M.A. thesis, University of Wisconsin-Madison.Google Scholar
Perry, Joseph M., and Woods, Louis A. 1990 “Production Enclaves, Import Substitution, and Economic Growth: Mennonite Settlements in Belize.” Paper presented to the Southern Economic Association, 18–20 Nov., New Orleans.Google Scholar
Perry, Joseph M., and Woods, Louis A. 1991 “Changing Agricultural Patterns in Belize since 1958.” In Fourth Annual Studies on Belize Conference, 80–112. SPEAReports no. 7. Belize City: SPEAR.Google Scholar
Phillips, Michael D., ED. 1996 Belize: Selected Proceedings from the Second Interdisciplinary Conference. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America.Google Scholar
Pred, Allan R. 1965 “Industrialization, Initial Advantage, and American Metropolitan Growth.” Geographical Review 41, no. 2:158–89.Google Scholar
Reynolds, Henry T. 1977 Analysis of Nominal Data. Beverly Hills: Sage.Google Scholar
Rodgers, Allan L. 1952 “Industrial Inertia, a Major Factor in the Location of the Steel Industry in the United States.” Geographical Review 42, no. 1:56–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roser, Connie, Snyder, Leslie B., and Chaffee, Steven H. 1986 “Belize Release Me, Let Me Go: The Impact of the U.S. Media on Immigration in Belize.” Belizean Studies 14, no. 3:1–30.Google Scholar
Schackt, Jon 1984 “The Tzuultak'a: Religious Lore and Cultural Processes among the Kekchi.” Belizean Studies 12, no. 5:16–29.Google Scholar
Scully, Gerald W. 1988 “The Institutional Framework and Economic Development.” Journal of Political Economy 96, no. 3:652–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scully, Gerald W. 1991 “Rights, Equity, and Economic Efficiency.” Public Choice, no. 68:195–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scully, Gerald W. 1995 Multiculturalism and Economic Growth. Policy Report no. 196. Dallas, Tex.: National Center for Policy Analysis.Google Scholar
Shoman, Assad 1987 Party Politics in Belize, 1950–1986. Benque Viejo del Carmen: Cubola.Google Scholar
Shoman, Assad 1994 Thirteen Chapters of a History of Belize. Belize City: Angelus.Google Scholar
Siegel, Sidney 1956 Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Stone, Michael C. 1990 “Backbush Settlement on the Belmopan Periphery and the Challenge to Rural Development.” In Third Annual Studies on Belize Conference, 82–134. SPEAReports no. 6. Belize City: SPEAR.Google Scholar
Stone, Michael C. n.d. “Report on the United Nations Development Programme Socioeconomic Survey of the Belmopan Periphery Settlements.” In-house document.Google Scholar
Taylor, Douglas M. 1951 The Black Carib of British Honduras. Viking Fund Publications in Anthropology, no. 17. New York: Wenner-Gran Foundation for Anthropological Research.Google Scholar
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, BUREAU OF THE CENSUS 1993 1990 Census of Population, Social and Economic Characteristics: Metropolitan Areas, 1990. CP-2-1B. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE 1980-1991 Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
Vernon, Dylan 1988 “International Migration and Development in Belize: An Overview of Recent Movements.” M.A. thesis, Carleton University.Google Scholar
Vernon, Dylan 1990 “Belize Exodus to the United States: For Better or for Worse.” Second Annual Studies on Belize Conference. SPEAReports no. 4, 6–28. Belize City: SPEAR.Google Scholar
Waddell, David. A. G. 1961 British Honduras: A Historical and Contemporary Survey. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Wilk, Richard R. 1987 “The Kekchi and the Settlement of Toledo District.” Belizean Studies 15, no. 3:33–50.Google Scholar
Wilk, Richard R., and Chapin, Mac 1990 Ethnic Minorities in Belize: Mopan, Kekchi, and Garifuna. SPEAReports no. 1. Belize City: SPEAR.Google Scholar
Woods, Louis A., Perry, Joseph M., and Steagall, Jeffrey. W. 1992 “Agroindustries in Belize: Their Role in Economic Development.” Paper presented to the Association of American Geographers, 18–22 Apr., San Diego, California.Google Scholar
Woods, Louis A., Perry, Joseph M., and Steagall, Jeffrey. W. 1996 “Recent Changes in Belize's Settlement Geography.” Paper presented to the Congreso Internacional de Geógrafos Latinoamericanistas, 3–6 Jan., Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
Woods, Louis A., Perry, Joseph M., Steagall, Jeffrey W., and Cossman, Ronald E. 1995 “International Migration and the Ruralization of Belize, 1970–1991.” Paper presented at the Second Interdisciplinary Conference on Belize, 3–6 Mar., Jacksonville, Florida.Google Scholar
Young, Alma H. 1978 “Ethnic Politics in Belize.” Caribbean Review, no. 7:38–42.Google Scholar