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32-554: Its offices are located at the PUP's Belize City headquarters at 3 Queen Street, Belize City . As of August 2006, it has published over 4,500 issues, making it the longest continuously published newspaper in Belize since 1950. Its motto is "The Truth Shall Make You Free", a shortened form of Bible verse John 8:32: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." ( King James Version ) The Times began publishing in 1956 under

64-475: A tropical monsoon climate , with very warm to hot and humid conditions throughout the course of the year. The city has a lengthy wet season that runs from May through February and a short dry season covering the remaining two months. However, as is the characteristic of several cities with tropical monsoon climates, Belize City sees some precipitation during its dry season. March is Belize City's driest month with only 48 millimetres or 1.9 inches of rainfall observed,

96-784: A BZ$ 25 fine. The efforts of the LUA yielded some good results: the wages of grapefruit dock workers in Dangriga were raised from 8 cents to 25 cents an hour; more men were employed to work on the Northern Highway following the receipt of a BZ$ 250,000 grant; and partial representation was granted to the elected officers in the Legislative Council. In addition, the LUA operated their own food program by organizing fundraising activities and collecting gifts from merchants and sympathizers who were not followers. They also operated

128-604: A medical wing called the Red and Green Nurses, named after the colours of the LUA. The Nurses, headed by Cristobel Usher, dispensed free medical care to LUA members. The LUA movement was short-lived as there was infighting, leading to a split in the leadership. Soberanis's political activities continued up until 1942, when he left Belize to serve the British military in Panama. In 1950 the movement handed over their political followers to

160-683: A minimum wage. He was jailed for sedition in 1935. Antonio Soberanis was born to Mexican parents in the Belizean village of San Antonio Rio Hondo in Orange Walk . His family had moved to Belize in 1894. He attended boys' school in Belize City and thereafter became a barber. He owned "The Panama Barbershop," originally located on Handyside Street and then Queen Street in Belize City, which hosted many political discussions until it

192-645: A response. The Times has also gained a reputation for its support for the arts through its weekly reviews of many Belizean artists. The Belize Times answered to a libel suit in the Supreme Court, filed by attorney Lois Young and her former husband, then- Leader of the Opposition Dean Barrow over articles printed in the newspaper in October 2006 which they claimed defamed Barrow. Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh issued an injunction, which

224-700: A small suburb north and west of Freetown Road, West Landivar, home to two of the University of Belize 's three city campuses, and residential University Heights. Pickstock inhabits the banks of the Haulover Creek extending to Barrack Road. St. John's Cathedral stands on the southern end of Albert Street. St. John's is the oldest Anglican Church in Central America, and one of the oldest buildings in Belize. The orange bricks came to Belize aboard British ships as ballast. Construction began in 1812, and

256-544: A somewhat unusual month for a city with this climate type. Typically the driest month for a city with a tropical monsoon climate is the month after the winter solstice, which in Belize City would be January. Average monthly temperatures remain relatively constant throughout the course of the year, ranging from 24 to 28 °C (75.2 to 82.4 °F). Belize City has more educational institutions at every level than any other city in Belize. Most city children in Belize attend high school. The only three schools that are not coed are on

288-552: Is served by Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport , in Ladyville , northwest of Belize City, and by Belize City Municipal Airport , within the city itself. Antonio Soberanis G%C3%B3mez Antonio Soberanis Gómez ( ( 1897-01-14 ) January 14, 1897 – ( 1975-04-14 ) April 14, 1975) was an activist in the Belizean labour movement. He found the Labour and Unemployed Association in 1934 to demand poverty relief work and

320-718: Is the largest city in Belize . It was once the capital of the former British Honduras . According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek , which is a distributary of the Belize River . The Belize River empties into the Caribbean Sea eight kilometres (five miles) from Belize City on the Philip Goldson Highway on the coast of

352-476: The Caribbean . The city is the country's principal port and its financial and industrial hub. Cruise ships drop anchor outside the port and are tendered by local citizens. The city was almost entirely destroyed in October 1961 when Hurricane Hattie swept ashore. It was the capital of British Honduras (as Belize was then named) until the government was moved to the new capital of Belmopan in 1970. Belize City

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384-459: The Garifuna and Mestizos sprang up elsewhere in the country, people looked to Belize Town for guidance. Belize City has been directly struck by two hurricanes since 1900, the 1931 hurricane and the 1961 Hurricane Hattie , and at various times areas of the city have burnt down, the most recent being fires in the 1999 and 2004. The city was also hit hard by Hurricane Richard in 2010 and by

416-582: The Times appealed. On 9 November 2006, Conteh lifted the injunction and set the case for January 2007. In February 2007, Conteh ruled against the Times and set damages at BZ$ 40,000, the third highest award (including lawyer fees and costs) in Belizean legal history. The Times will consider an appeal, and in its Friday issue for that week continued to proclaim its innocence and accuse other media houses of unfair treatment of PUP public figures, which it says approaches libel. Belize City Belize City

448-655: The most recent municipal elections in 2024, the mayor is Bernard Wagner of the People's United Party . The city is also home to the House of Culture , formerly the official residence of the Governor-General of Belize until 1984. The Supreme Court of Belize still sits in Belize City. Belize City will have railway lines southwestward to Spanish Lookout via Belmopan and northward to Orange Walk Town . Feasibility studies are being conducted by CRECG . The city

480-436: The 19 August 2007 issue of the Times . As the official organ of the PUP, The Belize Times is consistently critical of policies supported by the opposition United Democratic Party . As a result, the Times has been involved in several lawsuits and controversies. Though the major political parties rarely sue each other over accusations printed in the other's newspaper, allegations have at times become serious enough to warrant

512-631: The 2016 Hurricane Earl . Fires on the Northside and Southside have burnt out great stretches of housing, but the fire department was able to quench most of these. The city is also susceptible to flooding in the rainy season. Belize City spreads out Mile 6 on the Western Highway and Mile 5 on the Northern Highway, at the Haulover Bridge. The city proper is usually divided into two areas: Northside, bounded by Haulover Creek and ending in

544-581: The British, beginning in 1707 ) to toil in the forestry industry. It was the coordination site for the 1798 Battle of St. George's Caye , won by the British against would-be invaders, and the home of the local courts and government officials up to the 1970s. For this reason, historians often say that "the capital was the colony", because the center of British control was here. This sentiment remains true today. Even though people like Antonio Soberanis Gómez , George Price and Evan X Hyde all lobbied to take their movements outside, and other ethnic groups such as

576-509: The Hummingbird Elementary School. Belize City's culture is considered similar to that of Caribbean capital cities such as St. George's, Grenada , or Georgetown, Guyana . Always busy in the daytime, the city has the hustle and bustle one would associate with a city of 70,800. Notable cultural events include Garifuna Settlement Day (November 19), Belize City Carnival (September), Baron Bliss Day (March 9). Museums in

608-643: The LUA and caused many other LUA leaders to leave the group. He replaced them and continued his activism. In 1935 the Government passed several new laws, including one banning criticism. When he made a speech in Corozal Town in October 1935 calling the large merchant stores "bloodsuckers" and the Governor and the King "crooks," he was arrested again. He was charged with sedition, but was released after paying

640-534: The Labor and Unemployed Association (LUA) which organized many boycotts, demonstrations and pickets against large merchants such as the B.E.C. ( Belize Estate and Produce Company ), John Harley and Co. , Hofius and Hilderbrant , Melhado and Sons , and Brodies . The LUA held large demonstrations at the Battlefield Park , directly in front of the courthouse . At the meetings Soberanis campaigned for work for

672-571: The Northside: Saint John's College (boys), Saint Catherine's Academy (girls) and Pallotti High School (girls). One Southside school that was previously all girls, Sadie Vernon Technical (Belize Continuation), became coed in 2005. There are three other private schools in Belize City: Belize Elementary School and its continuation Belize High School behind it, both on Princess Margret Drive, and

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704-707: The church was completed in 1820. St. John's is the only Anglican cathedral in the world outside England where the crowning of kings took place. Fort George is perhaps the most colonial area in the city and contains Memorial Park, the Baron Bliss Grave and Baron Bliss Lighthouse and the Museum of Belize. On the Southside, Lake Independence, Collet and Port Loyola are home to some of the city's poorest residents. "London bridges", rickety wooden pallets linking dwellings, and low-strung poles are not uncommon here. On

736-677: The city include the Bliss Institute , Image Factory Art Foundation and Gallery , the Maritime Museum and the Museum of Belize . There is an annual Street Art Festival . The majority of working Belizeans travel to work in downtown offices or else ply their trade on the street sides. Belize City is home to branches of all the major banks of Belize and the Central Bank, as well as nearly all insurance centers, marketplaces and

768-553: The east at the Fort George area, and Southside, extending to the outskirts of the city and the port area including downtown. Politically, it is divided into ten constituencies. Freetown, the westernmost constituency on Northside, is home to the Belama, Coral Grove, Buttonwood Bay and Vista Del Mar suburbs. Within the city proper it extends up to around the former Belize Technical College area. Caribbean Shores includes Kings' Park,

800-783: The east side of Central American Boulevard are Mesopotamia, Queen's Square and Albert, which are slightly better. Albert contains the downtown streets of Albert and Regent Streets. The divisions of the city are linked by four bridges: the Swing Bridge, at Market Square and North Front Street; the Belchina Bascule Bridge at the Douglas Jones Street and Youth for the Future Drive junction; the Belcan Bridge linking Central American Boulevard and

832-504: The governor offered 80 more jobs and a feeding program of "rice lab" (a porridge of sugar and boiled rice ) and bread cooked in the washing pots. Many leaders of the Unemployed Brigade gave up hope and resigned. Soberanis called them cowards. He said he would continue fighting for the cause and was not afraid to die. In his most famous quote, he said, "I'd rather be a dead hero than a living coward." With his colleagues, he formed

864-542: The like. Belize City is the hub for both national and international air, sea and road travel. The city is home to the Port of Belize , the country's main port facility. Belize City is operated by a mayor-council form of government. The Belize City Council is composed of 10 councillors (generally reflecting the ten constituencies of Belize City ) and a mayor, all elected in municipal elections held every third year in March. After

896-596: The patronage of then leader George Price, who had just ousted ten members of the PUP from its central committee, including Philip Goldson , owner and editor of the Belize Billboard . For much of the 1980s the newspaper was presented as The Sunday Times ; it resumed printing under the Belize Times moniker in the 1990s. Longtime columnist Emory King died in August 2007. King's column officially ceased with

928-432: The roundabout leading to the Northern Highway and Caribbean Shores, and a recently built fourth bridge linking Fabers' Road and the southern Lake Independence/Port Loyola area to the Belama and northwest suburbs of the city. Numerous smaller bridges link individual streets. The three main canals running in Belize City, are Haulover Creek, Burdon Canal and Collet Canal. All of them run through Southside. Belize City features

960-480: The unemployed and spoke against the Government. He also traveled to Dangriga and Corozal Town to encourage support for the cause of higher wages outside Belize City. On 1 October 1934, Soberanis organised the first labour strike at the B.E.C. sawmill. It turned into a riot, and the police arrested 17 people. When he went to post bail for those arrested at the strike, he was himself arrested. The police refused to grant him bail and held him for 35 days, which weakened

992-704: Was boycotted in 1932 due to his political activities. He fathered ten children , first to Violet Garbutt married. The decline of the mahogany trade, the Great Depression and the 1931 hurricane created terrible living conditions for the working class in British Honduras around 1934-35. With 1,800 registered unemployed in the country, an organization called the Unemployed Brigade demonstrated for more work and better pay. After meeting with colonial Governor Harold Baxter Kittermaster ,

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1024-471: Was founded as "Belize Town" in 1638 by English lumber harvesters . It had been a small Maya settlement called Holzuz . Belize Town was ideal for the English as a central post because it was on the sea and a natural outlet for local rivers and creeks down which the British shipped logwood and mahogany . Belize Town also became the home of the thousands of African slaves brought in by the English ( later

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