Belize Creol

The Belizean Creoles or Kriols are Creole descendants of English, and Scottish (the Baymen) log cutters and Black African slaves who were brought primarily from Jamaica the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua and elsewhere in the Western Caribbean to cut logwood and later mahogany. Many settlers would often marry or engage in sexual relations with Black women, creating this new ethnic group. Kriol was historically only spoken by them, but this ethnicity has become synonomous with the Belizean national identity, and as a result it is now spoken by about 75% of Belizeans. Found predominantly in urban areas such as Belize City, this group is also found in most coastal and central and towns and villages.

According to the local research, the Belizean Kriol originated from a union of European settlers masterminding the logwood trade in the former British Honduras and the Black African slaves they imported to actually cut and ship the logwood. The National Kriol Council of Belize says that black slaves had been established on the Central American coast from the 1500s and earlier and were working for the Spanish further down the coast. By 1724, the British too were acquiring slaves from Jamaica and elsewhere to cut logwood and later mahogany. By all accounts they led a better life than their fellows in the West Indies, but were still mistreated, systematically raped and bullied. Even so, these slaves assisted in the defence of the fledgling settlement for much of the late 1700s, particularly in the 1798 Battle of St. George's Caye.

The Kriols settled mainly in Belize Town (now Belize City) and along the banks of the Belize River in the original logwood settlements including Burrell Boom, Bermudian Landing, Crooked Tree, Gracie Rock, Rancho Dolores and Flowers Bank. As the 1800s progressed they spread out to all the districts, particularly Dangriga and Monkey River, as the colony grew. Their sense of pride led to occasional clashes with authority, such as the 1894 currency devaluation riots, that foreshadowed greater conflicts to come.

In the 1900s, the Kriols took the lead in organizing the development of the settlement. Riots in 1919 and 1934, combined with terrible conditions resulting from a disastro