Belize Honors 227th Anniversary of the Battle of St. George’s Caye

St. George’s Caye, September 10, 2025 – Belize commemorated the 227th Anniversary of the Battle of St. George’s Caye this morning during the 19th Annual Remembrance Ceremony held on the historic island. The ceremony featured historical reflections presented by Detra Gillett, noted historian and direct descendant of the Baymen who defended Belize in 1798. The Belize Coast Guard took part in the observances, while Josue Ramos of the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) and John Searle offered remarks on the St. George’s Caye Archaeology Project and delivered a tribute to Drs. Garber and Ramos for their contributions to preserving Belize’s heritage.

This year’s presentation shifted focus away from the technicalities of the 1798 naval battle and centered instead on the people who defended Belize—their sacrifices, resilience, and determination to secure a home for themselves and their descendants.

Indigenous Resistance

Before the Battle

Centuries before 1798, Belize was marked by resistance. The Mopan and Yucatec Maya fought Spanish incursions as early as 1544 in communities such as Tipu, Lamani, and Santa Rita. The 1638 Tipu rebellion was a turning point, contributing to the decline of Spanish control in the Dzuluinicob province. Early European expeditions in 1508–09 along the Bay of Honduras also recorded encounters with native peoples, including the Miskito, who resisted Spanish domination.

By the 18th century, the Spanish repeatedly attempted to drive out Baymen settlers. In April 1754, during the Battle of Laboring Creek, 200 enslaved Africans successfully fought off a force of 1,500 Spaniards from Petén. Their victory underscored how knowledge of rivers, jungles, and coastal terrain made all the difference.

Buccaneers, the Miskito,

and Early Alliances

Before the rise of the logwood trade, buccaneers roamed the Bay of Honduras, targeting Spanish ships. They built alliances with the Miskito, freeing enslaved Africans from captured vessels. Many of these freed Africans intermarried with the Miskito, creating the Sambo Miskito community—renowned warriors skilled in jungle survival, seamanship, and bush medicine. Both Spain and Britain recognized their strength and sovereignty.

In 1740, Miskito King Edward formalized ties with Britain in a Treaty of Friendship, granting the British military protection over the coast. King Edward also encouraged intermarriage, producing generations of “British subjects” along the Mosquito Shore. By 1759, the Black River Settlement boasted over 3,000 armed warriors alongside Africans and Europeans, providing protection whenever Spain attacked Baymen settlements.

The Vote to Defend Belize

On June 1, 1797, 65 men of the settlement voted to stay and defend Belize, knowing they were vastly outnumbered. Among them were Marshal Bennett, Lawrence Meighan, Marcus Belisle, Richard Gillett, the Flowers family, the Ushers, the Trapps, and George Rabon—ancestor of celebrated Belizean musician Lord Rhaburn. Ninety percent of these men had been evacuees from the Mosquito Shore in 1787, displaced by the Convention of London Treaty.

Superintendent Thomas Barrow, sent from Jamaica, ensured that all able-bodied men were trained for battle, including enslaved Africans. His report noted a militia of 775 men, a significant force considering the population size at the time.

Families of Legacy

The Flowers family, once enslaved, had lived free for decades on the Mosquito Shore before returning to Belize. Oral tradition says Adam Flowers inspired Belize’s first coat of arms.

The Trapps, descendants of the Afro-Indigenous woman Clarinda, became shipwrights, builders, and craftsmen whose wooden joints still stand in colonial-era homes.

The Ushers, merchants by trade, armed their vessel Juba with artillery for the defense of Belize.

Richard Gillett, originally from Rosetta, Mosquito Shore, stood as a leader of the Convention Town militia.

George Rabon, a drummer and bricklayer, resettled in Belize after being exiled from South Carolina for siding with the British during the American Revolution.

The Enslaved and

the West India Regiment

By 1790, nearly 80 percent of the settlement’s population was enslaved. Their labor had cleared jungles, harvested mahogany, filled in swamps, and laid the foundation for Belize Town. Many fought not out of obligation, but out of determination to defend the only land they knew as home

Alongside them stood soldiers of the West India Regiment—enslaved men freed in Barbados and Jamaica in exchange for military service. Between 1795 and 1807, over 13,000 were recruited. Some later settled in Belize, particularly in Gales Point and Sittee River, bringing military skill and cultural traditions that remain part of Belize’s heritage.

Conclusion

The outcome of the Battle of St. George’s Caye ensured that Belize would remain tied to the English-speaking Caribbean. Yet, as Detra Gillett reminded the gathering, this survival was not achieved by Baymen alone. It was the resilience of the Maya, the courage of the enslaved, the loyalty of free Africans, and the fierce alliance of the Miskito that together defended and built Belize

Today, Belizeans stand on the shoulders of those who sacrificed everything for a future they would never see but one that we now enjoy. Their stories deserve remembrance and respect—not suppression or revisionism.

As the Coast Guard stood in salute and families paid tribute on the island where history turned, the refrain echoed across the caye:

“Hail them, cheer them, may your loyal voices sing and praise them. Hip Hip Hooray!”