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  • University of the West Indies and Caribbean Quarterly are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Caribbean Quarterly.

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    THE TORCH IS PASSED: NEOCOLONIALISM IN BELIZE Author(s): J. C. EVERITT Source: Caribbean Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 3/4, BELIZE (SEPTEMBER & DECEMBER, 1987), pp. 42-

    59Published by: and University of the West Indies Caribbean QuarterlyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40654133Accessed: 13-11-2015 08:36 UTC

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  • 42

    THE TORCH IS PASSED: NEOCOLONIALISM IN BELIZE

    by J. C. EVERITT

    Geography haj become increasingly concerned with the problems and processes of devel- opment, and this has become a particularly significant issue during the past decade.1 Although there is little agreement as to what development means in a global context, and even less agreement as to how this change might be effected in areas and/ or countries that need developing, a considerable number of scholars now agree that the concept of development is inextricably tied to the concept of dependency.2

    According to dependency theory, Third World coun- tries are underdeveloped as a consequence of their dependence on developed countries. Underdevelop- ment, so the proponents of this dependency thesis tell us, is not a condition or stage, but a process. This process, sometimes referred to as the develop- ment of underdevelopment, was set in motion during the colonial era, and is being continued today at an increased pace by various neocolonial practices.**

    As Galtung demonstrates, these 'neocolonial practices' make up a less direct, less 'concrete' form of control, that often involves not a physical presence but rather more subtle links such as those of international organisations, which can take a variety of forms, and may be both private and governmental in type. Although sometimes less obvious than the colonial links of the past, these neocolonial relationships may be every bit as powerful, and may tend to perpetuate the disharmony between the related nations.4

    As a consequence, the 'peripheral' couatries of the world are continuing to be exploited by the 'core' countries, with the result that the gap between these rich and poor countries is increasing. "In brief, development and underdevelopment are dialec- tically related phenomena: they cause one another; they both are products of the process of capitalist expansion (or imperialism); they represent the opposite sides of the same coin; one is not possible without the other."6

    Since World War Two a great number of states have gained their political inde- pendence from their imperial centres of the past. Although most of these new states are to be found in Africa and Asia, a significant minority exist in Latin America and the Caribbean.7 In most cases these newly independent states have retained meaningful economic and social ties to their former colonial powers, and these neocolonial con-

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    only become part of Belize by the efforts of the British during the 1830s. Eventually the process of land consolidation led to the monopolisation of freehold land within the country in the hands of a very few companies and most particularly (what in 1875 became) the Belize Estate and Produce Company Limited (BEC). "From its inception

    TABLE 1

    Land Ownership in Belize, 1891-1939-1981

    Ownership 1891 1939 1981 Government 44.9% 47.3% 49.7% Private 55.1% 52.7% 50.3%

    Source: Davidson, W. V. Personal Communication 1983.

    TABLE 2

    Land Classification in Belize 1981

    Government Lands % Forest Reserves 25.8 National Lands 22.7 Indian Reserves 1 .2

    (49.7)

    Private Lands

    Belize Estate Company 13.8 Belize Sugar Industries .7 Others 35. 8

    (50.3) 100

    Source: Davidson, W. V. Personal Communication 1983.

    until the present day, this company has completely dominated the private ownership of land in Belize",21 and has "succeeded in becoming the most powerful organisation in the country" as evidenced by "the way it has influenced the legislation and dominated the economy of Belize".22 This and other such companies were also increasingly characterised by an element of absentee ownership.

    The interests of this company have been arguably against the development of Belize in many instances, but the extent of its power cannot be disputed. This power included by the late nineteenth century the ownership of about one-fifth of the country's land which constituted most of the land held as private property in Belize - the southern part of the colony being for the most part Crown Land. The power of the Belize Estate Company has also been reflected in successful attempts to resist taxation, and in the pre- vention of the growth of agriculture on more than a subsistence basis. "The monopolisa- tion of Belizean land by a handful of absentee owners was maintained throughout the century following (the formation of the Crown Colony in) 1871 and exists at present. That monopolisation has survived the various social, economic, and political changes.

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  • 44

    nections seem likely to endure in the foreseeable future, as these newly independent nations will remain in what Konetzke has termed "planetary empires". Galtung suggests that these ties will eventually develop into neo neocolonialism with instant communica- tion replacing the international organizations. This new pattern would be "highly adjust- able to external circumstances", being able to "form and dissolve" contacts in rapid succession, without having participants "frozen together in a more permanent network that develops its own rigidities".

    In some instances, however, the old colonial ties were not the only connections of significance that were characteristic of the histories of these new states. The British and Dutch Caribbean, for instance, in marked contrast to the Hispanic Caribbean, "lacked all of those forces most important in the growth of new cultural identities" such as a missionizing religion, strong overseas control over local decisions affecting the slaves, and a local, settled, planter class.10 Such countries were thus more open to a variety of non-British (or Dutch) influences, and these helped them to become some of the most westernized societies in the modern world.11 But 'westernized' was never completely synonymous with 'British' or 'Dutch', and independence has led to, or perhaps simply made more obvious, a realignment of many Caribbean countries with new centre nations. Thus the neo-colonical patterns may be more complex than the colonial ties, and the neo-neocolonial patterns are likely to prove to be even more involved.

    This paper will illustrate one example of this process of neocolonialism that can be currently viewed in the emerging nations of the world: the case study of Belize, Central America. This example is a particularly valuable one as it illustrates an instance where the United States (probably the centre nation in the contemporary world) has become the neocolonial power in a country that was previously dominated by what was the centre nation of the nineteenth century, the United Kingdom.1

    Belize gained its political independence in September 1981 from the United Kingdom to become the 156th member of the United Nations, a separate member of the British Commonwealth of Nations, as well as an individual member of what Buchanan terms the "commonwealth of poverty" - the Third World.13 Belize is definitely a "Caribbean society" as defined by Lowenthal,14 although its location on the mainland of Central America has meant that the country's history is very much interwoven with this landmass as well.

    It has been suggested that two of the "most glaring facts" about the contemporary world are: (a) "the tremendous inequality, within and between nations in almost all aspects of human living conditions" and (b) "the resistance of this inequality to change".15 This paper will not detail the first fact, which has been well documented elsewhere. The second fact, the 'resistance to change', it will be shown results from neocolonialism, which is not abating with the political independence of emerging nations but is rather being reinforced by influences which continue to emanate from the world's centre nations.

    In the present example this process is made more complicated because the US is taking over as a social and economic force in Belize from the UK. This 'takeover' which

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  • 45

    appears to be unopposed - and perhaps even encouraged - by Britain can be seen from a study of a variety of social and economic patterns in Belize.

    Following a model suggested by Galtung,15 three phases (past, present, and poten- tial future) and two types of imperialism (economic, and social) will be emphasised. A stress will be placed on the contemporary (neo-colonial) situation in Belize, as this is where alternative sources of documentation are lacking.

    Contemporary Imperialist Patterns

    Although the imperialist forces from outside of Belize can be seen to have affected all elements of the country, a number of major thrusts can be identified, in particular the imperialist relationship with the economy and its effects upon the social realm.

    The problem of exactly what development is and how it should be attained has never been agreed upon but within Belize the common western view which is defined "in terms of degrees of urbanisation, commercialisation, industrialisation, modernisation, and per capita production and consumption" has been adopted.17 In other words, Belize has followed a model of 'development from above' which has its roots in neoclassical economic theory and which has led to the growth of a dual economy.18

    Originally this dual economy was made up of the wood exploitation system and that of the traditional ways of life such as the slash and burn cultivation of the Maya. In recent years this pattern has been supplemented in part by two changes. The first is the changing significance of the more technologically advanced countries within the economy of Belize - particularly characterised by the increased visibility of the United States. The second is the increase of subsistence farming on the part of the indigenous popula- tions - as a result of government encouragement and land settlement policies. This latter development may be viewed as an attempt by the Belizean government, albeit somewhat weak and late, to promote 'development from below' which is a relatively new

    paradigm in development studies.19 Although both of these recent changes in the Belizean economy are important as they represent the imposition of a heartland upon a hinterland, only the former will be addressed. This will be done by a brief analysis of a number of sections of the economy of the country - land ownership, the financial sector, trade, and the production process.

    Land ownership Prior to the early nineteenth century the question of land ownership in Belize was

    a thorny one - as Spanish claims to the land meant that actual land ownership was not allowed by the British government. Land occupation and de facto ownership had gone on for some time, however, and by the time that the British officials attempted to exert some control a confused, but entrenched, pattern of landholding already existed.20*

    When the cutting of "timber shifted from logwood to mahogany extraction, the economics of this latter process concentrated land ownership (as it had then become) into the hands of a few wealthy cutters. This pattern of land ownership only held true, however, for the northern third of the country - much of the southern section having

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    The basic change away from a forestry-dominated economy has not affected it nor have the constitutional changes from Crown Colony through self government to constitutional independence.

    What has changed, however, is the home country of the absentee owners - and this has particularly been the case since the end of World War II. Since this time many of the big landowners of the 1930s have disappeared - to be replaced by speculators from the USA. Partly as a consequence of this, in 1971 "foreigners owned 93.4 per cent of all private lands over 100 acres" in size24 and at least 90 per cent of all freehold land in the country. In addition, this land is the most agriculturally useful in Belize, being of generally good quality and with good access, in contrast to the government-owned land.

    Since 1971, the BhC has been selling much of its land off to us speculators or to the Belizean government in lieu of taxes (Table Three). The company still has the power to control price (by controlling supply) but has been uncertain about the political future of the country and has been adversely affected by a law on landholdings

    TABLE 3

    Belize Estate Company, Land Sales 1970-1980.

    Acres to Acres to Belizean Acres to U.K. Year U.S. Citizens Government Citizens Other Sales* 1970 1.50 2,730.00 Nil 1971 1,963.00 6,309.00 Nil 1,545.00 1972 49,891.00 Nil 1973 18,469.94 4,430.17 Nil 1,020.00 1974 7,499.00 42,291.40 Nil 1975 32,095.00 78,571.00 Nil 1976 Nil 1977 2,400.00 28,975.00 Nil 1978 1,200.00 Nil 1979 Nil 1980 Nil

    Totals 112,319.44 164,506.57 Nil 2,565.00

    *The 1971 sale was to a Mennonite settler, as were 970 acres of the 1973 sale. The balance of 50 acres was sold to a German. Source: Belize Estate Company Records, 4 August 1980.

    by aliens that was implemented on 31 December 1973. This law was specifically de- signed to discourage land speculation and to encourage land development by aliens and alien-controlled companies,25 and as such represents a new attitude by the Belizean government as to what is acceptable and unacceptable in this area of imperialism. Clearly land use is being emphasised above land ownership, with this pattern of 'use' continuing to encourage 'development from above' as a prime force in the Belizean economy. The Belize Estate Company has chosen to give up land rather than pay the taxes and the price of development on the land.

    In 1980 the process of sales took yet another turn when the Belize Estate Com- pany (by this time a subsidiary of a British multinational conglomerate) was sold

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    en bloc to Minier Naval Stores, which is domiciled in Georgia. This sale included the balance of BEC land in Belize, then totalling some 708,450 acres. Consequently, the private land in Belize is now largely owned by US interests. No British citizens have bought land in the country - on any large basis - for many years. The country's economic orientation has noticeably changed.

    The Financial Sector The monetary situation in Belize has always been somewhat confused, because

    "during the early part of its history Belize used any currency that was available, and (consequently) arguments over the relative rates of exchange were endless".26At different times British pounds, Spanish American pesos and reales and US dollars were used. As the influence of the United States increased, however, relative to the country's other trading partners, the US dollar became more dominant within Belize and in 1894 this form of currency was declared the legal unit in the colony.27 Significantly, however, the exchange rate was linked to the pound sterling. In 1904 the Belizean dollar was introduced but it too was pegged to sterling. By the late 1940s it was evident that there was a close traditional economic relationship with the dollar area, but despite this the Belizean dollar was devalued in December 1949 to follow the pound which had been devalued three months earlier. This sparked a major crisis in Belize which brought up the question of US versus UK ties on many occasions, and revealed the difference in orienta- tion of many of the people of Belize (who leaned towards the US) and the colonial administration (with its obvious ties to the United Kingdom).28

    The Belizean dollar remained fixed to sterling currency until May 1976 and consequently fluctuated in relation to the US dollar.29 By 1976 Belize had internal control over its own affairs to a much greater degree than had been true in the post-war period. It was recognised at this time that most of the country's external trade was with countries not dealing in sterling - and in particular the US and Canada - and consequent- ly the Belizean currency was pegged at that time to the us unit - a situation which remains the case today. This swing to the US is also reflected in the banking system.

    The first Bank of British Honduras was founded at the surprisingly late date of 1904 by a group of local financiers, but in 1912 this bank was bought by the Royal Bank of Canada.30 In 1948 Barclays International, a major British colonial bank, opened its doors, to be joined by the Bank of Nova Scotia (Canadian) in 1968, and then by the Atlantic Bank in 1971. The latter is one of the Chase Manhattan group and was set up "in recognition of Belize's state of development and growing North American orientation". The banks have, of course, different financial orientations but for all, the North American share of their services is growing with the Atlantic Bank - with 90 per cent of its business being US-oriented - having the strongest leaning in this direction. Its arrival in Belize was welcomed by the country's business interests.

    As with most emerging countries Belize has a problem balancing its budget and the deficit is usually filled in part by overseas aid - and this has also recently assumed a greater orientation towards North America, although bilateral agreements are still being entered into by the United Kingdom and Belize. A number of Canadian projects

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    are helping the country,3^ and during the past few years Belize has been the recipient of more than $7 million in US aid through a special assistance programme. In fact, between 1976 and 1982 Belize received an increase in External Assistance from US$8.5 million to US$23.1 million.34 It seems most likely that the amount of aid will be even more dramatically increased in the future as the US will look even more kindly on an independent Belize, and a recent agreement for economic co-operation signed with USAID is probably the first step in such a pattern. The Kissinger Commission's suggestion for the formation of a Central American Development Organization that would include Belize also indicates that economic aid from the US is only likely to in- crease in the future.35 Government publications from Belize make it quite clear that any such increases will be extremely welcome as they will help to close the country's balance of payments gap, which has averaged about 13 per cent of the GDP during the last quin- quennium.

    Trade In recent years the pattern of Belizean exports of home produced goods has seen

    the rise of sugar to greatest dominance (Table Four). In 1977 it contributed over 56 per cent of export value, and in more recent years it has reached over 60 per cent of the total. The second most valuable export is garment making which is an Offshore in- dustry' "that does both its buying and its selling of output entirely abroad, and avoids complications with customs and excise duties".38 Such industries are of debatable long- term value to Belize, but exports of garments made up 21.5 per cent of export value in 1977 and close to one-fifth in 1980. Fruits and vegetables came third in 1977 with 7.3 per cent (c.12 per cent in 1980) of value, followed by seafoods with 6.7 per cent (c.2.5 per cent in 1980), meat products with 2.5 per cent (the proportion is unknown for 1980), and wood products with 2.2 per cent (c.2.4 per cent in 1980). The export of marijuana is reputedly second or third in export value but there is no official data on this topic, and it is of uncertain economic value to Belize.

    TABLE 4

    Major Domestic Exports (million BZ$) 1978-1981

    1978 1979 1980 1981_ Sugar 65.9 62.9 95.4 85.3 Garments 18.8 21.7 28.8 22.1 Fish Products 3.6 8.8 8.1 14.4 Citrus Products 8.3 8.9 12.7 13.0 Bananas 3.5 6.7 7.0 4.3 Timber 2.1 4.9 3.6 2.6 Molasses 2.1 3.9 4.3 2.4 Honey 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.5 Source: Belize in Figures 1981 and 1982 (Belmopan: Government Printery)

    Sugar is sold mostly to the US (over 50 per cent in 1981) and this country also takes all of the molasses output. Both have entered the US duty free since 1976 under the generalized system of preferences (GSP) which has had the effect of relieving the

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    pressure on Britain to take all of the produce of Belize. The balance of the sugar has, however, still been sent to the UK Sixty-four per cent of the garments went to the United States in 1978 with the balance being exported to West Germany (22 per cent) and the United Kingdom (14 per cent). The meat exports have principally gone to Central America and the Caribbean in the past,40 but the majority of the seafood (principally lobsters) goes to the US (via airfreight to Florida), with the balance being exported to Central America. The wood exports have also gone to the US (again under the GSP), which held second place in 1978 after Jamaica and before the UK which was the third largest importer. The citrus exports are produced by two companies, one locally owned and one a branch of a US multinational, and principally go to the Caribbean as con- centrates. Bananas, however, are wholly exported to the UK where Belize enjoys a protected market - by Fyffes, a company which is a subsidiary of United Fruit, an American Corporation. United Fruit also provides technical assistance to the Belize Banana Control Board through a local subsidiary.

    In 1960 the US was the market for 11 per cent of Belizean exports with the UK taking 59 per cent (see also Table Five). By 1981 the US proportion had soared to 53 per cent and the UK's share had dropped to 27 per cent. This change included, of course, a larger total package of exports but also a larger proportionate share - from 70 per cent to 80 per cent - of the total of Belizean exports.41

    TABLE 5

    Belize Value of Domestic Exports by Principal Trading Areas, 1978-81* (In Thousands of BZ $)

    1978 1979 1980 1981

    Total Domestic Exports f.o.b. 110,640 121,456 164,120 149,472

    Sterling Area 57,040 53,534 61,761 54,499 UK 53,302 47,264 52,354 46,037 CARICOM 3,734 6,153 9,150 7,799 Others 4 177 257 663

    Total North America 48,102 54,138 95,955 91,840 USA 48,096 53,559 95,846 90,879 Canada 8 579 109 961

    EEC - Excluding UK 2,277 3,123 3,118 2,039 Rest of World 2,373 2,416 3,286 1,094

    * Details may not add to totals due to the latest revision of the total domestic exports.

    Source: Belize: Economic Report (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank) 1984, p. 76.

    Again the swing to the United States has become quite clear, and will undoubtedly increase with the advent of the "Caribbean Basin Initiative". It is estimated that such a change would particularly affect exports of citrus concentrates for, with a reduction of US tariffs, Belize will undoubtedly increase its fruit trade with that country.42 Many of these changes can be seen to be inevitable in the light of general world trade patterns, but their acceptability to both Belizeans and Britons is still perhaps surprising when viewed in the light of traditional colonial ties.

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    The realm of imports, upon which Belize relies heavily, has also steadily swung away from the UK - in part because of changing international conditions such as com- petition, in part because of Britain's entry to the Common Market which led to the severence of some preferential trading arrangements, in part because of the movement of Belize to the dollar block from sterling, and in part because of changing relative distances due to better communications with North America. This movement has become particu- larly pronounced in the past two decades. As a result, even by 1970 Belize obtained only 25 per cent of its import value from the UK, compared to almost 3 per cent of its value from the USA. By 1981 the British proportion had dropped to 14 per cent whereas the share of imports from the United States had slightly increased to over 35 per cent. The 'Rest of the World' had also increased its share, to 35 per cent as well, but at the expense of the UK and not the USA (Table Six). Some of the major importing companies in Belize claim that 75 per cent of their trade is now in US-origin goods with the British pro- portion down to 10-15 per cent although their perceptions do not seem to be entirely consistent with the published data. Nevertheless, once this swing had begun, an orienta- tion to US electric voltage appliances, North American paper sizes and other such stand- ards kept it going, and few British goods (other than Scotch Whisky) can now effectively compete in the Belizean marketplace.43 There is also a newly developing market for the video industry, and although the hardware is Japanese, it often is imported from the US, and North American software is dominant.44 The strength of the movement to goods from the United States is so great that now North American imports have often become the norm, and those from the United Kingdom the surprising exception.

    TABLE 6 Belize - Value of Imports by Principal Trading Areas, 1978-81

    (In Thousands of BZ $)

    1978 1979 1980 1981 Total Imports, c.i.f. 212,991 263,754 299,509 323,934 Sterling Area 61,352 58,520 58,373 59,217

    UK 37,288 46,885 47,265 45,789 CARICOM 4,125 6,488 4,662 6,409 Others 19,939 5,148 6,446 7,019

    North America 91,543 102,624 111,396 121,567 USA 82,751 93,900 104,319 114,682 Canada 8,792 8,724 7,077 6,885

    EEC - Excluding UK 17,151 22,034 11,108 28,315 Rest of World 42,945 80,576 118,632 114,835 Source: Belize: Economic Report (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank) 1984, p.77.

    The Production Process. Belize has also become increasingly attractive to overseas producers which Mattelart

    terms the "Ideological Apparatuses of Imperialism". 5 Thus Hershey foods are shipping cacao to Pennsylvania, Maya Tropical Plants ships houseplants to Miami, an American- born doctor grows and sells mangoes to the US and a number of Canadian and US in-

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    terests operate many of the country's most successful tourist facilities. There is also the aforementioned "offshore", US-owned, garment making industry and a number of US- owned cattle businesses (one with 5,000 head on 25,000 acres of land which also pro- duces honey and lumber as sidelines). A new match factory was recently established in part with the aid of a Development Finance Corporation loan, but largely as a result of the initiative and investment of W.F. Belote, the American owner of Minier Naval Stores - the company that recently bought the Belize Estate Company.47 The Belizean Government is committed to establishing a wider range of such import substituting in- dustries, although their contribution to the local economy is, at best, debatable.49

    In addition to these (and many other similar operations), the most significant immigration into Belize in recent years has been of Mennonites - originally from Canada and now constituting the majority of the country's white population.50 The Mennonite colonies produce over 80 per cent of Belizean broilers and eggs as well as corn and sorghum.

    It is clear that economic imperialism is rife in Belize despite independence, and ranges throughout the economy which also sells its produce to the United States. It is also evident that with the exception of marijuana growing - which the govern- ment is attempting to stamp out with US assistance - the increasing North American influence is generally welcomed within Belize. In fact the strengthening ties with the US (in particular) are in many cases actively promoted by the Belizean authorities and at least tacitly supported by the British government officials. The result is that the economic forces that further underdevelopment have been able to maintain a stronghold on Belize - albeit with different hands 'holding the reins'. But it is not just in the economy that a changing influence can be seen.

    Social Imperialsm in Belize The other major area in which imperialism can be seen in Belize is the social realm,

    and a number of illustrations of this influence will be given. Once again the trend has been toward an increasing pattern of Amricanisation and a corresponding decrease in British influence. This change is going to continue as there are "too many things in favour of the US for the balance to swing back".52 In the social area, however, the change in influences has usually been more subtle and the process of American takeover less obviously 'official'. It will be demonstrated by a discussion of communications, migra- tions, military support, and religion and education.

    Communications The only air routes out of Belize to the English-speaking world are to the US

    (Houston, New Orleans, and Miami), and several of the sea routes reinforce this pattern. Similarly the land connection through Mexico has become an increasingly important channel for the movement of both temporary and permanent migrants in and out of the country. Most vehicles in Belize are now American made, and most have been driven down from the United States either by Americans trying to sell them for more than their US value, or by Belizeans who cannot find suitable vehicles in Belize. As a consequence

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    the Belizean landscape, particularly in the urban centres, is characterised in part by American cars and trucks. The only British vehicle now sold in Belize is the Land Rover (or similar vehicles made by the same company). Its cost puts it beyond the reach of all but a small minority of Belizeans.

    The US is now the biggest source of and destination for mail from Belize - often containing cheques for the family 'back home' from Belizeans now resident in North America (Table Seven). Stavrakis and Marshall indicate that in the mid-1970s the estimated 30,000 Belizeans working in the US send remittances to Belize valued at about US$10 million each year.53 The postmaster indicated to the present author that pay days in North America could be accurately gauged by the surge in the volume of mail from the USA a few days later.54

    TABLE 7

    Sources and Destinations of Belizean Letters (1979)

    Major Sources U.S. 29,252 kilograms U.K. 17,500 kilograms Mexico 695 kilograms Panama 130 kilograms

    Major Destinations U.S. 18,000 kilograms U.K. 14,000 kilograms Panama 97 kilograms

    Source: Belize Post Office Records, 1980.

    As with many other countries of the world, the media of Belize, are very much dominated by American influences which are a major worldwide force of cultural imperialism.55 For instance, radio programming has a noticeable American (and Caribbean) leaning and although there is as yet no TV network, the aforementioned video boom has affected certain elite groups in the country with US programming dominating the screens. The only non-Belizean newspapers that are readily available hail from Miami (the Herald and the News), and Newsweek and Time are among the most popular of the magazines sold. The local newsmagazine which outsold its North American competitors - Brukdown - recently went out of business. During its four-year existence it was edited - and largely written - by an American-born expatriate.

    The American communications barrage is overwhelming. Even for the poorer classes who cannot afford many of the more expensive communication aids, the process of Amricanisation is noticeable and ghetto-blaster tape decks are a status symbol for the young. In consequence the patterns of dress, social life, smoking, con- sumer goods in general, and even street language commonly imitate US - and particular- ly the black US - experience. At present some US oil companies are exploring for new sources of crude to keep all of this transformation under way.56 It is clear that what Constantine calls "cultural decolonisation": is being paralleled by "cultural reco Ionisa- tion" in the form of neo -colonialism from the USA. 57

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    Migrations The movements of the populace reinforce this pattern further. One of the major sources of immigrants (both permanent and as tourists) is North America and this is also the most important destination for emigrants. At least 1 per cent of Belizeans are probably eligible for US citizenship as they were born (and often still reside) in the United States. Although the quota of Belizean emigrants to the US has been small (as the country just filled part of the UK's allocation until independence) there are probably between 35,000 and 50,000 Belizeans in the US at present - at least two-thirds of whom are 'out of status' or illegal. They are attracted there both by the economic situation and the culture but also by the ease of movement by air, sea, and land. Many simply do not return after a trip to a relative or from a North American vacation which itself is a status symbol. Although these illegal immigrants are not welcomed in the United States they have not been actively deported, and potential changes in US regulations may give them official status. It is likely that this migration is at least unofficially welcomed in Belize as it has considerably relieved the population pressures within the country.

    Military Belize has had full internal self-government since 1964, but the British Army has

    continued to be a factor in the country's external relations particularly because of the problems with Guatemala. For many years the British Army has, in fact, been the most noticeable British presence in the landscape as well as a valuable economic addition (the several thousand soldiers are a notable aid to the country's budget). With independence, however, this situation will eventually change, but it is clear that the British-trained Belize Defence Force is currently incapable of fulfilling its mission.

    One consequence of this is that the US is now assuming a position in Belize's defence policy, ironically perhaps lining up against the Guatemalan government which itself is not free of US influence. The government of the USA agreed in 1981 to provide training for the Belize Defence Force. This will include both training for the Force in the US and/or Panama, and the visiting of Belize by US military teams for training in Belize.60 It is clear that the United States' Caribbean Basin Policy does not exclude even Belize, and that every attempt will be made here to protect the current democratic process. It is also clear even in this quite internationally contentious area of military aid that Britain is welcoming a US influence, and is hoping to reduce and eventually eliminate its own involvement.

    Religion and Education Outside influences, and particularly those from the United States, are clearly all-

    pervading in Belizean society. Religion is increasingly dominated by people from the USA. Nearly sixty-two per cent of Belize are Roman Catholics, and since 1851 this church has been drawing its priests, policies and funds from the United States.61 Before this time the English Jesuits were the source for Roman Catholic missionaries in Belize. The American Jesuits have had a considerable influence upon Belize, particularly through the medium of education.

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  • 54

    The Protestants have declined in relative numbers over the years, although Methodists and Anglicans still make up nearly one-fifth of the population of the country. Recently, however, a number of small groups have entered Belize from the United States, including Seventh Day Adventists, the Church of God, the Mormons (Latter Day Saints) and American Mennonites,63 (Table Eight). The Church of God has probably had the greatest impact of these smaller denominations,64 but the Mennonites are having considerable success in some rural areas.65

    TABLE 8

    Religious Preferences in Belize, 1980 Census

    Per cent Roman Catholic |61.7 Anglican 11.8 Methodist 6.0 Mennonite 3.9 Seventh Day Adventist 3.0 Pentecostal 2.2 Nazarene 1.1 Jehovah's Witnesses 1.0 Baptist 0.9 Others/ not stated 8.4

    100

    Source: Belize Census, 1980

    Education, a common primary agent of change in a society, has had a major influence upon the social orientation of Belize - in large part because of its relationship with religion - for the schools in Belize are mostly denominational and thus controlled by the religious institutions.67 Thus most schools are Anglican, Methodist, or Roman Catholic, with a few now being opened by the American Mennonites. Each school has tended to "impose whatever social and political outlook it wanted upon its students"68 and as the majority were Roman Catholic, the views of these North American priests were the most widespread. Thus the "exceptionally favourable image in Belize" of the United States is to a considerable extent "the outgrowth of the Belizean education system". This was particularly true of the Roman Catholic run St John's College in Belize City, arguably the best high school in Belize, which at a critical time in Belizean history, in the 1930s and 1940s, put its students "under the influence of a political education that was anti-colonial and anti-British in content". Several of these students later became vocally anti-colonial. The anti-British feelings of this time have more recently been translated into pro-American ones which are now the most notice- able. "The contributing influence of the Roman Catholic clerics to this American outlook can hardly be over-estimated", and it was largely responsible for the present orientation of the country. As Grant puts it, "the people tended to see America through Jesuit eyes".72

    Conclusion North America, in particular the United States, has always had the advantage of

    being physically closer to Belize than is the United Kingdom but what may now be seen

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  • 55

    as a 'natural' path for diffusion was not always so clear. What is clear is that the North American influence on Belize which has always been present to some extent has increased in recent years and has become much more US -oriented, and this influence has been, for the most part, encouraged by the United Kingdom. As a result the US is now the dominant country in terms of economic and social imperialism although the British influence has by no means disappeared. One consequence of this is that the inequality between Belize and the richer nations of the world will continue to exist, as political independence has simply led to a shift in the forces that further underdevelopment in the country from Britain to the USA.

    As mentioned earlier, some imports, part of the banking system, some exports and the British Armed Forces still reveal an orientation to the United Kingdom. The legislative and judicial systems, and the police force are patterned after those in Britain, and British aid is still given to Belize (for instance the telephone system was recently upgraded and extended by a British company).73 There are also many remaining signs of the British influence in the cultural landscape, and this 'end of the earth', as Aldous Huxley once unfairly typified it,74 is still a fairly British place. But as Belize becomes more recognized as central to the current events in the Caribbean and Central America, changes are occurring that are obvious and whose continuation seems inevitable. The last British vehicles will no doubt soon disappear and the last British mail box will be removed. Atlases may continue to colour the country pink for some time and some people may still find British Honduras a more recognizable name than Belize but the Monroe Doctrine has undoubtedly been finally extended to all of the American land- masses, and a new American neo-colony has arrived on the world scene.

    Acknowledgements Field work that led to this research was conducted in 1969 and 1980. The author

    thanks the Geography Department at Simon Fraser University for funding the initial research, and the Qrandon University Research Committee for funding the most recent field trip. I would like to thank the Geography Departments at UCLA and California State University at Fullerton for providing facilities that aided in the preparation of this paper. I would like to thank Dr G. Hale of the Geography Department at UCLA for comments that were valuable to this research.

    NOTES

    1. Hendrik -Jan Reitsma, A. 'Development Geography, Dependency Relations, and the Capitalist Scapegoat' The Professional Geographer, 34, May 1982, p. 125.

    2. de Souza, Anthony R. and Foust, J. Brady, World Space-Economy (Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill) 1979, p. 13.

    3. Reitsma op cit. p. 126. 4. Johan Galtung, Structural Theory of Imperialism' in Vogeler, Ingolf and de Souza, Anthony

    (eds.) Dialectics of Third World Development (Montclair, New Jersey: Allanheld, Osmun) 1980, p. 278. Galtung suggests that these organizations are well known for five types of im- perialism: economic, political, military, communication, and cultural.

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  • 13. Keith Buchanan, "Delineation of the Third World' in Vogeler and de Souza, (eds.) op. cit. p. 29.

    56

    5. de Souza and Foust op. cit. p. 466. 6. Reitsma op. cit. p. 126. 7. Michael Kidron and Ronald Segal, The State of the World Atlas (New York: Simon and

    Schuster) 1981, Map. 2. 8. Richard Konetzke, El Imprio Espanol (Madrid) 1946, p. 9 quoted in Mintz, Sidney W. 'The

    Caribbean as a Socio-Cultural Area' in Horowitz, M. M. (ed.) Peoples and Cultures of the Caribbean (Garden City, New York: The Natural History Press), 1971, p. 17.

    9. Galtung op. cit. p. 278. This author thus identifies Colonialism, Neo-colonialism, and Neo- neocolonialism as three phases of imperialism in history, each having quite different forms, but often quite similar results.

    10. Mintz op. cit. p. 35. 11. Ibid. p. 37. 12. This is not to imply that this US influence is a new phenomenon in Belize. North American con-

    nections have always existed and at times have been of major importance. This paper, however, documents a major recent upsurge in this influence that greatly exceeds the scope of what has gone before.

    14. David Lowenthal, 'The Range and Variation of Caribbean Societies' in Wagner, P. L. and Mikesell, M. W. (eds.) Readings in Cultural Georgraphy (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) 1962, pp. 187-194.

    15. Galtung op. cit. p. 261. 16. Galtung op. cit. pp. 274-281. Galtung suggests five types of imperialism (see note 4), but for

    the purposes of this paper, political, military, communication, and cultural imperialism will be considered under the heading of social imperialism.

    17. B. J. L. Berry, E. C. Conkling and D. M. Ray, The Geography of Economic Systems (Engle- wood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall) 1976, p. 265.

    18. The question of how development should take place is discussed in a series of essays in Stohr, W. B. and Taylor, D. R. Fraser Development from Above or Below: The Dialectics of Regional Planning in Developing Countries (New York: John Wiley and Sons) 1981. Development from above is discussed in Hansen, Niles. M. 'Development from Above: The Centre-Down Develop- ment Paradigm', pp. 15-38 in this volume. A discussion of the various development paradigms can be found in Freeman, D. B. 'The Geography of Development and Modernization: A Survey of Present Trends and Future Prospects' Discussion Paper No. 22 (York University: Department of Geography) 1979. A Belizean case study illustrating the benefits and pitfalls arising from the western model of development is, Brockmann, C. T. 'Change in Northern Belize: Economic Development and Socio-Cultural Change in Orange Walk' Number Eight in Evans, D. K. (ed.) Wake Forest University Developing Nations Monograph Series (Winston- Salem: Overseas Research Centre, Wake Forest University) 1979.

    19. Walter B. Stohr, "Development from Below: The Bottom-Up and Periphery Inward De- velopment Paradigm" in Stohr and Taylor op. cit. pp. 39-72.

    20. O. Nigel Balland, and Shoman, Assad, Land in Belize 1765-1871 (Law and Society in the Caribbean No. 6: University of West indies: Institute of Social and Economic Research) 1977 p. 119.

    21. ibid.pp. 77-8. 22. ibid. p. 81. 23. Ibid. p. 102. 24. Ibid. p. 104. 25. W. Ford Young, Belize Real Estate (Belize City: Angelus Press) 1980, pp. 23-24. A new Land Tax Act was passed in 1982 to rationalize and streamline the Land Tax System, but its implica- tions are not yet fully clear. See The New Belize, XII, 11, November 1982 (Belmopan: Govern- ment Information Service) pp. 5-6.

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  • 57

    26. Gregg, A. R. British Honduras (London: H.M.S.O.) 1968, p. 128. 28. Grant, C. H., The Making of Modern Belize. Politics, Society, and British Colonialism in Central

    America (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 1976, pp. 11 7-20. Devaluation "meant that goods imported from the USA cost more. Traditionally Belize has had close trading ties with the United States of America, and many people objected to the devaluation because it forced them to trade more with the sterling area and less with the dollar area. Besides, the change was made in London, by the Colonial Office, against the wishes of the elected and nominated members of the Legislative Council". Sherlock, P. Belize: A Junior History (London: Collins) 1978, p. 100.

    29. Belize: Economic Report. (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank) 1984, p. viii. 30. Gregg op. cit. p. 128. Prior to 1912, banking had been a private function in the colony,

    exercised by the leading merchants. 31. Stanley, Roberto, Atlantic Bank Manager, also, Hunter, J. Manager of Barclays Bank, and

    Turrell, ., Manager of the Bank of Nova Scotia, personal communications, 1980. 32. The New Belize XI, 11, November 1981 (Belmopan: Government Information Service) p. 11. 33. Leslie, Alec, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) representative, personal

    communication, 1980. 34. The New Belize XI, 5, May 1981 (Belmopan: Government Information Service) p. 14.

    Belize. Economic Report (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank) 1984, p. 84. 35. The New Belize XIV, No. 1, January 1984 (Belmopan: Government Information Service)

    p. 12. 36. Belize: Economic Report. (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank) 1984, p. 16. 37. Complete data were only available for 1977, but partial data were obtained for 1978-1980.

    The value of sugar in the world markets fluctuates greatly at times, and consequently the relative values of the other exports is affected. See Abstract of Statistics (Belmopan: Central Planning Unit) 1977 and Belize in Figures (Belmopan: Government Information Service) 1981. Export locations were available for January to June 1978, see Trade Report for Mid Year 1978 (Belmopan, Government Information Service).

    38. Wyeth, John Offshore Industries', Brukdown, 6 and 7, 1980, p. 56. 39. Brukdown, Number 1, 1980, p. 3; The New Belize XI, 4, April 1981, pp. 8-9, The New Belize

    XII, 10, October 1982; pp. 4-5 (Belmopan: Government Information Service). A more recent estimate by "foreign diplomats" suggests that marijuana may now be the biggest export crop (Campbell, M. "Belize Farmers reap rich returns from 'pot' "). Winnipeg Free Press 16 Novem- ber 1983, p. 21.

    40. In the period from January to June 1978, Martinique took all of the 'meat of bovine animals' and Mexico and Guatemala imported the poultry and poultry products.

    41. Belize: Economic Report. (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank) 1984, p. 15. 42. The New Belize XII, 9 September 1982 (Belmopan: Government Information Service) p. 11. At the time of writing the Caribbean Basin Initiative had just won House Approval, but its

    potential effect on Belize was still unclear, Los Angeles Times, July 15, 1983, pp. 1 and 24. 43. Personal communications with management at Belize Estate Company, Brodie's, Hofius Hard-

    ware, Angelus Press Ltd. and a variety of government officials. 44. Stewart Krohn, 'Television Mania!' Brukdown, 6, 1981, pp. 15-21. See also 'The TV Issue A Weak Wicket for Someting (sic) Illegal', The New Belize, XII, 11, November, 1982,

    (Belmopan. Government Information Service), pp. 2-4. 45. Armand Mattelart, Multinational Corporations and the Control of Culture: The Ideological

    Apparatuses of Imperialism (New Jersey: Humanities Press), 1979. 46. The New Belize VIII, 10, October 1978 (Belmopan: Government Information Service) pp. 5-6; and personal communication with the Manager, 1980.

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  • 58

    47. The New Belize, XI, 10, October 1981, (Belmopan: Government Service) p. 15. 48. Economic Plan of Belize 1980-83 (Belmopan, Central Planning Unit) p. 22. 49. JohnWyeth, 'Import Substitution: Sometimes it gets stuck', Brukdown, 6 and 7 1980,

    pp. 54-55. 50. J. C. Everitt, "Mennonites in Belize", Journal of Cultural Geography, Vol. 3, No. 2, Spring/

    Summer 1983, pp. 82-93. 51. Brukdown, November 8, 1980, p. 8. 52. Carl Troy, US Consulate Officer, personal communication, 1980. 53. O. Stavrakis and M. L. Marshall, "Women, Agriculture and Development in the Maya Low-

    lands: Profit or Progress" in Proceedings and Papers of the International Conference on Women and Food January 8-11, 1978 Volume III (Tucson, Arizona, Consortium for International Development) 1978, , pp. A31-2.

    54. R. Bradley, personal communication, 1980.

    55. Jeremy Tunstall, The Media are American: Anglo-American media in the world (London: Constable), 1977; Burton, Julianne and Franco, Jean 'Culture and Imperialism' in Latin American Perspectives Issue 16, V, 1, Winter 1978, pp. 2-12.

    56. Oil was discovered in 1981 in "encouraging" but not "commercial" quantities. The New Belize, XI, 5, May 1981 (Belmopan: Government Information Service) p. 6.

    57. Constantino, Renato Neocolonial Identity and Counter Consciousness: Essay on Cultural Decolonization (London: Merlin Press), 1978.

    58. Carl Troy, op. cit. The significance of these numbers become apparent recently when the question of local and absentee ballots in national elections was discussed in the country. It was concluded that the many US citizens of Belizean origin could not vote without jeopardiz- ing their US citizenship. Brukdown, 9, 1979, p. 30. A recent World Bank study puts the num- ber of migrants to the USA at 20,000 but it is not clear if this includes illegal immigrants Belize. Economic Report (Washington, D.C.: The World Bank) 1984.

    59. J.C. Everitt, "Small in numbers, but Great in Impact: The Refugee Migrations of Belize, Central America". A paper presented to the 1983 annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Denver, Colorado, April 1983.

    60. The New Belize, XI, 12, December 1981 (Belmopan: Government Information Service) pp. 10-11 and The New Belize, VII, 1, January 1982 (Belmopan: Government Information Ser- vice) p. 15.

    61. Grant op. cit. p. 94.

    62. ibid. p. 95.

    63. J.C. Everitt, "Mennonites in Belize", Journal of Cultural Geography, Vol. 3, No. 2, Spring/ Summer 1983, pp. 82-93. 64. Richard Buhier S.J. personal communication, 1980. 65. J. C. Everitt, op. cit. Some of these changes have been too recent to be reflected in the census

    data of 1980.

    66. Ashcraft, Norman, Colonialism and Underdevelopment: Processes of Political Economic Change in British Honduras (Columbia University, New York, N.Y.: Teachers College Press) 1973 pp. 18-19.

    67. Grant op. cit. p. 23. 68. Grant op. cit. p. 96. 69. Da Pena, Ramon Jr. 'Belize: Prospects for Independence and Sovereignty', Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation (UCLA, Dept. of Geography) 1976, p. 184.

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  • 59

    70. Grantop, cit. p. 97. 71. Ibid. p. 130. 72. Ibid. 73. The New Belize, XII, 1, January 1982, (Belmopan: Government Information Service) pp. 2-3

    and 16. 74. Huxley, Aldous, Beyond the Mexique Bay (London: Chatto and Windus) 1934, p. 35.

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    Article Contentsp. 42p. 43p. 44p. 45p. 46p. 47p. 48p. 49p. 50p. 51p. 52p. 53p. 54p. 55p. 56p. 57p. 58p. 59

    Issue Table of ContentsCaribbean Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 3/4 (SEPTEMBER &DECEMBER, 1987) pp. i-iii, 1-98Front MatterFOREWORD [pp. iii-iii]THE BELIZE RIVER BOAT TRAFFICTHE BELIZE RIVER BOAT TRAFFIC [pp. 1-28]A RURAL/URBAN ENVIRONMENT FOR CENTRAL AMERICAN IMMIGRANTS IN BELIZE [pp. 29-41]THE TORCH IS PASSED: NEOCOLONIALISM IN BELIZE [pp. 42-59]UNITED STATES CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON BELIZE: TELEVISION AND EDUCATION AS "VEHICLES OF IMPORT" [pp. 60-74]CELEBRATING AUTONOMY: THE DEVELOPMENT OF GARIFUNA RITUAL ON ST VINCENT [pp. 75-83]POEMSAngelus [pp. 84-84][This is the inevitable dedication that'll never] [pp. 84-84]

    BOOK REVIEWSReview: untitled [pp. 85-86]Review: untitled [pp. 87-90]Review: untitled [pp. 91-92]Review: untitled [pp. 93-94]Review: untitled [pp. 94-96]

    Back Matter