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Belize

Belize, Belice

(2:3)
image by Željko Heimer and Mark Sensen , 17 September 1997

Official Name: Belize
Previous name: British Honduras
Capital: Belmopan
Location: Central America
Government Type: Constitutional Monarchy (Queen Elizabeth II)
Flag adopted: 21 September 1981
Coat of Arms adopted: 21 September 1981
ISO Code: BZ

The Flag
History of the Flag
Belize Ensign (?)
Baron Bliss Day
Subdivisions

See also

The Flag

The white disk in the center has 50 olive leaves along its inner periphery. This represents the year 1950, when British Honduras (Belize's former name) began its quest for independence from the UK. When Belize became independent in 1981, the two red stripes were added to the previous flag.

In the center of the white disk there is a coat of arms divided in three sections. The left field holds an oar and a sledgehammer, the right one contains a saw and an ax, and the bottom one has a sailing ship. If one looks at the ship closely, one sees a red flag flying which might be a British Red Ensign.

Above the coat of arms, there is a tree, and below the c.o.a., one can see Belize's motto "Sub umbra floreo" -- I flourish in the shadow (referring to the dependence from the UK). There is a mulatto man holding an ax to the left of the coat of arms. On the right side, a black man holds an oar.

The coat of arms seems to have been slightly modified compared to the arms in the 'pre-independence' flag (without stripes) shown in W. Smith's book. Note the change of darkness of the green, and the substitution of the orange with yellow for the right section of the coat of arms. Also, the saw went from a blade saw to a bow saw. On the old flag, the men stand on the motto, whereas on the new one, they are on the ground, and the motto is smaller.
Željko Heimer, 17 Febuary 1996

According to 'Pavillons nationaux et marques distinctives' [pay00] - National Flag (CSW/CSW 2:3) - The details of the CoA, as it is tradition of British (and not only British) heraldry are allowed to varry to the artistic representation as long as they follow the blazon, and therefore differences shown in each picture of this flag are understandable, I guess. This is also one of those former British colonies that did not adopt the British cusom of different ensigns for different use on sea (and land) and all functions are covered with a flag of single design. This may be influence of the big USA relatively near (and influencial), but on the other hand, Centralamerican states in the vicinity all know about different ensigns for various purposes.
Do we know anything about details of this flag ? - The stripes seem to be 1/10 of the flag hoist and the disk is like 6/10. Is that defined somewhere?
The [smi80] also who the triangular flag of the Minister President - would there be a matching flag in use today?
Željko Heimer, 4 March 2001

History of the Flag

The blue flag with a white disk (without the stripes) was adopted on February 2, 1950, as British Honduras started its journey toward independence. The two red stripes were added on September 21, 1981, when Belize officially became independent from the UK. Surprisingly, the motto (Sub umbra floreo) was not changed in 1981, even after independence from the UK.

The coat of arms shown on the flag was given to British Honduras on January 28, 1907. It has remained mainly unchanged ever since, except for some minor changes which were discussed above.
Željko Heimer , 17 Febuary 1996

From the Belize Government Website:
"The National Flag
The red, white and blue flag of Belize is a symbol of the unity of our nation. Prior to Independence the People's United Party (PUP) proposed a blue flag with the Coat of Arms in a white circle. Because of the close association of the flag with the PUP, public opinion was divided as to its suitability to act as a unifying symbol. The United Democratic Party (UDP) did not propose a flag, but called for a flag that could rally all citizens, regardless of their political affiliation. As a consequence, the bi-partisan National Symbols Committee invited citizens to submit designs for a National Flag.
The design selected by the Committee is a royal blue flag with one horizontal red stripe at the top, one at the bottom, and a white circle with the Coat of Arms in the centre."
Jarig Bakker , 16 November 1999

Belize Ensign (?)

image by Ivan Sache, 29 June 2001

There is a ship in dock in Bristol at the moment registered in Belize. She is flying a UK Red Ensign as a courtesy flag but its own ensign is simply a blue field with red stripes top and bottom - no white disc with Belize CoA.
I haven't read of this elsewhere as a simpified flag or ensign for Belize and I wonder whether it has previously been reported. I can understand the desire to simplify the complex design (for cost reasons if nothing else), but this didn't even have the white disc (though if it had, that would have made it rather Laotian).
Andre Coutanche, 27 June 2001

Nothing of the sort in Album 2000 [pay00] , nor anywhere else as far as I know. However, Smith reports in his 1980 book the tendency of simplification. Of course, at that time there were no red stripes on the flag present, and the simplification observed was blue flag with white disk. If I am not much mistaken, many vexillologist would expect something of the sort - though, as much as you are surprised, my guess is that they would be also - to simplify it some much as to remove even the disk might seem overmuch. I wouldn't know if the same was reported before, but it may well happen that this is more rule then the exception. We must wait and see some mroe examples, however, before concluding enything - after all it may be that the ship's flagman was simply mistaken ...
Željko Heimer, 28 June 2001

A colleague of mine looked at your web site and noticed you had posted an enquiry about the Belize registered ship MV Lucie in Bristol dock. . Lucie was chartered by the Bristol Old Vic to take part in a theatrical performance "Up the Feeder, Down the Mouth and Back Again" on which I happened to be working. After looking at the web site I was intrigued too and decided to ask the Captain about the flag. Apparently it is the Belize maritime flag. It prompted the Captain to point out a chart on the bridge which displayed national maritime flags and sure enough the simplified blue and red ensign was there. I hope this is of use to you and it was great reading about our ship on your website.
Jo Cuthbert, 11 July 2001

Baron Bliss Day

March 9th is a flag day, Baron Bliss Day in Belize (many thanks to Alex Smith):
Baron Bliss, a wealthy Englishman, inherited the title 4th Baron of Bliss from the Kingdom of Portugal. He arrived in Belize in 1926. When told he had few weeks to live he changed his will and set up a trust fund for his wife, which, after her death, would go to the country of Belize. His estate was believed to be valued at perhaps 1,000,000 pounds sterling. If you want more details, you can go to <www2.belizenet.com>.
Edward Mooney , 10 March 1998

Subdivisions

Bahamas is divided to 6 districts. There are no known flags of those districts. The districts are:
- Belize
- Cayo
- Corozal
- Orange Walk
- Stann Creek
- Toledo
List based on Administrative divisions of the World.
Dov Gutterman, 25 October 2004

Municipalities in FOTW:

Belize City