Grace Bank, formerly Barcadares, is an unincorporated hamlet 33 miles up the

Belize River The Belize River runs through the center of Belize. It drains more than one-quarter of the country as it winds along the northern edge of the Maya Mountains to the sea just north of Belize City (). The Belize river valley is largely tropical rain ...

. It was the second settlement founded by the first English settlers of present-day

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. It was settled in the 1650s, relocated in 1760, and resettled in 1853.

History

Prior to English settlement

Pre-Columbian

Grace Bank's immediate surroundings were likely first settled by nomadic Paleo-indians prior to the

8th millennium BC 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of t ...

, during the Lithic period of Mesoamerica.Paleo-indian projectile points have been recovered from Lowe Ranch,

Sandhill A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and be ...

, and

Burrell Boom Burrell Boom is on the Belize River twenty miles above Belize City, Belize. Tourists pass through this historic village on their way to the Community Baboon Sanctuary, where the population of black howler monkeys has grown to over 2,000. Histor ...

, all within seven miles of Grace Bank (, , , ). Mayan farmers founded permanent settlements in the area by the

2nd millennium BC The 2nd millennium BC spanned the years 2000 BC to 1001 BC. In the Ancient Near East, it marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age. The Ancient Near Eastern cultures are well within the historical era: The first half of the mil ...

, during the Archaic period of Mesoamerica. By the

16th century The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th cent ...

, the region formed part of Dzuluinicob, a Postclassic Mayan state.

Columbian

= Rise of Spanish dominion, 15281544

= Sixteenth century residents of the area first became aware of Spaniards in 1502, with the 30 July landing of Christopher Columbus in

Guanaja Guanaja is one of the Bay Islands of Honduras and is in the Caribbean. It is about off the north coast of Honduras, and from the island of Roatan. One of the cays off Guanaja, also called Guanaja or Bonacca or Low Cay (or just simply, The Ca ...

.During 30 July14 August of 1502, Columbus surveyed the coast of present-day

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

from

to Trujillo. Alternatively, residents may have become aware of Spaniards after # the 1508 (start of Julyend of December) arrival of

Juan Díaz de Solís Juan Díaz de Solís ( – 20 January 1516) was a 16th-century navigator and explorer. He is also said to be the first European to land on what is now modern day Uruguay. Biography His origins are disputed. One document records him as a Portuguese ...

and

Vicente Yáñez Pinzón Vicente Yáñez Pinzón () (c. 1462 – after 1514) was a Spanish navigator and explorer, the youngest of the Pinzón brothers. Along with his older brother, Martín Alonso Pinzón (''c.'' 1441 – ''c.'' 1493), who captained the '' Pinta'', he s ...

Lake Izabal Lake Izabal (), also known as the Golfo Dulce, is the largest lake in Guatemala with a surface area of 589.6 km² (145,693 acres or 227.6 sq mi) and a maximum depth is 18 m (59 ft). The Polochic River is the largest river that drai ...

(, , ), # the 1511 (''s.d.'s.d.'') arrival of

Gonzalo Guerrero Gonzalo Guerrero (also known as Gonzalo Marinero, Gonzalo de Aroca and Gonzalo de Aroza) was a sailor from Palos, in Spain who was shipwrecked along the Yucatán Peninsula and was taken as a slave by the local Maya. Earning his freedom, Guerr ...

and his marooned shipmates to

Cozumel Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán ...

. On 8 December 1526,

Francisco de Montejo Francisco de Montejo (; 1479 – 1553) was a Spanish conquistador in Mexico and Central America. Early years Francisco de Montejo was born about 1473 to a family of lesser Spanish nobility in Salamanca, Spain. He never documented his parentage ...

was named ''

adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning "advanced") was a title held by Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spain, Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th and 17 ...

'' of the Yucatan peninsula (including the territory of ). The

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

reached the area in the third quarter of 1528, during Montejo's southern . Said conquest lasted until the first or second quarter of 1544, upon

Melchor Melchor may refer to: * Melchor (name) * Melchor Island in Chile *Melchor Ocampo, Nuevo León, a municipality in Mexico * Melchor Ocampo, State of Mexico, a town and municipality in Mexico * Villa de Tututepec de Melchor Ocampo, a town and municipal ...

and Alonso Pacheco's defeat of

Chetumal Chetumal (, , ; yua, label=Yucatec Maya, Chactemàal , ) is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco. In 2020 i ...

and , and their subsequent founding of

Bacalar Bacalar () is the municipal seat and largest city in Bacalar Municipality (until 2011 a part of Othón P. Blanco Municipality) in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, about north of Chetumal, at 18° 40' 37" N, 88° 23' 43" W. In the 2010 census ...

. Some or most of the area's surviving residents were (forcibly) relocated to towns closer to Bacalar, and (forcibly) converted to Roman Catholicism.These towns were held in by Melchor Pacheco, Martín Rodríguez, Alonso Pacheco, Pedro de Avila, Alonso Hernández, Juan Farfán, and possibly Juan Pérez de Castañeda . A church was built in Tipu in 15431550 . A second was built in

Lamanai Lamanai (from ''Lama'anayin'', "submerged crocodile" in Yucatec Maya) is a Mesoamerican archaeological site, and was once a major city of the Maya civilization, located in the north of Belize, in Orange Walk District. The site's name is pre-Columbi ...

in , 15441550, or in (, , , ), and a third (in Lamanai) in the 1560s or in (, , ). A Spanish plaza was erected in Tipu in 1568 . A secular parish was (belatedly) established at Bacalar in 1565 by Pedro de la Costa. In the latter three quarters of 1568, an and by Juan de Garzón and the of Bacalar resulted in the further disintegration of Postclassic Mayan society in the area, thereby cementing Spanish dominion from Bacalar.Franciscan frays Francisco de Benavides, Martín de Barrientos and Alonso Toral possibly accompanied the Garzón (, ).

= Fall of Spanish dominion, 16381642

= Bacalar began to lose control over its district in , as were forced to re-establish towns near Tipu in 1615, to conduct a in 1620.Juan Sánchez de Aguilar lead the 1615 , Juan Alonso Díaz de Aguilar the 1620 . In 1638, Tipu lead the area into general revolt against Bacalar, resulting in the collapse of Spanish power over the region by 1642, and the relocation of a majority of the area's residents to Tipu.Tipu's efforts were likely aided by the Peten Itza kingdom, and by repeated piratical raids of the Bacalar district (, ). Spanish dominion over the (nominal) district of Bacalar was not re-established until the second or third quarter of 1695, during a by Francisco de Hariza y Arruyo (, , , ).

English settlement

Anglo-Dutch piracy, 16171650s

Pirates are first thought to have arrived near Grace Bank in 1617, during a raid of Bacalar by English pirates or privateers.The raiders further abducted Pedro Rojo, Antonio Gómez, and three other of Bacalar . Bacalar was thrice more raided on 22 November 1642 (, , ), in June 1648 (, ), and on 29 May 1652 (, , , ), resulting in its relocation first to Pacha, then to

Chunhuhub Chunhuhub is a town in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, localized in state center, in the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto Felipe Carrillo Puerto (8 November 1874 – 3 January 1924) was a Mexican journalist, politician and ...

, until 1729, when it was resettled as a military outpost (, , ). In the 1630s, pirates were further attracted to the region by the increasing willingness of Spanish residents to trade with non-Spaniards, and the possibility of abducting Mayan residents for impressment or sale at non-Spanish slave markets.Pirates' enslavement of Amerindians is thought to have lasted until .

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...

is thought to have been settled in 1638, by a crew of shipwrecked buccaneers.These buccaneers are further thought to have been led by

Peter Wallace Peter James Wallace (born 16 October 1985) is a former Scotland international rugby league footballer who played for the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. A New South Wales State of Origin representative, Wallace began his ...

(, , , , , , ). The details of this story are debated (see eg , , , , , , ).

English logging, 1650s1763

In the 1540s, Marcos de Ayala Trujeque, a of Merida, is thought to have pioneered the use of

logwood ''Haematoxylum campechianum'' (blackwood, bloodwood tree, bluewood, campeachy tree, campeachy wood, campeche logwood, campeche wood, Jamaica wood, logwood or logwood tree) is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is na ...

dyes in the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

. The early buccaneer settlers (now

Baymen The Baymen were the earliest European settlers along the Bay of Honduras in what eventually became the colony of British Honduras (modern-day Belize). Settlement The first Baymen settled in the Belize City area in the 1630s. They were buccane ...

) turned to logging logwood in the 1650s, when they are thought to have settled Grace Bank (then ''Barcadares'').The use of logwood dyes in England was prohibited sometime during 21 March 158020 March 1581, per 23 Eliz. 1 ch. 9 . The prohibition was strengthened in 1597, per 39 Eliz. 1 ch. 11 . It was loosened on 29 February 1620 , and finally lifted sometime during 7 January 16623 May 1662, per 14 Chas. 2 ch. 11 (, ).

Anglo-Spanish hostilities, 1650s1763

Barcadares's settlers opened conflict against Bacalar on 29 May 1652, when they are thought to have lead or been involved in that 's sacking.In addition to # the November 1652 raids of Mayan settlements on the New River (, , ), # the 23 October 1654 interruption of an by Francisco Pérez of Bacalar , # the 1660s sacking of Bacalar-in-Pacha (, ), # (possibly) the August 1677 interruption (by Bartholomew Sharpe) of a by Franciscan fray Joseph Delgado (, ). Spanish Yucatan retaliated during 16 November 169428 February 1695 with a paramilitary campaign against the Baymen's camps and settlements, thereby presaging over a century of Anglo-Spanish conflict that would eventually lead to the relocation of Barcadares. This campaign lead to the first (of many) evacuations of the Baymen's settlements.With similar evacuations occurring in # start of January 1700end of June 1703, occasioned by three paramilitary campaigns by Spanish Yucatan (, , , , ), # start of May 172920 October 1735, occasioned by an infantry campaign by Spanish Yucatan (, , , , ), # 3 June 1747prior to end of January 1748, occasioned by a Spanish campaign , # 9 January 1752prior to mid-February 1752, occasioned by Spanish privateers or (, , ), # start of May 1753end of May 1753, occasioned by Spanish privateers or , # 18 June 175412 April 1755, occasioned (first) by a Spanish infantry campaign and (later) by a Spanish naval campaign (, , , , , , , , , ), # prior to 20 July 1759, occasioned by Spanish privateers or (, , ), # start of May 1760end of April 1763, occasioned by a naval campaign by Spanish Yucatan (, ). Spanish Yucatan also tightened its control of the waters off the Belize River beginning on 2 November 1705 with the arrival of privateers or Archibaldo Magdonel de Narión and Francisco Joseph Jiménez with 30 men aboard two . The final campaign against Barcadares occurred on 25 December 1759, when 150 Spaniards aboard a 'great number' of landed in the port of Belize. This

coup de grâce A coup de grâce (; 'blow of mercy') is a death blow to end the suffering of a severely wounded person or animal. It may be a mercy killing of mortally wounded civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the sufferer's consent. ...

resulted in the imprisonment of a number of Baymen, the seizure of several loaded flats, the burning of Barcadares and nearby logging camps, and a nearly three-year evacuation of all settlements (in favour of the safer

Mosquito Shore The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskitu ...

).Though in 1759, Baymen and the merchant shipping had been repeatedly harassed by Spanish privateers or (, , , ).

Geography

Political

Grace Bank is not known to have been settled by Mayans.The closest (known) Mayan settlements are New Boston (four miles due east) and

Boom Boom may refer to: Objects * Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill * Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation * Boom (sailing), a sailboat part * Boom (windsurfi ...

(six miles due south) (, ). The closest

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a ''c ...

Mayan city-states are

Altun Ha Altun Ha is the name given to the ruins of an ancient Mayan city in Belize, located in the Belize District about north of Belize City and about west of the shore of the Caribbean Sea. The site covers an area of about . Stones from the ruins of ...

(eight miles northeast),

(18 miles northwest), and Camalote (39 miles southwest) (, ). The area is thought to have formed part of Dzuluinicob from the

10th 10 (ten) is the even natural number following 9 and preceding 11. Ten is the base of the decimal numeral system, by far the most common system of denoting numbers in both spoken and written language. It is the first double-digit number. The rea ...

or 12th century to .Based in Tipu, 60 miles southwest (, ). It was a part of the or district of Bacalar, in Yucatan, a province of

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

, until 15 September 1821.Based in

, 71 miles due north . It was a part of the English settlement in the Bay of Honduras from the 1650s to 11 February 1862, and thereafter a and part of

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

. It is presently part of the

Belize District Belize District is a district of the nation of Belize. Its capital is Belize City. Geography Most of the Belize District is in the east central mainland of Belize; the Belize District also includes various offshore islands, including Amberg ...

Physical

Grace Bank lies on the northern bank of the

, near its confluence with Francisco Creek, some eight or nine miles inland (as the crow flies) from the

Caribbean Sea The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...

. It is 33 miles up the river, past Davis Bank, just before Lime Walk. It lies just south of Jones Lagoon, and west of Potts Creek Lagoon. Geologically, xxx

Climate

Grace Bank has a

tropical monsoon climate An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Am''), with a MayNovember wet and a DecemberApril dry season.

Demographics

Government

Grace Bank is currently part of the

Belize Rural South Belize Rural South is an electoral Constituencies of Belize, constituency in the Belize District represented in the House of Representatives (Belize), House of Representatives of the National Assembly (Belize), National Assembly of Belize since 202 ...

constituency, and is represented in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

by Marconi Leal MP.

Economy

Society

Legacy

Notes

Citations

References

News

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Journals

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Theses

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Print

# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # {{Authority control Populated places in Belize District Belize Rural North