Shipyard, also called Shipyard Colony, is a
Mennonite
Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
settlement that is also an administrative village in the
Orange Walk District
Orange Walk is a Districts of Belize, district in the northwest of the nation of Belize, with its district capital in Orange Walk Town.
Demographics Main settlements
The Orange Walk District, with an area of 1,829 square miles (4,636 square km), ...
of
Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern 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 maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
.
Shipyard was founded in 1958 by
Old Colony Mennonites from
Chihuahua and
Durango
Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...
states in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
. It consists of more than 20 camps (German: "dörfer"), which have German names like "Blumenort" or "Hochfeld", but outside the Mennonite community they are referred to only by numbers, e. g. "Camp 5" instead of "Reinfeld".
Most of the population of Shipyard are
Plautdietsch
Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...
-speaking ethnic
Mennonites
Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
, living in a very integrated community where most of them work as carpenters, farmers and mechanics. Most Mennonites of Shipyard are quite traditional in lifestyle, still using horse and buggy for transportation and tractors with steel wheels for fieldwork. Compared with other Mennonites in Belize, Shipyard is more conservative than
Spanish Lookout and
Blue Creek, but more modern concerning the use of technology than
Upper Barton Creek,
Springfield and daughter colonies.
Population
Around 1960 the total population of Shipyard was 728. In 1987 it had grown to 1,966.
[Friesen, David K. and John B. Loewen. "Shipyard Colony (Belize)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1989. Web. 23 February 2015]
/ref> In the 2014 census it had a total population of 3,497 people. In 2017 it has grown to 3,805 people. It is thus the largest Mennonite settlement in Belize. The population has reached 4,070 as of 2022 census.[2022 Housing and Population Census]
/ref>
See also
*Mennonites in Belize
Mennonites in Belize form different religious bodies and come from different ethnic backgrounds. There are groups of Mennonites living in Belize who are quite traditional and conservative (e. g. in Shipyard and Upper Barton Creek), while othe ...
External links
Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online: ''Shipyard Colony (Belize)''
References
Mennonitism in Belize
Mexican diaspora in Belize
Old Colony Mennonites
Populated places in Orange Walk District
Ukrainian diaspora in North America
Russian Mennonite diaspora in Belize
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