 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2024) |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| approx. 260,000 (including 21% of the Belizean population)[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Predominantly Belize Kriol, English, Spanish | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly Protestantism, Catholicism, Rastafari minorities | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Nicaraguan Creoles, Afro-Jamaicans, Baymen, Caracoles, Raizales, Afro-Caribbeans, West Indians, African Americans, Louisiana Creoles, Sierra Leone Creoles, West Africans |
Belizean Creoles, also known as Kriols, are a Creole ethnic group native to Belize.
Belizean Creoles are primarily mixed-raced descendants of enslaved West and Central Africans who were brought to the British Honduras (present-day Belize along the Bay of Honduras) as well as the English and Scottish log cutters, known as the Baymen who trafficked them.[2][3] Over the years they have also intermarried with Miskito from Nicaragua, Jamaicans and other Caribbean people, Mestizos, Europeans, Garifunas, Mayas, and Chinese and Indians. The latter were brought to Belize as indentured laborers. Majority of Kriols trace their ancestry to several of the aforementioned groups.
The Belize Kriol language, developed initially by interaction among the Africans and Europeans, was historically spoken only by them. The Creoles constituted the majority of the population until the 1980s and became synonymous with the Belizean national identity. In the 21st century, Creoles are found predominantly in urban areas, such as Belize City, and in most coastal towns and villages.
- ^ "Diaspora of Belize" Council on Diplomacy, Washington, DC and Consulate General of Belize.
- ^ "Belize-Guatemala Territorial Issue - Chapter 1". Archived from the original on 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ (Johnson,Melissa A.) The Making of Race and Place in Nineteenth-Century British Honduras. Environmental History, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Oct., 2003), pp. 598-617,