Queen Elizabeth II 25th Anniversary Coronation First Day Cover, Belize postmarked on April 21, 1978.
Belize
Lying behind a protective barrier reef and clear water scattered with palm covered cays, Belize rises to a maximum elevation of 3,700 ft. in the Cockscomb Range. This area of Central America, once the home of the Mayan civilisation, is sub tropical and supports forests of logwood, mahogany, rosewood, chicle (from which chewing gum is made) and many other exotic trees. Claimed by the Spanish following the conquest of the Aztec Empire by Hernan Cortes, the country's right to make its own future has long been disputed by neighbouring Guatemala.
Settlement began in 1638 following the shipwreck of some English sailors, and the arrival of settlers from Jamaica. The Bay of Honduras was also a favourite haunt of buccaneers pirating the cargoes of Spanish ships.
Logwood initially formed the basis of the economy, being valued for the dye which could be extracted from it; but it was soon superceded by mahogany, used for shipbuilding, and carriage and furniture making. The slave trade brought Africans to work as woodcutters, and along with Maya and Carib Indians, they now form the majority of the population.
Much of the original forest has now gone and the soil has, in places, been seriously leached by rainfall. Mahogany trees were once very common, but people took a get-rich-quick attitude of cutting without replacing. Consequently, by the end of World War II the forests had been so depleted that the country had to turn to agriculture for its income, developing plantations of citrus fruit, sugarcane and bananas.
The government of Belize has had internal autonomy since 1964, and is centred in the new capital Belmopan.
To celebrate the Coronation Anniversary, Belize chose to display in its Omnibus stamps the White lion of Mortimer, and the Jaguar. The former is the badge of the Earls of March, under which Richard II and Roger Mortimer brought Yorkist claims to the throne to prevail over those of Lancaster.
The Jaguar, principal God of the Olmecs, and Maya God of Day and Night, was an important figure in ceremonial and temple adornment. Its skin denoted Chieftainship. Eating deer, peccaries and crocodiles it is also a good fisher, said to attract fish by tapping its tail on the water.
