Officials commemorate battle of St. George’s Caye

On Monday, official ceremonies at Memorial Park in Belize City commemorated the two hundred and ninth anniversary of the Battle of St. George’s Caye. Besides the formal coronation of Queen of the Bay Ronnie Coye, the event also included speeches by elected representatives on the importance of the historical milestone.

Zenaida Moya, Belize City Mayor
“We do not need to prove to anyone that there was a Battle of Saint George’s Caye. Instead we need to bask in the freedom of our four fathers, achieved on tenth September 1798. Two hundred nine years later, we are free. And as stated in our theme for this year’s September Celebrations ‘Independent, strong and free. Belize fu all ah we.’ Belize belongs to all of us and every Belizean must realize that we must not ask what Belize can do for us but what we can do for Belize.”

Godfrey Smith, Minister of Tourism
“If in 1798 the slaves could bridge that yawning chasm between themselves and their colonial masters in defence of territory, we their Belizean descendants can with a sense of occasion lay down our many and varied instruments of discord and celebrate the unalterable fact of nationhood. A Belize independent, strong and free, a Belize fi all ah we.”

Following tradition, the event was capped by a parade through the streets of the old capital.