Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

Forests of mahogany, sapodilla, and

other trees cover almost half of Belize.

Grasslands and mangrove trees cover the

coastal lowlands.Wild animals include

jaguars, tapirs, American crocodiles, and

manatees.

The people of Belize include mestizos

(people with both European and Mayan

roots), Creoles (those with European and

African roots), Maya Indians, and Garifuna

(those with African and Carib

Indian roots). There are also some whites

and Asians. English is the official language,

but people speak many local languages.

Most of the people are Christian.

About half of the people live in cities.

Tourism and trade are the most important

parts of Belize’s economy. But

many people in Belize earn their living

from farming. Sugarcane, oranges,

grapefruit, and bananas are among the

main food crops. Fishing and logging

are important, too. Belize’s exports

include shrimp, sugar, fruit, and clothing.

The Maya lived in what is now Belize

from about AD 300 to 900. The Spanish

came in the 1500s. British loggers

settled there in the 1600s. In 1862 Great

Britain made the area the colony of British

Honduras. Belize gained independence

in 1981.

..More to explore

Belmopan • Central America • Maya

The Mayan ruins of Xunantunich sit on a

hilltop in Belize.

Facts About

BELIZE

Population

(2008 estimate)

323,000

Area

8,867 sq mi

(22,965 sq km)

Capital

Belmopan

Form of

government

Constitutional

monarchy

Major cities

Belize City, San

Ignacio/Santa

Elena, Orange

Walk, Belmopan,

Dangriga

US . BUMBRA. FOL R

OE

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Belize 57

 

Bell, Alexander

Graham

Alexander Graham Bell was an inventor

and a teacher of the deaf. He is famous

for creating one of the world’s most

important communication devices—the

telephone.

Alexander Graham Bell was born in

Edinburgh, Scotland, on March 3,

1847. Alexander was mostly schooled at

home. As a young man Alexander

worked with his father to teach deaf

people to speak.

In the mid-1870s, Bell began work on

the telephone with Thomas Augustus

Watson. On March 10, 1876, Bell made

the first successful test of the telephone.

He spoke a few words toWatson, beginning

with “Mr.Watson, come here.”

At the Centennial Exposition of 1876 in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bell and

Watson demonstrated the telephone to

the public. People were amazed by this

new device. In 1877 Bell established the

Bell Telephone Company.

After his success with the telephone, Bell

pursued his interests in science, invention,

and the education of deaf people.

In 1890 he founded an organization in

Washington, D.C., to teach speech to

hearing-impaired people. This organization

later became the Alexander Graham

Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard

of Hearing.

Alexander Graham Bell died on August

2, 1922. At the time of his burial, every

telephone of the Bell system in the

United States and Canada was kept

silent for one minute.

#More to explore

Telephone

Bell, Cool Papa

The baseball player called Cool Papa

Bell is known as one of the fastest base

runners of all time. He was elected to

the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.

James Thomas Bell was born on May

17, 1903, in Starkville, Mississippi. He

began playing baseball as a professional

at age 19. At the time, African Americans

were not allowed to play for major

league teams. They played instead for

teams in the Negro leagues.

Bell earned the nickname Cool Papa as a

young pitcher. One day he struck out

Oscar Charleston, a future Hall of Fame

Alexander Graham Bell demonstrates his

telephone in 1876.

Alexander

Graham Bell

also invented

a machine

called a photophone.

It

transmitted

sound on a

beam of light.

58 Bell, Alexander Graham BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

player, without showing any nervousness

at all. Later, after hurting his pitching

arm, Bell played in the outfield.

Bell’s career lasted from 1922 to 1950.

He played for several different Negro

league teams as well as for leagues in

Mexico and the Dominican Republic. In

1940 he won the Mexican League’s

triple crown, leading the league in batting

average, home runs, and runs batted

in.

Bell’s outstanding talent was his speed.

It is believed that he once stole 175

bases in less than 200 games. The most

famous story about his speed was told by

his old roommate Satchel Paige. Paige

joked that Cool Papa could turn out the

hotel room lights and be in his bed

before the room got dark!

Bell finished his baseball career in 1950

as a player-manager of a team in Kansas

City. He died on March 7, 1991.

Belmopan

Population

(2007 estimate)

16,435

Belmopan is the capital of the small

Central American country of Belize.

Most people in the city work for the

government of Belize.

Belize City was once the capital of Belize.

Floods from a hurricane damaged

Belize City in 1961. The government of

Belize decided to build a new capital. It

chose a site away from the coast to avoid

flooding.Work began on Belmopan in

1966. The government offices moved

there in 1970. But few people moved

there besides government workers.

..More to explore

Belize

Cool Papa Bell

A fruit and vegetable market overflows with

goods in Belmopan.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Belmopan 59

 

Benin

Benin is a country on the west coast of