Battle of St George's Caye
Today the 10th of September is a national holiday in Belize which commemorates the defeat of the Spanish conquerors who continuously attempted to capture British Honduras, now known as Belize. The battle began on the 3rd of September 1798 when a fleet of Spanish gunboats and 2,500 troops arrived on the northern coast of Belize to permanently remove the British settlers and slaves. The small force together with a local militia composed of African slaves and three battleships was heavily outnumbered by the Spanish. On the last day of battle, the 10th, the Spanish army was defeated off the coast of St George's Caye; they sailed away and never again returned to bother the settlement.
On a normal year this day is celebrated with parades and other events. But due to the Covid pandemic these have been canceled.
While it is a national holiday, the Mennonite colonies do not keep it. Most stores and shops are open all day and school is held as normal. However by law they are required to pay their non-Mennnonite employees their rightful 8 hours of work with the option not to work on that day. One or two companies with a significant number of Mestizo employees prefer to simply close their doors on this day.
