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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Belize
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Member of the *Commonwealth since 1981. On the coast of central America, to the east of Guatemala, the region was one of constant dispute between the Spanish colonial powers and British settlers, who from 1638 plundered the hardwood forests and made the area a base for privateering raids into the West Indies. It was declared a colony in 1862 as British Honduras (the name was changed back to Belize in 1973), but territorial disagreements have continued ever since with Guatemala and are still unresolved. The country had internal self-government from 1964 on the way to full independence in 1981.
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