The colony grew out of the Treaty of Versailles (1783) between Britain and Spain, which gave the British rights to cut logwood between the Hondo and Belize rivers. The Convention of London (1786) expanded this concession to include the area between the Belize and Sibun rivers.
Belize achieved independence on September 21, 1981, but it has retained its historical link with the United Kingdom through membership in the Commonwealth. Belize is often thought of as a Caribbean country in Central America because it has a history similar to that of English-speaking Caribbean nations.
As the only unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy in Central America, having English as its official language and being a Commonwealth Realm meaning that King Charles is Belize head of state, the country is the closest British ally and partner in the area.
For Britain, the prospects of training in an area of challenging terrain and austere environment is an unique opportunity to maintain its word-class military forces fit to long deployments in the jungle warfare. Furthermore, Britain is the largest supplier of military equipment to Belize Defence Force (BDF) providing, for example, trainer and light utility aircraft and portable mortars.
