Corozal is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, capital of

Corozal District Corozal is the northernmost Districts of Belize, district of the nation of Belize. The population was 46,071 in 2024. The district capital is Corozal Town. Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Maya ruins are found in Corozal at Santa Rita ruins, Sa ...

. Corozal is located about 84 miles north of

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

, and 9 miles from the border with

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The population of Corozal, according to the main results of the 2010 census, is 9,871. Corozal was a private estate before becoming a town in the 1840s, mostly settled by

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

refugees from the Caste War of Yucatán. Much of the town was built over an ancient

city, sometimes known as Santa Rita; this may have been the original

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

town called Chactemal, which extended from present day Corozal to

Chetumal Chetumal (, , ; , ) is a city on the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. It is the capital of the List of states of Mexico, state of Quintana Roo and the municipal seat of the Othón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo, Municipality of Othón ...

. Corozal Town was badly damaged by

Hurricane Janet Hurricane Janet was the most powerful tropical cyclone of the 1955 Atlantic hurricane season and one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record. Janet was also the first named storm to cause 1,000 deaths and the first Category 5 storm name ...

in 1955 and was substantially rebuilt afterward.

History

Corozal, the northmost town in Belize, was founded in 1848 by

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s from the Maya Indian uprising against the Spanish in neighboring Yucatán. This uprising, known as the Caste War of Yucatán (from the Spanish "castes" or race), began as a war against the Spaniards, but it eventually became a war against the Mestizos. The Mestizos, half Spanish and half Indian, had proved to be formidable allies of the Spaniards and were thus mortal enemies of the Maya Indians. A massacre at Bacalar, Mexico — a Mestizo stronghold about thirty miles north of Corozal Town — finally led to the exodus of thousands of Mestizos from Bacalar and the surrounding area. Between 1848 and 1856 more than 10,000 refugees crossed the Rio Hondo, the river that now serves as a boundary between Belize and Mexico. These immigrants sought refuge in northern Belize and increased the population of Corozal Town to 4500. Mr. James Blake, a magistrate, let them settle on lands in the Corozal District and helped them to establish the new crop — sugar cane. The Mestizo refugees were far from safe in Corozal Town as the Maya Indians from the Mexican base in Santa Cruz Bravo — today Carrillo Puerto — made several incursions in Corozal Town. In defense, Corozal became a garrison town and Fort Barlee was built here in 1870. Today, the brick corner supports of the fort surround the post office complex of the buildings across from the central town square. The immigrants brought with them Maya Mestizo culture: Spanish and Yucatec Maya language,

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and Maya folklore, the use of alcalde, their family structure and way of life. Soon, there emerged a local replication of the society of the Yucatán within the boundaries of a country ruled by English expatriates. Across the bay from Corozal Town are the mounds of Cerros, the first Maya coastal trading center. Cerros is considered one of the most important late preclassic Maya sites because it represented the first experiment with kingship in the Maya world. The remains include a number of temples, plazas, ball courts, canals, and minor structures. The most interesting artifacts so far discovered are the five jade head pendants. Within Corozal, itself can be found another Maya ruins from the fourteenth century AD. Known as Santa Rita, the pyramid site sits atop the remains of a Maya city that dominated the area for more than 2000 years, and burial sites rich in jewelry and artifacts have been unearthed there. The monument is said to be the center of ancient Chactemal, the Maya capital of the area at the time of the first Spanish attempt to conquer the Yucatec Mayas in the early 16th century. The ruins of Santa Rita is located near the town's Hospital and is surrounded by the villages of San Andres, San Antonio, and Paraiso, by walking distances. An estimated 90% of the town was destroyed by

in 1955, and most of the present structures post-date that hurricane. The town is served by Corozal Hospital.

Climate

Demographics

At the time of the 2010 census, Corozal had a population of 10,287. Of these, 66.2% were

, 12.7% Creole, 9.4% Mixed, 3.1% East Indian, 2.5% Asian, 1.2%

Garifuna The Garifuna people ( or ; pl. Garínagu in Garifuna) are a people of mixed free African and Amerindian ancestry that originated in the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent and traditionally speak Garifuna, an Arawakan language. The Garifuna ...

, 1.1% Caucasian, 1.0%

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 0.8% Ketchi Maya, 0.5% Lebanese, 0.5%

Yucatec Maya Yucatec Maya ( ; referred to by its speakers as or ) is a Mayan languages, Mayan language spoken in the Yucatán Peninsula, including part of northern Belize. There is also a significant diasporic community of Yucatec Maya speakers in San Fra ...

, 0.3% African, 0.2% Mopan Maya, 0.2%

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

and 0.2% others. In terms of languages spoken (multiple answers allowed), 77.8% spoke Spanish, 75.8% English, 35.1% Creole, 2.5%

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

Cantonese Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...

, 1.0%

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

, 0.8%

, 0.5%

, 0.2% Ketchi Maya, 0.2% Mopan Maya, 0.1%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and 0.8% other languages; 0.2% could not speak.

Image gallery

Corozal Town street on a gloomy day.jpg, Corozal Town street on a gloomy day File: Corozal Beach, Corozal, Belize 2.jpg, Corozal limestone beach File:Cerros Ruins, Corozal, Belize.JPG, Cerros Ruins File: Corozal Beach, Corozal, Belize.jpg, Another view of Corozal limestone beach File:Corozal.jpg, Corozal seafront File: Corozal Town Square 2.jpg, Corozal Town Park File: Corozal Town Hall.jpg, Corozal Town Hall File: Corozal Town Square.jpg, Corozal Town square File: Corozal beach sunset.jpg, A storm looms off the Corozal coastline opposite the setting sun File: Corozal sign 2.jpg, "Corozal Gateway to Ancient Chactemal" sign along Philip Goldson Highway in south Corozal Town File:Maximum Water Park Corozal.png, Maximum Water Park at Rainbow Park in Corozal Town

Recreation

In June 2020, the Corozal Town Council led by Mayor Rigo Vellos received a development proposal for an eco-friendly, world-class water park. Maximum Water Park opened to the public in April 2021.

References

External links

Travel Belize – CorozalCorozal.comCorozal Town at Belize.com
http://www.simplybelize.org/episode01.html
¿Que Pasa Corozal? - Providing news on Corozal District and the rest of Belize.
{{Authority control Populated places in Corozal District Corozal North Corozal Bay (Belize House constituency) Mestizo communities in Belize