Northern Belize

Northern Belize is a region consisting of Belize's administrative districts of Orange Walk and Corozal.

• 18.4-88.41 Corozal Town - capital of its district
• 18.075-88.5583332 Orange Walk Town - capital of its district
• 17.764319-88.6524583 Lamanai - Maya ruins
• 18.35439-88.1454964 Sarteneja – small fishing village with a reasonable amount of tourist infrastructure

• 17.689146-88.8071931 Rio Bravo - wildlife reserve
• 18.31773-88.183252 Shipstern Nature Reserve - wildlife reserve

The history of settlements in this region stretches far back, with the oldest finds dating from 900 BC. At the beginning of the first millennium BC, one of the early kingdoms established itself in Cerros. Although it collapsed just 200 years later, the New River and the Rio Hondo provided two important inland trade routes that intersected with the coastal routes here. This led to a population boom during the Classic period, giving rise to numerous cities, with many ruins still bearing witness today. At the end of the Classic period, there was a radical population decline; however, the trading hub around the two river mouths remained important, as large cities such as Lamanai continued to be significant along these two rivers. When the Spanish advanced from the north in the 16th century, they were successfully defeated militarily at Santa Rita, but the important trade routes along the coast to the north had become inaccessible. Furthermore, diseases brought by the Spanish arrived, and the rest was done by British pirates and loggers who advanced from the south a few years later in search of hiding places and timber. By the beginning of the 19th century, this region was almost uninhabited. This changed in the course of the Caste Wars. Numerous refugees of Mestizo and Mayan descent fled across the border to start a new life here. Most of the towns, such as Corozal, are from this period. Larger groups of Mennonites followed.