A majority of the people of Belize earn their living from agriculture. Fishing and forestry are other important sources of income. Furniture, boats, and wood products are manufactured from the high quality native wood. Chief exports include sugar, citrus fruits and products, bananas, fish and lobster, and clothing. Sugarcane, oranges, and grapefruits are the main food crops.
Farmers also raise pigs and cattle.
The earliest European settlements in Belize were established by British loggers in the 1600s. Because Spain claimed sovereignty over the region, Spanish settlers repeatedly attacked the British. The dispute continued until a decisive British naval victory in 1798. In 1862 the settlement was declared a British crown colony. It was Britain's last colony on the American mainland when self-government was finally granted in 1964.