Battle of St . George ' s Caye The Battle of St . George ' s Caye was a short military engagement that lasted from 3 to 10 September 1798 , off the coast of what is now Belize . However , the name is typically reserved for the final battle that occurred on 10 September . The Spaniards had previously attempted to expel the Settlers in the years 1716 , 1724 , 1733 , 1747 , 1751 , and 1779 . Thus , the 10 September 1798 , marked the final attempt to take over the area . Today , the Battle of St . George ' s Cay is a national public and bank holiday . However , the symbolic meaning and significance of celebrating the 10th varies upon gender , class , and ethnic backgrounds through time and space . Combatants and overview . The battle took place between an invading force from Mexico , attempting to assert Spanish claims to present - day Belize , and a small force of resident woodcutters called Baymen , who fought for their livelihood assisted by black slaves . After the final two and a half - hour battle , ravaged by sickness , the Spaniards withdrew and the British declared themselves winners . Background . The territory that is now Belize was under dispute from as early as the mid - 1750s by Great Britain and Spain . Although Spain never occupied Belize , she considered it part of her Central American territories , such as Mexico and Guatemala . The British had entered the territory as of 1638 to harvest logwood and later mahogany . Spain recognised this trade in the Treaty of Paris ( signed in 1763 ) but did not undertake to draw boundaries ( which would have suggested that Spain was giving up claims of sovereignty to the area ) , leading to further disputes . Indeed , from 1779 to 1782 the settlement was abandoned , its settlers , known as the Baymen , and their African slaves having been deported to Havana , Cuba following a Spanish attack . The Treaty of Versailles and the Superintendency . In 1783 , hostilities were brought to an end by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles , which allowed the Baymen rights between the Belize and Hondo rivers ; this was extended with the 1786 Convention of London to the Sibun River . Cutting rights were granted to the settlers on the condition that the settlement be recognised as belonging to Spain ; Superintendent Col . Edward Marcus Despard was to administer the terms of the treaty . Due to conflicts with the inhabitants Despard resigned , but by 1796 it was clear the issue would have to be settled . Escalation and preparations . Humphreys relates that in a 1796 visit to the area , Visitador Juan O ' Sullivan claimed the British were encroaching on Spanish territory in Mexico by cutting near the Hondo . Upon his return to Spain , hostilities broke out between Great Britain and Spain as a result of the Napoleonic Wars . The Spanish viewed the situation seriously and determined to remove the British . Colonists appealed to Jamaican Lieutenant Governor Alexander Lindsay , 6th Earl of Balcarres , for assistance . Even though he was in the midst of the Maroon Wars , Balcarres nonetheless sent muskets and ammunition to the settlement and a further shipment arrived on Commander Thomas Dundas ' ship HMS " Merlin " in December 1796 . But upon his arrival , Dundas noted panic in the settlement and the subsequent dispatching of slaves to cut logwood instead of preparing to defend the settlement . Balcarres then named Major ( promoted to Lt . Colonel ) Thomas Barrow Superintendent of the settlement . Barrow , a seasoned veteran of war according to Humphreys , immediately began whipping the unruly Baymen into shape , and martial law , stopping all activities in the settlement , was declared on 11 February 1797 . On 18 March , magistrates Thomas Potts , Thomas Graham and Marshall Bennett all asked Barrow whether there were any incoming messages from Jamaica . Barrow admitted that more help would be on the way soon , to alleviate the fears of the Baymen , but Humphreys calls the actions of Potts and company " cowardly " and says that even after that reassurance morale was low . The June evacuation meeting . Impatient with the plans to defend the settlement , the Baymen called a public meeting for 1 June 1797 . At this meeting , the Baymen voted 65 to 51 to defend the settlement and cooperate with Barrow . This initial support wavered considerably between then and September 1798 , as reports came in of the size of the Spanish fleet . Don Arturo O ' Neill Tirone , Yucatán Governor and Commander of the expedition , had secured : This estimate was severely reduced due to outbreaks of yellow fever and dissent in the Spanish army . Nevertheless , it was enough to frighten the Baymen into posting lookouts near the boundaries of the territory . Baymen ' s preparations . The " Merlin " captain in 1798 was John Moss , a strategist on the order of Barrow . By 18 July 1798 the fleet had reached Cozumel , leading the settlers to agree to arm their slaves , an act that affected the outcome of the battle due to the slaves ' knowledge of warfare . There were still some who were cautious and demanded evacuation , including Potts , but Balcarres ignored them and imposed martial law on 26 July . The Settlement lineup consisted of the following : " Merlin " , two sloops , and , with one 18 - pounder gun and 25 men each , and under the command of two merchant captains , Mr . Gelston and Mr . Hosmer , who brought with them some of their crew ; , with one short 9 pounder and 25 men ; the schooners , and , with six guns and 25 men each , " Swinger " having four 6 - pounder guns and two 4 - pounders , and " Teazer " six 4 - pounders ; and eight gun - flats , each with one 9 - pounder and 16 men . Except for the crews of " Towser " and " Tickler " , the rest of the crews consisted of 354 volunteers from the " Colonial Troops " . In addition there were 700 troops ready to deter attack by land . The battle . From 3 to 5 September , the Spaniards tried to force their way through Montego Caye shoal , blocked by the defenders . The military commanders , Moss and Barrow , differed on where to put their resources for the next phase of the fight : Barrow thought they would go to the land phase , while Moss decided on defending St . George ' s Caye . Moss arrived in time to stop the Spaniards , setting the stage for 10 September . 10 September . At 1 : 00 p . m . that afternoon , the Spaniards and British lined up off St . George ' s Caye . The Spaniards stormed through the channel , and at 1 : 30 engaged the British in a two - hour fight which ended in defeat for the confused Spaniards . Moss reported no one killed and the Baymen in good spirits . Barrow was dispatched and arrived in time to see the end of the battle and prevent the slave men from boarding the enemy . The Spaniards were in full retreat by 13 September , and Barrow agreed to send vessels to further push the Spaniards back . Aftermath . Conditions in Belize did not improve much after the battle , though the threat of Spanish attacks decreased significantly . Commemoration . On the 100th anniversary of the battle the government of Belize declared 10 September a national holiday ; the event is celebrated as St . George ' s Caye Day or National Day . Then in 1998 Belize issued three coins to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle . These consisted of a cupro - nickel $ 2 , a 0 . 925 silver $ 10 and a 0 . 917 gold $ 100 . The obverse features a three - masted sailing vessel from the national coat - of - arms . The reverse features HMS " Merlin " and two of the oar - powered flat boats . Retracing the Celebrations . There are many Belizeans , ( from a large cross section of the society , including professors , teachers , government workers , organization leaders , etc . ) , who do not have an evidence - based understanding of the Battle of St . George ' s Cay and the development of the traditional celebration . Some people today are still questioning whether there was ever such a battle . The anniversary of the battle is a national holiday in Belize and is celebrated by some Belizeans to commemorate the " first Belizeans " and their defence of the territory . This accounting of history is undermined by the Maya ' s status as the first peoples to establish a thriving civilization in what is now Belize . Also important is that the accounts of the battle make no mention of the involvement of indigenous peoples - the actual first Belizeans with ancestral claims to the area . Instead , the battle over territorial rights is said to have been fought between two European groups , the Spanish and the British Baymen , who fought to colonize the area and to control and exploit its people and natural resources . Nevertheless , the historicity of the Battle of St . George ’ s Caye by and large is not the issue that seems to be of real concern . It is the socially applied meanings infused in its celebration which are the core of the issue . " The symbolic meaning and significance of celebrating the 10th varies upon gender , class , and ethnic backgrounds through time and space . " Shoman and Macpherson have written works that analyse the development of celebrating the Battle . The pattern that emerged was that the Battle was used to harmonize the master - slave relations that existed in the colony with the development of the “ shoulder to shoulder ” myth / concept . As early as 1823 , the Battle was being used to project the idea of the “ family affair of slavery in Belize ” . The first major celebration of the event occurred in 1898 - one hundred years after , through the efforts of the Centenary Committee . Many of its members of the Committee were referred to as “ middle class ” . The members had the same goal : to use the Battle as a symbol of inclusion into the upper class ( colonial society ) and as a means of claiming “ native rights ” . The logic behind this , put simply , is that some Creole segments of the society who were descendants of the enslaved population had fought for this territory and were therefore entitled to greater resources and status . In fact , for many years the celebration included the “ social ritual ” of stopping the marching at the Government House ( House of Culture ) to give allegiance to “ Great Britain ” . There were changes to this tradition from about the 1930s , peaking in the 1950s , when the movement towards independence began gaining momentum . Some argued that it was counter - productive to continue on such a tradition while at the same time rallying for independence . During the 1950s the " Battle of St . George ’ s Cay " became “ National Day ” ( through the efforts of nationalist leaders as Rt . Hon . George Price ) . National Day was seen as an event that could unite the people . After Independence , the 21st has been given greater recognition . It is uncertain as to the period where the " National Day " title was again reverted to " Battle of St . George ' s Cay Day " . One can deduce that it was some time after Independence . There are many articles that base themselves on the idea that Lamb initiated the Centennial Celebrations . At this juncture , it not clear as to the direct involvement or extent of participation that Simon Lamb had in celebrating the Battle . It is important to note that early members of Centennial Celebrations were in opposition to the Emancipation Jubilee organized by S . Lamb . The Colonial Guardian had “ for a few days earlier [ he had ] warned the organizers not to allow memories of slavery to provoke unrest . A feature in the newspaper argued that ‘ the slavery of British Honduras . . . was unlike that of the other British colonies in the New World , as slavery but in name ’ ” . Notwithstanding , Lamb ’ s committee did display loyalty to the British for having freed the enslaved but also requested the Governor ’ s support for an educational institution . Indeed , at the time , there were not many people even across the Caribbean who would oppose the colonial power in a very direct manner . The month after the Emancipation Jubilee members of what would become the Centennial Committee “ reacted to the August Emancipation Jubilee by marking the battle anniversary a month later with a private evening entertainment ” , that same year , 1888 . A review of articles available on the internet shows that most people agree that the “ Spirit of Simon Lamb ” was behind the Celebrations . Such ideas appear to be influence by a source available at the National Library ( and replicated in many others , as is the case with manuscript of Ernest Cain cited ) . However , the biographic document contains no reference sources . Typically those documents are drafted by Librarians to provide the public with a quick reference but are not peer reviewed research . It is important to note , however , that public memory of Lamb ' s involvement with the Celebrations long pre - dates the existence of the National Library ' s biography . However , one would believe that Simon Lamb did become involve in the celebrations for his name to have persisted up to today . The biography points to the fact that “ celebrations went well for about 10 years ; and the interest began to dwindle … It was then that the love for country stirred up in the soul of this humble Belizean Simon Lamb " . This would have been around 1914 . ( The Centennial Celebrations started in 1898 ) . This is further conflicted by the fact that Lamb died in either 1913 / 1914 , leaving only a few years open as to when he championed the celebrations . Vernon states that he died in 1913 ( 1994 ) . In contrast , an Amandala article states that he died in 1914 ( “ Founder of the 10th " ) . The Belize Archives confirms the year of his death as 1914 . In any regards , Lamb became active in its celebration at some point possibly realizing that the “ Emancipation ” celebration was not very well supported by the colonial authorities . Another thing that goes unmentioned when discussing the 10th Celebrations was the fact the 1894 Riot had recently occurred . The riot had racial elements to it – rioters were attacking middle class merchants many of whom later formed the Centennial Committee . Nonetheless , today , both 10 and 21 September are used as symbols of nationalism . However , a more critical analysis is necessary to trace the details of its development and to critical assess works so far on this subject . This is based on on - going research at Belizean Minds - The Battle of St . George ’ s Cay Celebrations : Retracing Its Development - http : / / belizeanminds . blogspot . com /