Indigenous Peoples' Resistance Day (Belize)

Indigenous Peoples' Resistance Day is a public holiday in Belize, and it is observed on the second Monday in October each year. The holiday celebrates the migration of Mestizos and Indians (Hispanics) from Yucatan, Mexico into Belize in the mid-1800's.

The holiday was originally known as Columbus Day, which celebrates the discovery of the Americas. Christopher Columbus was born in October 1451 in the Republic of Genoa, and he was an Italian explorer and navigator. On August 3, 1492, Columbus departed from Spain and arrived in the present-day Bahamas on October 12, 1492.

October 12 is widely celebrated in the American countries when Christopher Columbus first arrived in the Americas on this day in 1942. However, this also created a great clash of the different cultures.

In the 1800s, to escape the turmoil of the War of the Castes, the Spanish-speaking Mestizos and Indians in the Yucatán, Mexica started to move to Belize for a peaceful land. The War of the Castes was the revolt of Native Maya people against Hispanic populations in Yucatán. They first settled down in the northern towns of Corozal and Orange Walk and then extended to everywhere in the country.

The following is the list of Indigenous Peoples' Resistance Day in Belize from 2022 to 2026.

Please check more public holidays in Belize: