For a while now, there has been a conflict over the official date of Garifuna Settlement Day. Some have reported it as 1823, and others have reported it as 1832.
Last week I got a call from a tour guide who told me that the 1823 date I referenced in a KREM FM Settlement Day message was wrong, as his books say 1832. Also, I was reading an article on the Internet that erroneously recorded both 1823 and 1832 as the settlement date.
The writings of both T. V. Ramos, the founder of Garifuna Settlement Day, and his son, Abraham L. W. Ramos (my father), both deceased, concur that 1823 is the settlement date.
Abraham Ramos, in an article published in the Amandala, dated Friday, November 9, 1984, stated that “On Monday, 31st March, 1823, Mr. Elejo Beni, his four comrades, and his cousin, Mr. Benito Beni, their interpreter, met the Superintendent of the Settlement, Major-General Edward Codd.”
Codd gave Beni permission for a large group of Honduran Garinagu to settle in Belize. They returned to Honduras on April 1, 1823, and arrived in Honduras on April 3. They returned to Belize November 19, 1823.
Emory King writes, in Volume II of The Great Story of Belize, that Codd became Superintendent of the Settlement in the Bay of Honduras (now Belize) in January, 1823. Codd served in the colony from 1823 to 1829, and was succeeded by Colonel Francis Cockburn, who served from 1830 – 1836.
Based on this information, it follows, then, that the year is 1823 and not 1832.
(Additional research of mine, going back to the 1823 and 1832 calendars, confirms the accuracy of my father’s reports, citing Wednesday, November 19, 1823, as the arrival date. The 19th did not fall on a Wednesday in 1832, but it did in 1823.)
TIMELINE OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE GARINAGU TO BELIZE
1799: First reported contact with Belize.
1801: On March 25, Garinagu arrived at Belize City. They were only allowed to stay temporarily for 2 days.
1802: 150 Caribs settled in Belize at Yarborough. Some surnames of the settlers include: Avaloy, Avila, Beni, Blanco, Cayetano, Ciego, Diego, Ellis, Enriquez, Guerrero, Lambey, Lewis, Martinez, Moguel, Noguera, Nunez, Rhys, Reyes and Serano. One of the prominent leaders at the time was Benito Beni.
Village of Red Cliff – present day Barranco – established. Today, Barranco, one of the first Garifuna communities in Belize, is one of the last havens where the Garifuna culture is preserved in one of its most dynamic forms.
1823: 375 Garinagu recorded at Yarborough in Belize City.
On March 31, Elejo Beni, Romauldo Lewis, Elias Martinez, Alejo Lambey and Alejo Beni’s cousin, Benito Beni, their interpreter, approached Sup. Major-General Edward Codd (1823-1829) for permission for Garinagu to migrate from Honduras.
On Wednesday, November 19, 500 Garinagu settled in Belize. This was the largest recorded exodus of Garifuna to Belize: 300 in Dangriga (then Stann Creek Town); 125 in Punta Gorda (Toledo); 28 in Seine Bight; 15 in Jonathon Point; 8 in Newtown (desolated by hurricane).
1941 – First celebration of Garifuna Settlement Day in Belize, called Carib Disembarkation Day. Founded by Thomas Vincent Ramos.
1943 – Ramos lobbied for a public and bank holiday and succeeded two years after celebrations began. Granted only for Stann Creek.
1944: Holiday extended to the Toledo District, where the third largest concentration of Garifuna lived.
1977: Carib Settlement Day becomes a national holiday, and name changed to Garifuna Settlement Day.
(From:www.freewebs.com/adeleramos/garifunahistory.htm)