17 agos 1844 anni - St. Thomas Established

Descrizione:

In 1844, a ship sent by Leopold I of Belgium arrived in Guatemala; the Belgians landed in the southern Izabal region and settled in the town of Santo Tomás de Castilla. The President of Guatemala gave the Belgians the region in perpetuity in exchange for the payment of sixteen thousand pesos each year. The settlers had to convert to Catholicism and adopt Guatemalan citizenship, but they had the privilege of having their own government.

They also committed to give the Guatemalan government two thousand rifles, to build a metal bridge over the Motagua River and to build a port in the Bay of Amatique, in the town of Santo Tomás de Castilla.

The Colony would slowly grow until 1877, when they sold the District of St. Thomas directly to the Belgian government, which established it as a colony; the Belgian government also took over the payment of sixteen thousand pesos to Guatemala.

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