Part 4, Seeds of Power: The Scottish-Belizean Legacy That Shaped a Nation

The Scottish Roots of Power in British Honduras

James Hyde, a Scotsman, rose to the influential position of Agent of British Honduras during a time when the British Empire was at its height. The Agent was not a ceremonial post, it was a powerful role charged with representing the colony before the British Colonial Office in London, influencing trade policy, legal frameworks, and the overall governance of the settlement. While the Superintendent, a role comparable to today’s Prime Minister, was the visible authority in the colony, it was often the Agent’s reports, recommendations, and counsel that gave the Superintendent his marching orders.

Scotland’s place in the British Empire was complex. Following the 1707 Acts of Union, the Scots gained access to imperial trade and political influence, yet they carried their own cultural identity and a historic memory of struggle. Some historians have traced certain Scottish noble lineages back to contacts with the Moors, noting the influence of Moorish knowledge, navigation, and diplomacy in the broader European world. For someone like James Hyde, these legacies could have shaped a political worldview that valued strategic foresight, resilience, and the idea of planting seeds that might bear fruit generations later.

Kingdom of Scotland flag

Adney Broster and the Birth of George Hyde

In this political and cultural context, James formed a relationship with Adney, also known as Ariadne Broster, a free woman of African descent. Around 1795, their son George Hyde was born. Despite his father’s influence, George inherited his legal status from his mother under colonial law, which marked him as “free-coloured.” This meant he was excluded from holding certain offices, serving as a commissioned officer in the militia, or enjoying full civic rights, restrictions based entirely on race.

The Petition That Shaped Belize’s Future

In 1827, George Hyde traveled to London to present a memorial to the Earl of Bathurst, appealing directly to the British Crown to remove these racial restrictions. He argued that his wealth, business success, and proven loyalty to the colony should qualify him for equal civic participation. This was not just a personal appeal, it was a direct challenge to the racial hierarchy that governed colonial life.

George’s petition planted a seed that would grow over decades. Without his bold act, the pathways for later leaders, including George Price, the nation’s first Prime Minister, to hold the highest offices in Belize might have been delayed or blocked. Every minister, judge, commissioner, and officer serving Belize today stands, knowingly or not, in the space George helped open.

Lamanai: The Economic Stronghold

The Hyde influence was not confined to politics. The family’s control of Lamanai, one of the longest continuously occupied Maya sites in history, placed them at the center of a major economic artery. Under British oversight, Lamanai became a hub for sugar production and export. Controlling Lamanai meant controlling a vital segment of the colony’s economy, a position that required both commercial skill and the ability to defend one’s claim in a competitive colonial environment.

The Hyde Legacy in Modern Belize

Generations later, the Hyde legacy continued to ripple through Belizean life. Figures such as Cordel Hyde, a current political leader, and Evan X. Hyde, a prominent media voice, are part of the broader Hyde influence in Belize’s political and cultural life. Their presence in public discourse underscores the lasting pull of the Hyde name in shaping Belize’s direction.

In my direct family line, my grandfather Alvin Hyde stewarded a cattle enterprise inherited from his father, one of the last enduring aspects of the Hyde economic heritage in modern times. He named his two sons James and George, echoing the pivotal ancestors in our history. George, my uncle, operated a logging company that contributed to Belize’s resource economy before his untimely death in the early 2000s. These modern roles, while different in scope, carry the same thread of leadership, commerce, and stewardship of Belize’s resources.

Lucille Melendrez and the Toledo District

The Hyde legacy also reaches deep into the Toledo District, whose capital, Punta Gorda, has long been a center of cultural and political significance. My great-grandmother, Lucille Melendrez of Mosquito Coast nobility, was revered as a community matriarch and founded the People’s United Party Women’s Group. Her leadership was so impactful that a boulevard in Punta Gorda bears her name. Leaders like her provided the grassroots foundation upon which political figures like George Price stood to push the nation toward independence.

Exile, Erasure, and the Call to Revive a Legacy

I left Belize in December 2014 after being robbed by the police, beginning an unplanned exile. In June 2025, I was honored by Marquis Who’s Who in America, an accolade that cannot be bought, marking me as part of a select global group of achievers. This recognition should have been celebrated nationally as part of Belize’s living history, yet Greater Belize Media erased it from public discourse after I gave an interview to journalist Brittany Gordon.

When asked what drives me to contribute to my country, I explained that growing up near political leadership, I saw Belize’s reliance on foreign investment from figures like Lord Michael Ashcroft. I knew from an early age that Belize needed more of its own sons and daughters to rise to that level and reinvest in the nation. I also shared how, during a Standard Six school trip to Lamanai, I first encountered James Hyde’s name in the old sugar mill. I realized my family had been in business, politics, media, cattle, and retail for generations, yet the full potential of that legacy had never been realized. That moment became the foundation of my purpose.

Biblical Perspective and the Return to the Scottish-Moorish Thread

The Scots have a long memory of cultural survival, and the Moors, historically linked through certain Scottish noble lines, represent resilience, intellect, and vision carried across centuries. It is possible that these undercurrents informed James Hyde’s worldview and his decision to support his son’s fight for equality, a fight that was not only personal but strategic, aimed at planting a tree whose shade he would never sit under.

This story echoes the biblical truth that what is intended for harm can be turned to good: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done” (Genesis 50:20). It also reflects Isaiah’s call: “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent… until her vindication shines out like the dawn” (Isaiah 62:1). And it fulfills the reality Jesus described: “Truly I tell you… no prophet is accepted in his hometown” (Luke 4:24).

The Baymen felled many great mahogany trees, but James and George Hyde planted the mother of trees, the seed of a country’s independence.

The Stark Question

Now I must ask, who really is the Father of the Nation? And to every Minister of Education and custodian of our national curriculum, why has this story been omitted? On what authority was the truth of Belize’s origins altered or erased?

Citations

1. British National Archives – Memorial of George Hyde to Earl Bathurst, 1827. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3608200

2. British National Archives – Correspondence regarding the Agent of British Honduras. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3608197

3. “Mahogany and the West India Interest in British Honduras” – Chipstone Foundation. https://www.chipstone.org/article.php/582/

4. Gibb, Tomás Alberto. British Honduras: Past, Present, and Future. (Archive.org) https://archive.org/details/britishhondurash00gibbuoft

5. Cambridge University Special Collections Blog – Burnaby’s Code context. https://specialcollections-blog.lib.cam.ac.uk/?p=9236