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Below is the agreement between the Governor of British Honduras and the mennonites upon arrival in the 1950's.



The Agreement with British Honduras

On December 18, 1957, the government of British Hon-duras finally extended to each of the three groups, the Altkolonier, the Sommerfelder, and the Kleine Gemeinde, a uniformly worded Privilegium 8 that was satisfactory to them in all respects. That is-sued to the Altkolonier read as follows:

And whereas such settlements will be to the mutual advantage of British Honduras and of the Mennonites:

And whereas it is desirable that there should be some Instrument setting forth in general terms the conditions under which the Mennonites will be permitted to settle in British Honduras:

Now Therefore This Agreement Witnesseth as follows-

1. The Government of British Honduras will grant to the Mennonites-
(a) the right to run their own Churches and schools, with their own teachers, in their own German language, according to their own religion;
(b) exemption from making the customary immigration de-posits;
(c) protection of life and property in Peace and War;
(d) entire exemption from any military service;
(e) the privilege of affirming with the simple "yes" or "no" in-stead of making oaths in or out of the Courts;
(f) freedom of movement, according to law, to enter or leave the country with their money and property;
(g) the right to administer and invest the estates of their people, especially those of widows and orphans, in their own "Trust System," called the "Waisenamt," according to their own rules and regulations;
(h) the right to bring into British Honduras the old, infirm and invalid members of the Mennonite community provided that the individuals do not become a charge on the Govern-ment of British Honduras;
(i) exemption from any social security or compulsory system of insurance.

2. The Mennonites will-
(a) pay all costs and expenses incurred in establishing their settlement;
(b) bring into British Honduras capital investment in cash and kind amounting to five hundred thousand dollars more or less British Honduras currency.
(c) produce food not only for themselves but for local consump-tion and for the export market;
(d) conduct themselves as good citizens, and subject to this agreement, observe and obey the laws of British Honduras;
(e) pay all normal duties, taxes, fees and charges by law estab-lished, such as customs duty, land tax, estate duty, property tax and income tax.

3. It is understood and agreed that the privileges granted by the government shall be enjoyed by the Mennonites and their des-cendants for all time so long as the Mennonites observe and ful-fill the conditions imposed upon them by this agreement.

In Witness Whereof the parties hereto have signed two identical copies of this Instrument this 18th day of December, 1957.

Signed for and on behalf of the Government of British Honduras.
Witness: Sir Colin H. Thornley GOVERNOR

Signed for and on behalf of the Reinland Mennonite Church.
Witness: Franz D. Rempel Jacob J. Wiebe H. W. Wiebe Johan C. Wolfe

The Mennonites - a trip back in time | DW Documentary
A documentary on the German-speaking Mennonites of Little Belize.

Like the Amish in the US, the Mennonite Christian community shuns the modern world. Most Mennonites live in secluded, self-sufficient colonies. We get a rare glimpse into the life of a devout and isolated community.

The Mennonites embrace isolation, which in their eyes helps protect them from the temptations of the modern world. At first glance, time seems to have stood still in the Mennonite colony in Belize, where people still travel by horse-drawn carriage and do without conveniences such as televisions and electricity. They still speak an old form of the German dialect Plattdeutsch. But modern life is slowly making inroads in Little Belize. Wilhelm, the community's former doctor, was expelled for owning a mobile phone. Fearing that their community was being tainted, some more traditional members decided to found a new colony in a remote jungle in Peru, where they hope to live according to old customs and religious beliefs. For the first time ever, a camera team was granted access to one of Central and South America's traditional Mennonite colonies.