Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1960- (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Previously known as British Honduras, Belize finally became independent in 1981, the process having been delayed more by the unresolved sovereignty dispute with Guatemala (which did not recognise the new state until 1992) than by instransigence on the behalf of London. The colony had enjoyed universal suffrage from 1954 and was granted full internal self-government from 1964, with George Price's People's United Party (PUP) and its anti-colonial stance initially dominating the domestic political scene. From the formation of the economically more liberal United Democratic Party (UDP) in 1973 a genuine two-party system emerged, with ethnic difference threatening more recently to replace political ideology as the main distinction between the two. The views of the PUP and UDP, as well as those of more minor parties, on the developments described above are represented in the materials held here.
Repository
Archival history
The ICS political parties collection was begun in 1960-1961, with special emphasis being placed on primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos. Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.
GB 0101 PP.BH 1960- Collection (Fonds) 1 box Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Previously known as British Honduras, Belize finally became independent in 1981, the process having been delayed more by the unresolved sovereignty dispute with Guatemala (which did not recognise the new state until 1992) than by instransigence on the behalf of London. The colony had enjoyed universal suffrage from 1954 and was granted full internal self-government from 1964, with George Price's People's United Party (PUP) and its anti-colonial stance initially dominating the domestic political scene. From the formation of the economically more liberal United Democratic Party (UDP) in 1973 a genuine two-party system emerged, with ethnic difference threatening more recently to replace political ideology as the main distinction between the two. The views of the PUP and UDP, as well as those of more minor parties, on the developments described above are represented in the materials held here.
The ICS political parties collection was begun in 1960-1961, with special emphasis being placed on primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos. Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant. More recently material has been collected by means of downloading documents from the websites of the major parties.
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Manifestos, conference reports, posters, and speeches issued by the National Independence Party (British Honduras), the People's United Party (Belize) and the United Democratic Party (Belize).
Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.
Alphabetically by party, and then in rough chronological order.
Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.
Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.
English
Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)
See also Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.
The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk
Description compiled by Daniel Millum, Political Archives Project Officer at the Institutes of Commonwealth and Latin American Studies. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997. Created 03/03/2004 Belize Central America Elections Electoral systems Internal politics National Independence Party , British Honduras Parliamentary elections People's United Party , Belize Political parties United Democratic Party , Belize
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Manifestos, conference reports, posters, and speeches issued by the National Independence Party (British Honduras), the People's United Party (Belize) and the United Democratic Party (Belize).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
Further accruals are expected, some in electronic form.
System of arrangement
Alphabetically by party, and then in rough chronological order.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
English
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
See also Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.
Finding aids
Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Publication note
The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk
Notes area
Note
The Political Archives Project was a 2.5 year project to catalogue political archive material held in the libraries of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies and the Institute for the Study of the Americas to the University and present it as a cohesive virtual collection. The project was successfully completed in July 2005. Descriptions of all the documents may be found by searching the library catalogue at http://catalogue.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/, or via the Political Archives website: http://polarch.sas.ac.uk
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Language(s)
- English