Another culture in Belize which features the mixing of an African culture with another culture is the Garinagu. The Garinagu are decendants of Carib Amerindians and Africans who survived a shipwreck in St. Vincent in 1635. The Garinagu never experienced slavery in the Caribbean and engaged in a war called the Carib War with the British who sought to enslave them.
After years of war, the paramount chief of the Garinagu-Chatoyer – was killed in battle and the Garinagu were eventually exiled from St. Vincent to the Island of Baliceax then to Roatan in the Bay Islands of Honduras in 1798. The Garinagu reached mainland Honduras in April of the same year and started to visit Belize as early as 1802. Initially the British did not welcome the Garinagu in Belize. Soon after however, the British changed their policy because workers were badly needed in the mahogany industry. BY 1832, large numbers of Garinagu were leaving Honduras for Belize. The original settlements were in Stann Creek, Punta Gorda and Barranco but the Garinagu now live throughout Belize. These people were able to survive a 200 year search for a homeland by being self-sufficient in the production of their basic needs. This self sufficiency was a result of their developments in the technology of basketry, agriculture and in fishing.