Haynes participated in World War I as part of the colonial effort for Great Britain and encountered much abuse and ridicule along with his fellow workers. On his return to Belize he became a part of workers' movements in Belize and is readily identified with the 1919 Ex-Servicemen's Riot that began on 22 July. After that riot was suppressed, Haynes began organising Belize's branch of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and facilitated the visit of its head Marcus Garvey of Jamaica. Garvey recruited Haynes to work with him in the U.S., a move that rendered the UNIA in Belize leaderless for much of the 1920s and that indirectly contributed to the Isaiah Morter controversy. Haynes most likely wrote the anthem as an answer to colonialism's stifling of Belizeans' identity. The lofty language and uplifting lyrics referenced Belize's former status as a slave society indebted to profits from forestry, cleverly linking it to the end of Belize's colonial period, a process that culminated on 21 September 1981. The song was originally titled "Land of the Gods", a salute to the proliferation of organised religion in Belize.
Exalting by the PUP
With the arrival of the nationalist movement led by the People's United Party, the search was on for new symbols of Belizean identity. The PUP had defied the colonial order by singing "God Bless America" instead of the royal anthem "God Save the King". At independence, the ruling PUP named "Land of the Free" Belize's official anthem and played it at emotional independence ceremonies on 21 September. Most Belizeans agreed with the choice but lamented that it had not been put to a vote of Belizean residents.
Common complaints since
The anthem has come under fire from critics who charge that its language is archaic and does not appeal to a new generation of Belizeans who are in any case too young to remember Samuel Haynes. Some have argued that the anthem is too male-centric. Lyrics such as "Our manhood we pledge to thy liberty" suggest the song was originally intended to be sung only by men. Amandala correspondent Naomi Burn suggested that "manhood" be replaced by "honour" so that the lyrics would have more relevance for women. It has also been noted that women are never mentioned in the anthem, only men. A 1998 survey of approximately 2,000 Belizean women asked how important it was to include women in the national anthem. 14.6% answered "most important", 19.7% answered "somewhat important", and 63.4% answered "not very important". Nationalist writers have argued that the anthem's references to the Baymen ignore the multi-cultural diversity of Belize today and have proposed a number of replacements. The most recent complaint of this nature was leveled by Maya-Mestizo-born correspondent Clinton Luna, who suggested that the phrase "sons of the Belizean soil" should replace "sons of the Baymen's clan" in the chorus in recent issues of the Amandala weekly newspaper. The newspaper itself has previously argued to the same effect. However, Amandala contributor Henry Gordon countered in a later issue that nothing in the anthem represents any sort of bias to any ethnic group in Belize. Belizeans speak a wide range of languages including English, Spanish, three different Mayan languages, as well as native languages spoken by its diverse Chinese-speaking people, Garinagu, East Indian population, Mennonite community. The anthem, in formal English, has been memorised by generations of children, but not necessarily understood. Because Kriol is the language that binds all Belizeans together, regardless of the origin of their first language, Leela Vernon translated the song into Kriol in 2011 with the hope that the meaning behind the words would be better understood.
Other uses
Late former Prime MinisterGeorge Price toured the nation sometime in the early 2000s to promote the singing of the national anthem. He visited schools in rural areas and led children in singing the anthem.
National radio stations generally play a version of the national anthem at morning sign-on. Most feature a recording of Price singing the anthem at piano in a faster tempo than usual or an instrumental version.
In author Zee Edgell's Beka Lamb, the title character and her friend Toycie Qualo sing the full version of the original song, Land of the Gods, while parodying the political meetings then being held by the PIP, a reference to the PUP, in Belize City. Edgell acknowledged permission to use the song at the front of the book.
