Belize City was founded in the mid-17th century by British lumber harvesters. The city was ideal for the British as a central post because it was a natural outlet for local rivers and creeks down which the British shipped logwood and mahogany. Belize became independent in 1981, following a United Nations declaration to the effect. A British military force was maintained in Belize until 1993, when the government announced Belize would be handed over on January 1, 1994.