The Belize region in the Yucatan peninsula was long occupied by the Maya peoples but neglected by Spain and Guatemala, even though Spain made some exploratory expeditions in the 16th century that serve as her basis to claim the area as hers; Guatemala simply inherited that argument to claim the territory, even they it never sent any expedition to the area after the Independence from Spain in 1821, due to the Central American civil war that ensued and lasted until 1860. On the other hand, slaves escaped from Caribbean island and pirates had set a small settlement there since middle of the 17th century, mainly as buccaneers quarters and then for fine wood production; the settlements were never recognized as British colonies, even though they were somewhat under the jurisdiction of the Jamaican British government. In the 18th century, Belize became the main smuggling center for Central America, even though the British accepted Spanish sovereignty over the region by means of treaties in 1783 and 1786, in exchange for a ceasefire and the authorization for the Englishmen to work with the precious woods from Belize.