Baron Bliss
tune, whether due to business acumen or inheritance, or
Baron Bliss Light in Belize City
Henry Edward Ernest Victor Bliss, 4th Baron Bliss,
commonly known as Baron Bliss (16 February 1869
9 March 1926), was a British-born traveller who willed
nearly two million Belize dollars to a trust fund for the
benet of the citizens of what was then the colony of
British Honduras, now Belize.
1 Biography
He was born Henry Edward Ernest Victor de Barreto
and lived in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, as a
youth.[1] He was an engineer by trade and on the death of
his father in 1890, inherited the title 4th Baron de Bar-
reto of the Kingdom of Portugal. (His father had inher-
ited lands in Sapin and Portugal from an uncle, Colonel
Carlo Antonio Barreto, on the condition that he change
his name).[2] However during the First World War he re-
verted to his family name of Bliss, and was known af-
terwards as Baron Bliss. He was apparently successful in
his career, but it is not known how he obtained his for-
1
a combination thereof.[3]
Bliss became paralysed from the waist down in 1911 at
the age of 42, likely due to polio, and was conned to
a wheelchair. Despite this, he remained active. He was
apparently an avid sailor, but had his yacht conscated for
war purposes during the First World War.[4] When the
war ended, he was wealthy enough to retire to a lifetime
of shing and leisure, so to that end he ordered a new
120 ft twin screw yacht from the famous Scottish yacht
designer Alfred Mylne, which he christened Sea King II.[5]
In 1920, he sailed the yacht to the Bahamas, where he
stayed for ve years. Meanwhile, his wife Baroness Ethel
Alice Bliss stayed in England, living o a portion of his
fortune. The couple had no children.[5]
Although he had some property there, he eventually grew
tired of Bahamanian society and decided to move on.
Leaving the Bahamas behind, he sailed to Trinidad and
was there for a short while when he came down with a se-
rious bout of food poisoning.[1] Deciding to accept a pre-
vious invitation from his friend Willoughby Bullock, who
was then Attorney General of British Honduras, he sailed
westward, stopping briey in Jamaica likely for medical
attention, and arriving in the Belize City harbour on 14
January 1926.[5]
Blisss health appeared to improve over the next few
weeks, and he spent much of this time sailing around
the area in his launch, exploring the coastline and shing.
However, just days before his 57th birthday, his health
took a turn for the worse, and doctors advised him that
he was terminally ill. It was at this time that he decided
he would leave the bulk of his fortune to the country, and
signed a new draft of his will, dated 17 February. Several
weeks later, he died on his yacht, never having landed on
the Belize mainland. He was buried in Belize City, in
what is now known as Bliss Park. This was a temporary
arrangement, and he was later interred in a granite tomb
near the sea, with a lighthouse nearby, built with funds
from his estate.[1] The burial instructions were explicitly
stated in the will.[5]
2 The Bliss bequest
At the time of his death, Blisss fortune was worth nearly
1 million (about BZ$1.8 million). About $480,000 was
claimed by the United Kingdom in inheritance taxes. His
will gave specic instructions on how the money was to
2 4 REFERENCES

be used to the benet of the citizens of British Honduras.

Aside from small lifetime annuities to his wife and rela-
tives in England and to his personal sta, the remainder
of the funds was placed in a trust, executed by the Gover-
nor, the Colonial Secretary, and the Attorney General.[1]
The original monies were to be invested in British stocks
and securities,[1] and only the interest earned could be
spent, and even that could not be spent on churches,
dance halls or schools, except agricultural and vocational
ones.[5] One-hundred pounds sterling was to be set aside
annually for a regatta, which has since been held every
year on Baron Bliss Day.[3] A peculiar condition attached
to the money was that no American may be a trustee or
an employee of a trustee. No explanation was given.[5]
Over the years, the trust has provided more than $2 mil-
lion to fund projects, including the Bliss Institute, Bliss
School of Nursing,[1] and other capital projects across the
country.[5] As of 2011, the fund was still worth roughly
$1.5 million.[6]

3 Baron Bliss Day

Soon after his death, the government declared 9 March to
be Baron Bliss Day, a national public holiday. In Novem-
ber 2008 this was renamed to National Heroes and Bene-
factors Day, and is now observed the Monday closest to
9 March, unless it falls on a Saturday.[7]

4 References
[1] Respect, Baron Bliss. Amandala. 9 March 2003. Re-
trieved 8 March 2014.

[2] http://forum.brandonsuffolk.com/forum_posts.asp?
TID=696

[3] D'Entremont, Jeremy (July 2003). The Lighthouse and

Legacy of Baron Bliss. Lighthouse Digest. Retrieved 8
March 2014.

[4] Belizes Benefactor: The Super Cool Baron Bliss. San

Pedro Sun. 11 March 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

[5] A real Belize benefactor/lover Baron Bliss. Krem Ra-

dio. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

[6] BARON BLISS NATIONAL HOLIDAY IN BELIZE.

Western Belize Happenings. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 8
March 2014.

[7] Laws of Belize Chapter 289 (PDF). Government of Be-

lize. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
 3

5 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.1 Text
Baron Bliss Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_Bliss?oldid=768694267 Contributors: Bryan Derksen, Infrogmation, Secretlon-
don, Slawojarek, Stewartadcock, Wereon, Rpyle731, Wmahan, Kaldari, DragonySixtyseven, Mr Bound, D6, Rich Farmbrough, Shanes,
Adambro, Valentinian, The Rambling Man, RussBot, Howcheng, Caerwine, SmackBot, Jwillbur, Bolivian Unicyclist, Nakon, Ser Amantio
di Nicolao, Fanx, DUden, Casper Claiborne, Waacstats, Emeraude, Stankenton, Annandale, Davidjgray, Good Olfactory, Addbot, Njar-
darBot, LaaknorBot, Yobot, AnomieBOT, FrescoBot, DefaultsortBot, Full-date unlinking bot, RjwilmsiBot, Orphan Wiki, Disambigutron,
TyA, ClueBot NG, Neptunes Trident, Wiki13, Pierre75018, Zackmann08, KasparBot, XD XD XD XD XD XD 12345 and Anonymous:
19

5.2 Images
File:Danakosko_april_5,2008_2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Danakosko_april_5%2C2008_2.
jpg License: CC BY 2.0 Contributors: http://flickr.com/photos/danakosko/2391419698/sizes/o/ Original artist: Danakosko

5.3 Content license

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0