The main civilization in this part of Central America before Columbus was the Maya, who had been living in Belize for one or two thousand years by the time the European explorers came. Despite their long residence in the area, relatively little is known about their culture. A few archaeological sites exist in the vicinity of Belize, including Pomona, Kendal and the Mayflower complex, which may have been used for ceremony.

As early as the 1630s, British sailors were landing in the Bay of Honduras and interacting with the natives of the region. Over time, the Maya population decreased (partly due to disease, partly due to European exploitation) and those who were left were often relegated to small foothill villages, where they subsisted on farming and fishing. European settlers took over the region and set up plantations and trading posts for tropical crops such as bananas and sugar. West Africans and Creoles became a major segment of the population as well due to slave importation.

After slavery was banned, Placencia became a smaller fishing community of mostly creoles, Mayans and mestizos. After Belize won independence from the British crown, however, tourism began to develop in the area, and today Placencia is more of a tourist attraction than a fishing village.