"Postcolonialism and political economy are brought together in this book to examine development among the Maya of Belize. Decolonizing Development investigates the ways colonialism shaped the modern world by analyzing the relationship between colonialism and development. Through readings of archival texts, maps, and development practices, Joel Wainwright unearths the roots of centuries of struggle over the representation of the Maya and their lands. He traces the shifts in discourses on this pre-Columbian civilization and documents indigenous resistance to the British colonial state."--BOOK JACKET.