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Reuters
Barbados announced its intention to remove Queen Elizabeth from the head of state to become a republic.
“The time has come to completely leave our colonial past behind,” said the government of the Caribbean island.
Barbados aims to complete that process in conjunction with the 55th anniversary of independence from Great Britain in November 2021.
A letter written by Prime Minister Mia Motley said that Barbadian residents want a Barbadian head of state.
“This is the final statement that expresses confidence in who we are and what we are capable of achieving,” the letter said.
Buckingham Palace said it was about the government and people of Barbados.
A Buckingham Palace source said the idea was “not surprising” and that it was “discussed and mentioned publicly many times,” according to the BBC’s royal correspondent Johnny Dimond.
Facts about Barbados:
- One of the most prosperous and populated islands in the Caribbean
- It became independent from Great Britain in 1966.
- Queen Elizabeth remains the constitutional queen of the country
- It relied heavily on sugar exports, but its economy diversified into tourism and the money business.
- Its prime minister, Mia Motley, was elected in 2018, the first woman to hold the position.
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fake images
The letter was written by Prime Minister Mia Motley.
The statement was included in a speech from the throne, which outlines the government’s policies and programs before the new parliament.
The statement was read by the Governor General, but was written by the Prime Minister of the country.
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The letter also carried a warning from Errol Barrow, Barbados’ first prime minister after gaining independence, in which he said the country should not remain “hanging around in the colonial period.”
Barrow is not the only voice in Barbados to suggest abandoning the monarchy. The country’s constitutional review committee recommended that Barbados become a republic in 1998.
Freundle Stuart, the former prime minister, also defended Motley’s position by “moving from monarchy to republic in the very near future.”
Barbados would not be the first former British colony in the Caribbean to become a republic. Guyana took this step in 1970, less than four years after gaining independence from Great Britain. Trinidad and Tobago did the same in 1976 and Dominica in 1978.
All three remained within the Commonwealth, a loose federation of former British colonies and their current satellite states, along with some countries that had no historical ties to Great Britain.
It is unusual for a country to remove its queen from the head of state, says James Landell, the BBC’s diplomatic editor. Mauritius was the last country to do so, in 1992.
He adds that this is not the first time that Barbadian politicians have announced their intention for their country to become a republic.
It will be interesting – according to the reporter – if this step, and in the context of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, will put political pressure on other Caribbean governments to follow the example of Barbados.
If this happens, and the queen is removed as head of state, in parallel with the removal of statues of slave traders, difficult questions arise for the royal family in Britain and the Commonwealth.
