The Caribbean country Barbados is cutting ties with the Queen to become a republic. Barbados will be a republic, which is a government ruled by the representatives of the citizen. It has been 55 years since the country declared independence from Britain.
The country’s governor, Sandra Mason, said the revival plan had been in motion since last September. She says, “the time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind.” Mason will be sworn in as the country’s first president. A shock for some but the small country claims this has been a long time coming.
The country will remove Queen Elizabeth II Monday in a ceremony. Prince Charles will also be in attendance and give a speech. His presence shows the relationship between the two countries will remain friendly and resourceful to one another.
Britain’s involvement with Barbados has a harsh history. In the 17th century, Barbados was claimed by the British and used hundreds of thousands of laborers as slaves from Africa. Though it became the main source of sugar, it also fueled British slave owners driving slavery’s economy.
Though their history is rocky, Barbados and Britain have remained close. The tiny nation has several important places that are named after the Queen or her ancestors. The small country of the West Indies has major ties to London, England.
Barbados’ decision to pardon the Queen comes with the history of the nation and the advancement of Black Lives Matter. Christopher Prior, an associate professor in colonial and post-colonial history at U.K.’s University of South Hampton says, “it’s a local manifestation of a very global conversation that’s being had about the legacy of the British empire and its colonial exploitation.”
Elizabeth is the queen of 15 other realms including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Jamaica.
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