55 Years After Independence, Barbados Set To Become A Republic, To Remove Britain Queen As Head Of State
The last former British colony to proclaim itself a republic was Mauritius, which installed its own president as head of state in 1992.
New Delhi: Barbados, the tiny island nation in the Caribbean region of North America, got independence from British rule in 1966. The free country, however, still has Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state.
But that is going to change this November 29. On the eve of the 55th anniversary of its independence, Barbados is set to sever its last remaining imperial bonds with the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth will cease to be the head of state of the former British colony from that day, and Barbados will get its own president, and become the newest republic in the world.
This will be a historic moment for Barbados, ending “the story of colonial exploitation of the mind and body”, Barbadian historian Professor Sir Hilary Beckles said while speaking to news agency Reuters.
The tiny island in the Lesser Antilles of West Indies has been tied to England for 400 years — since the first English ship arrived there in 1625 and claimed it for King James I.
Elizabeth II continues to be the queen of 16 countries, including Australia, Canada and Jamaica. Barbados’ move to remove her as the head of state is the first in nearly 30 years. The last former British colony to declare itself a republic was Mauritius, which installed its own president as head of state in 1992.
Buckingham Palace has said the issue is “a matter for the people of Barbados”, according to the Reuters report.
The republican celebrations will take place in the capital, Bridgetown. Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, will be travelling to the island nation to attend the ceremonies.
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History Of Barbados
Barbados was said to be unpopulated when the English first arrived.
According to Britannica.com, not much is known about the island’s prehistory but archaeological records show people from northern South America might have settled it in 1600 BCE. Spaniards visited Barbados in the early 16th century, and the island’s first contact with Europeans could have occurred only then.
Between around 500 and 1500 CE, Arawak and Carib Indians may have lived on the island and called it Ichirouganaim, but after Portuguese explorers came to the island, they named it Barbados, which means ‘Bearded Ones’, “either for bearded fig trees or bearded men” found there, Britannica says.
It is believed that the island got depopulated after repeated slave raids by the Spanish forced the islanders to flee.
After claiming the island, the British started plantations of tobacco, cotton, indigo and sugar. While they initially used White servants for labour, nearly 6 lakh enslaved Africans were brought to Barbados between 1627 and 1833, who worked on the plantations.
Barbados was said to be Britain's first truly profitable slave society, earning fortunes for the English owners.
These plantation owners had considerable economic and political power, so much so that their reign continued until more than half of the 20th Century. Barbados was granted freedom way back in 1838, but it attained full independence only in 1966.
Barbados, The Republic
Like Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean that proclaimed itself a republic but stayed within the Commonwealth, Barbados will also remain part of the association of 54 countries, mostly former British colonies, headed by the British queen.
According to reports, Jamaica and a few other realms across the Caribbean region are also talking of becoming a republic.
"This will have consequences particularly within the English-speaking Caribbean," Richard Drayton, a professor of imperial and global history at Kings College, London, told Reuters.
The republic of Barbados will be declared at a ceremony on Monday, November 29, at the National Heroes Square in Bridgetown.
"The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind," Prime Minister Mia Mottley had said in 2020. Governor General Sandra Mason is likely to become Barbados' head of state after being elected president, Reuters reported.
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