Barbados becomes a republic – and Britain faces a reckoning

The first British monarch to claim Barbados was James I. At midnight on Tuesday, Elizabeth II became the last. At that moment, the country made a symbolic break that it hopes will help it take another step on a journey that began with emancipation but is still far from over.

Some see the establishment of a republic with a president instead of a queen as a profoundly important moment, but many are more sceptical and point to the day-to-day deprivations that are still part of life on the island as the far more significant legacy of colonialism. In this episode, Michael Safi visits Bridgetown to explore what might come next.

Esther Phillips, Barbados’ poet laureate, takes him to the Drax plantation that was one of the country’s most heinous examples of the brutality of slavery and is still a going concern today. He hears from David Comissiong, an activist and diplomat who’s been campaigning for a republic all his life, about the concrete consequences of colonialism that remain an impediment to Barbadian progress. And he meets Alexander Downes, the author of a petition that led to the removal of a statue of Lord Nelson in Bridgetown, who argues that while many might be apathetic about dumping the British monarchy, the moment’s true significance will be felt for decades to come.

You can read Safi’s feature on the creation of a republic in Barbados - Nelson, BLM and new voices: why Barbados is ditching the Queen – here.

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