Republican movements gain strength in the Caribbean

A black cloth covers the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II that hangs in Antigua’s Parliament, a sign of mourning on the island and an unwitting symbol of a possible future without the British monarchy in the Caribbean.

The queen’s death fueled republican movements in a region once dominated by the British empire, analysts say, AFP Saint John’s, Antigua and Barbuda as calls continue for the crown to apologize for the slave trade and the sins of colonization.

The idea “entered mainstream ‘common sense’ discourse as a broader spectrum of society engages with the issues and wonders if the monarchy ever did anything for us,” says Kate Quinn, an associate professor of history. of the Caribbean at University College London.

The death of Isabel II “and the ascension of Carlos have given a greater impetus to the debate on (republicanism) in the region,” he added.

Antigua and Barbuda was the first country to present plans to become a republic after the queen’s death. Prime Minister Gaston Browne told the media that he hopes to hold a referendum on the issue within three years.

His Bahamian counterpart, Phillip Davis, said he had similar hopes, though he did not provide a timetable.

“For me, it’s always on the table,” Davis said in comments published by the local Nassau Guardian newspaper the day after the queen’s death.

“I will have to have a referendum and the Bahamian people will have to say ‘yes’ to me.”

Jamaica is also considering turning the page, an idea Prime Minister Andrew Holness gave to Prince William during a tour of the Caribbean earlier this year.

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