In Barbados, the final preparations are being made for the ceremony with which the Caribbean island becomes a republic. At midnight local time (5 a.m. in the Netherlands), the island bids farewell to the British Queen Elizabeth as head of state. The current governor general, Sandra Mason, is sworn in as the first president.
The island of 300,000 people gained independence from Great Britain in 1966, but remained in the Commonwealth and also kept Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as head of state. The change of form of government is not at the expense of understanding. Queen Elizabeth has always taken the position that former colonies can choose their own form of government.
sugar plantations
The main foreign guest at tonight’s ceremony is Britain’s Crown Prince Charles. He arrived on the island yesterday and was welcomed with a series of gun salutes. Charles will also speak at the Mason nomination ceremony. He is expected to emphasize that the friendly bond will continue despite the changed relationships.
Barbados was under British rule for centuries before independence. English settlers occupied the island in 1627. The island became relatively prosperous, especially due to sugar plantations where hundreds of thousands of enslaved Africans had to work.
Since its independence, exactly 55 years ago tomorrow, the island has gradually separated itself from Great Britain. For example, since 2005 the highest judicial authority is no longer British but Caribbean. Last year it was finally decided to change the form of government.
Battle of Trafalgar
A statue of British Admiral Horatio Nelson was also removed from National Heroes Square in the capital Bridgetown, where tonight’s ceremony is also taking place. The statue from 1813 commemorates the victory of the British navy at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. That victory laid the foundation for British domination of the world’s seas and the establishment of dozens of colonies on all continents. The removal of the statue was seen as a clear break with the colonial past.
The previous former British colony to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth as head of state was Mauritius, which declared itself a republic in 1992.
Barbados also remains a member of the Commonwealth, a partnership of Britain and its former colonies, under President Mason. Of these, 54 countries are now members, including India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Canada, Australia and New Zealand,
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