According to Reuters reported on the 8th, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom died in Balmoral Fort, Scotland on the 8th, at the age of 96. Her eldest son, Crown Prince Charles, succeeded to the throne. Some politicians and activists in the former British colonial countries of the Caribbean took the opportunity to renew their call for the abolition of the British monarch's status as head of state in those countries and demanded that Britain pay compensation for the historical slave trade.
Queen Elizabeth II Image source: Visual China
The Prime Minister of Jamaica said Jamaica would mourn Queen Elizabeth. The Prime Minister of the Central American island nation of Antigua and Barbuda ("Amba") also ordered the flag to be lowered to half-mast on the day of the Queen's funeral.
But in some countries, there are questions about the role that the British monarch should play in the 21st century. Earlier this year, at a summit in Rwanda's capital Kigali, some Commonwealth leaders expressed unease that the leadership of the international organization was transferred from Elizabeth II to Charles.
Niambi Hall-Campbell, a 44-year-old scholar who chairs the Bahamas' National Compensation Commission, said on Thursday: "As the role of the monarch changes, we hope this can be an opportunity to drive discussions about reparations in our region."
Hall-Campbell expressed his condolences to the Queen's family and mentioned that Charles had acknowledged the "heinous atrocities of slavery" at a ceremony last year when Barbados proclaimed a republic and ended British rule. On 30 November 2021, Barbados announced that it would no longer recognize the Queen of the United Kingdom as head of state, secede from the Commonwealth and formally restructure itself into a republic.
Charles Image source: Visual China
She said she hoped that King Charles would lead the country in a way that reflected "the justice demanded by the times," and that justice was "compensatory justice."
Jamaica has previously said it may soon follow Barbados' example of getting rid of British royal rule. A survey in August showed that 56 per cent of Jamaicans favoured the removal of the British monarch's status as head of state in their own country.
The Jamaican government also announced last year that it planned to demand compensation from Britain for forcing Africans to work on sugar cane and banana plantations in the past to create wealth for British slave owners.
Rosalea Hamilton, a Jamaican reparations advocate, said Charles's remarks on slavery at the Kigali conference offered "some hope that he will be able to learn from history, understand the painful effects that many countries are still suffering 'to this day', and address the issue of reparations." But it is reported that Charles's conversation at that time did not address the issue of indemnity. Hamilton also believes that the Queen's grandchildren have a chance to lead the negotiations for these reparations.
Prince William and Princess Kate Source: Visual China
In March, Prince William and Princess Kate bumped into ashes during a three-day trip to Jamaica: they were met with a backlash from the Jamaican public over the criminal slave trade in British history, and were told by the country's leaders that Jamaica would completely secede from the Commonwealth, abolish the Queen's status as head of state, and become a republic in the true sense of the word.
In addition, David Denny, secretary general of the Caribbean Movement for Peace and Integration from Barbados, said: "Whoever takes over the post should demand that the British Crown pay compensation to the people of Africa." We should all strive for the royal family to cease to be our head of state. ”
Allen Chastanet, former prime minister of Saint Lucia and current leader of the opposition, also said he supported restructuring his country into a republic.
(Editor: ZLQ)