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Barbados Has Rejected The Monarchy In Order To Embrace China
Will Antigua, Grenada, Jamaica, Belize and Papua New Guinea follow suit, with Chinese money dangling right in front of them?
Amidst great pomp and pageantry, Barbados elected to reject the monarchy and become a republic, with the likes of Rihanna and Prince Charles in attendance at the handover ceremony, yesterday.
Now this has been a long time coming.
Doubtless the events of 2020 have helped play a huge part in this reality, when the black lives matter movement exploded into life, in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. But it must be pointed out that Britain’s continued arrogance and blatant refusal to offer a full apology for its historical crimes must be also be contextualized.
Prince Charles, in his speech yesterday, did allude to his country’s historical crimes without saying sorry.
The heir to the British throne had the following to say:
From the darkest days of our past and the appalling atrocity of slaver, which forever stains our history, the people of this island forged their path with extraordinary fortitude.
But we must appreciate the wider economic and political forces at play, behind Barbados’s momentous decision.