The Queen and the Caribbean: Monarchy on the test bench

The Queen is mourned around the world – including in the former colonies of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Jamaica. But it was not only since her death that the Caribbean states were pushing for detachment from the British crown.

“We love the Queen passionately. And even though we are independent, we still look up to her,” Luise Sabine from Antigua and Barbuda, who has been independent since 1981 but is one of the 14 states, told British broadcaster ITV , in which the British monarch, now Charles III, is still the head of state.

“I am very sad, it was really a nice woman, also the way she spoke. I will miss her, but of course life goes on.” Like this man, many people in Antigua and Barbuda are expressing their sympathies to the late Queen these days. The national flag flies at half-mast.

demand for reparations

But the critical voices are also increasing. The Chair of the Antigua and Barbuda Compensation Commission, Dorbrene O’Marde, explained on the US broadcaster Democracy Now:

Referendum on Republic

Just minutes after King Charles III’s confirmation. As head of state, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne announced that he would hold a referendum within three years for the Caribbean country to become a republic.

“This is not a form of disrespect, nor is it an act of hostility or dissent between Antigua and Barbuda and the monarchy. It is a final step in closing the loop on independence and becoming a truly sovereign nation,” Browne said before round a week to British broadcaster ITV.

Demos during Prince William’s visit

Barbados, the Caribbean nation further south, already took the step last year. And in Jamaica, too, there are calls to become a republic.

When Prince William and his wife Kate visited Jamaica last March, demonstrators accused them of profiting from the “blood, tears and sweat” of slaves.

Twelve days of national mourning

The Caribbean state has nevertheless declared twelve days of national mourning. But representatives of the Rastafari movement in Jamaica do not want to take part. The well-known Rastafari Mutabaruka, musician and poet, also demanded on the American broadcaster MSNBC: “We must continue the fight so that it is recognized that something has to be done and we demand an apology and compensation.”

Shortly after the Queen’s death, a Jamaican daily newspaper headlined “The End of an Era”. The British monarchy is under more than scrutiny in the Caribbean.