Get to know ... "Barbados", which decided to depose Elizabeth II, Queen of Britain
The small Caribbean nation of Barbados announced that it would relinquish its dependency on the British Crown and become a republic by the end of November 2021. The island’s Governor-General Sandra Mason announced this constitutional secession in a speech while resuming the work of the local parliament after its summer recess.
The island’s Caribbean government said, “It is time to leave our colonial past entirely behind.” Barbados aims to complete that process in conjunction with the 55th anniversary of independence from Britain in November 2021.
What is the story of the island of Barbados?
Barbados, and its capital, Bridgetown, is one of the most prosperous and populous Caribbean islands, and its political, economic and social stability has given it a relatively high standard of living.
Barbados is 21 miles long and 14 miles wide, has an area of 430 square kilometers and a population of 287,000 in 2019.
The island was the beginning of a Spanish and Portuguese colony known as Los Barbados, but it became an English colony in 1625 and British at a later time. To turn into an independent state within the Commonwealth realm, Queen Elizabeth II remained the leader of the state.
The former British colony is famous for its beaches, cricket, its national sport, and a dual heritage: the first is the English heritage evident in its stone-built Anglican churches, and the second is the African heritage that is reflected in its music and dance.
Barbados was in the past heavily dependent on the export of sugar as its main source of revenue, but in recent decades the economy has diversified to include tourism and financial activities, and it also has marine reserves of oil and natural gas.
Not the first time
This is not the first time that politicians in Barbados have announced their intention to see their country become a republic.
Errol Barrow, the first prime minister of Barbados after gaining independence, had previously said that the country should not remain "hanging around in the colonial period".
Nor is Paro the only voice in Barbados to propose to abandon the monarchy.
The country's constitutional review committee recommended converting Barbados into a republic in 1998.
Freundle Stuart, the former prime minister, also defended Motley's position in "moving from the monarchy to the republic in the very near future."
For its part, Buckingham Palace said it was about the government and people of Barbados.
A source in the palace said that the idea "was not surprising", and that it "was discussed and mentioned publicly many times," according to what BBC royal affairs correspondent Johnny Dimond said.
Barbados would not be the first former British colony in the Caribbean to become a republic.
Guyana took this step in 1970, less than four years after gaining independence from Britain.
Trinidad and Tobago followed suit in 1976, and Dominica in 1978.
The three countries remained within the Commonwealth, a loose federation of former British colonies and their current satellite states, along with some countries that had no historical ties to Britain.
It is unusual for a country to remove its queen from the head of state, says James Landell, the BBC's diplomatic editor.
Mauritius was the last country to do so, in 1992.
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