After the queen’s death last week, Prime Minister Gaston Brown revealed a timetable: He plans to hold a referendum on rejecting the monarchy “probably” within the next three years. “This is not an act of hostility,” Browne told ITV News, but a “final step in completing the cycle of independence”. The death of Elizabeth, a unifying figure more beloved than her son King Charles III, comes as many Commonwealth realms reassess their relationship with the crown. Leaders across the Commonwealth, one union of 56 nations, most of which are already democracies, expressed his sorrow at the death of the monarch. But many of these countries, former outposts of the empire, have also engaged in a public reckoning on the legacies of colonialism, incl calls for atonement, reparations and independence. “Charles’ accession naturally puts that debate front and center: What do we do with this British, aloof, White monarch as our head of state?” said Kate Quinn, associate professor of Caribbean history at University College London. The remaining spheres include Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica. Even before Elizabeth’s death, the debate was raging, particularly in the Caribbean, where a number of factors, including the Black Lives Matter movement and the recent scandal over Britain’s mistreatment of immigrants from the British West Indies after World War II War, they cast a harsh spotlight. the sins of empire. Last November, Barbados ditched the queen as head of state and became a republic, swearing in its first president in a ceremony in which Charles condemned the “terrible atrocity of slavery” and praised the islanders for forging their new path. with extraordinary vigor.” Then there were this year’s royal tours. After the death of Queen Elizabeth, Britain faces questions and uncertainty Prince William and his wife, Catherine, visit the Caribbean on Elizabeth’s behalf Platinum Jubilee they were met with protests and calls for an apology and reparations for slavery. Pictures of the couple driving the open Land Rover that Elizabeth and Prince Philip drove in 1962 echoed a colonial past. In Jamaica, William called slavery “abhorrent” but made no apologies. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told them the nation would “move on” from the monarchy. (Holiness he remembered Elizabeth last week as a “close friend” of Jamaica and said he was praying for the people of Britain “as they mourn the loss of their beloved Queen”. She went unrecognized: She was also Queen of Jamaica.) Other kingdoms in the region have expressed interest in following Barbados’ example. A constitutional reform commission in Belize is poised to consider, among other issues, whether the Central American nation should declare itself a republic. “In our region, there is a clear push toward the return of the head of state,” Henry Usher, Belize’s minister of constitutional and political reform, told the Washington Post. “I think it’s important that we can’t have a head of state who lives thousands of miles away and is not in tune with what’s happening locally. … The rallying cry in the Caribbean is that the people are sovereign.” Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis told the Nassau Guardian last week that a referendum to become a democracy is “always on the table.” Pressed for details on the timing, a spokesman told The Post that the prime minister was observing 10 days of mourning and declined further comment. “The voices are getting louder,” Quinn said. “I think we are at a particular historical moment where a number of factors are coming together that could create fertile ground for the proposed changes to succeed.” William and Kate on Caribbean tour to celebrate Queen’s Jubilee stage anti-colonial protests, demands for reparations After Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, with the sun already setting on the British Empire, she and Philip embarked on a six-month tour of the Commonwealth. Speaking on Christmas Day from Auckland, New Zealand, he said the Commonwealth was nothing like “the empires of the past”. “It is a completely new concept, built on the highest qualities of the human spirit: friendship, loyalty and the desire for freedom and peace,” he said. “To this new conception of the equal cooperation of nations and races I will give my heart and soul every day of my life.” From UK Prime Minister Liz Truss to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, many expressed their condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. (Video: The Washington Post) In the first several decades of her reign, many imperial possessions declared their independence. Several became democracies. But the end of the Empire did not end the consequences of the empire. Historians and advocates of reparations say that inequalities in wealth, education and health care in many spheres have their roots in colonialism. But cutting ties with the monarchy may be easier said than done. Almost every constitutional reform commission in the Caribbean since independence has recommended declaring democracies, and leaders in many nations have pledged to do so – but have faced obstacles. Belize can abolish the monarchy through legislation, as Barbados did, although Usher said the government plans to hold a referendum on reforms from the constitutional review. Other areas have constitutions that require referendums — some by simple majority. others with a supermajority. The Gleaner, Jamaica’s national newspaper, criticized the Holness government this week for suggesting a referendum on the issue would not be held until the next election, in 2025. “A referendum on any issue relatively close to a general election is likely to be transformative [into] a referendum on the government,” the paper wrote, “and not a reasonable statement on the issue at hand. This must be avoided.” In former British colonies, ghosts of the past haunt the mourning for the queen In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau remembered Elizabeth last week as “one of my favorite people in the world.” He was head of state for almost half of its existence, present at critical moments in its history. Polls show Canadians love her deeply, but are cooler on Charles. Charles and his wife, Camilla, were greeted by humble crowds in Ottawa when they visited in May. They also faced calls for an apology for the Crown’s “continued failure to fulfill its agreements” with indigenous peoples. But while polls show declining support for the constitutional monarchy, the bar for declaring a republic is high: It would require a constitutional amendment supported by both houses of Parliament and the 10 provincial legislatures. Trudeau said this week that Canadians are “almost entirely” preoccupied with other issues. Australia came close to removing the monarch as head of state a quarter of a century ago and recently elected a pro-Labor government. But new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is in no rush to tackle the divisive issue. After his election in May, he appointed his country’s first “assistant minister for democracy”, tasked with explaining and expanding support for a referendum on declaring a republic. He has said such a vote wouldn’t come until a second term — if he wins one. Since Elizabeth’s death, Albanese has avoided the subject. “Now is not the time to talk about our system of government,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday. “Now is the time to pay tribute to the life of Queen Elizabeth.” In a country known for sticking to the rules, most Republicans struck a similar tone. The few officials who stepped forward were immediately flogged. “I cannot mourn the leader of a racist empire built on the stolen lives, land and wealth of colonized peoples” Senator Mehreen Faruqi tweeted. “We are reminded of the urgency of the First Nations Treaty, justice and reparations for the British colonies and becoming a republic.” Right-wing MP Pauline Hanson called on Farooqui, who was born in Lahore, to “piss back to Pakistan”. Eric Abetz, president of the Australian Monarchy Association, told The Post that Farooqui was “almost dancing on her majesty’s grave” and that such comments would prevent a referendum. The The 1999 referendum failed due to a split among Republicans. Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters it was likely the country would become a democracy in her lifetime — he is 42 – but he didn’t think it was “on the agenda any time soon.” Elizabeth’s death has yet to spark any signs of democratic impulses elsewhere in the Pacific. In the Solomon Islands, government and opposition leaders issued statements praising the queen. In Papua New Guinea, where Elizabeth was known as ‘Mama Belong Big Family’ and ‘Miss Kwin’, Prime Minister James Marape’s heartfelt eulogy hinted at tough times ahead. “Her Majesty was the anchor that held our country within the Commonwealth,” he wrote. It was not said what happens to a ship when they dock.
