The queen of England has lost another "territory"! Barbados was declared a republic

Original title: the queen of England has lost another "territory"! Barbados was declared a republic
At 0:00 on November 30 local time, Barbados, a Caribbean island country, held a celebration ceremony to announce that it will become a newly born Republic and no longer take the queen of England as the head of state. The country elected a Barbadian president for the first time, marking that Elizabeth II once again lost a "territory" after nearly 30 years. Experts predict that this has brought a signal to some other Commonwealth member states that still follow the monarchy.
The jurist became president
At midnight, the official celebration was held in the national hero square in the center of Bridgetown. Prince Charles, the first heir to the British throne, flew to the island to attend the ceremony and watched the British royal flag fall from the flagpole and the new flag rise.
A moment later, the respected 73 year old jurist Sandra Mason was sworn in as president of Barbados. November 30 coincided with the 55th anniversary of Barbados' independence from British colonial rule.

Sandra Mason (middle) was sworn in as president
Mason completed his law degree at the University of the West Indies (UWI), the only public university in the country, in 1973 and became a practicing lawyer in 1975. Before becoming a magistrate and family law tutor, she worked as a lawyer at Barclays Bank and became the Registrar of the Supreme Court in 1997.
After the 21 gun salute, Mason awarded the country's highest honor, the medal of freedom, to Crown Prince Charles in order to "highlight the continued close relationship between Barbados and Britain".

Prince Charles attends Barbados celebration
Barbados covers an area of about 430 square kilometers and has a population of about 288000. It was occupied by Britain in the early 17th century and became independent on November 30, 1966. Later, as a member of the Commonwealth, Barbados took the queen of England as the head of state.
Barbados is famous for its idyllic beaches and love of cricket, and is the birthplace of Rihanna, the world's pop queen.
Remain in the Commonwealth
The last country to "recall" the queen of England was Mauritius, an island country in eastern Africa, which announced a similar decision in 1992, but still remained in the Commonwealth. Barbados, following Mauritius, continues to be a member of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is composed of 54 Member States, most of which are former British colonial territories, aimed at promoting international cooperation and trade.
Sandra Mason, the current governor elected by the parliament of Barbados and appointed by the queen of England, will become the first president of the Republic of Barbados. This position is basically only symbolic, and the national administration of Barbados is actually led by the prime minister Mia mottley.

In 2018, Queen Elizabeth II (left) met with Mason at Buckingham Palace
During the British colonial period, slavery was implemented in Barbados for more than 200 years and was not abolished until 1834. When Mason announced that Barbados would change from monarchy to Republic last year, he said: "the time has come to completely get rid of colonial history. Barbados needs a Barbadian as head of state."
"Rooted in slavery"
Charles said it was important for him to witness the handover ceremony. He also reaffirmed "the close and trustworthy partnership between Barbados and the United Kingdom as important members of the Commonwealth".
However, some people in Barbados questioned why the Queen's son came and pointed out that the historical relationship between the island and the British royal family was "rooted in slavery". Danny, Secretary General of the Caribbean peace and integration movement, said: "the British royal family has benefited from slavery economically, and many of our African brothers and sisters have lost their lives in the fight for change."

In 1977, Elizabeth II inspected the guard of honor on her arrival in Barbados
In 1625, when the ship of King James I of England first arrived at the coast of Barbados, the expedition claimed the sovereignty of Barbados.
Richard Drayton, a professor of imperial and global history at King's College London, said Barbados was the oldest British colony. "This was the first 'laboratory' of British colonialism in the tropics, and Barbados was also an important source of British private wealth in the 17th and 18th centuries," Drayton added. Many British nobles gained considerable wealth from sugar and slavery.
Cynthia barrow Giles, a professor of constitutional governance and political science at the University of the West Indies in Barbados, said that Barbados and the UK had been "breaking up" for a long time. Over the years, many people have called for the abolition of the status of the queen of England. She believes that Barbados' desire to become a republic has a history of more than 20 years, "reflecting the input of the whole island and its people in governance consultations".
Will other countries follow up?
Drayton said that Charles's participation in the ceremony proved that the British royal family had no objection to Barbados's decision to become a republic and basically recognized it.
Through this friendly "breakup", Drayton believes that other countries can follow Barbados, "this issue will now intensify the debate within Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean".
Guy Hewitt, who served as the High Commissioner of Barbados to the UK from 2014 to 2018, also predicted that more countries might choose to break with the British monarchy, but said that this would happen after the end of Elizabeth II's rule "only because the queen is so highly respected".
Nandu reporter Shi Minglei