Apology, slavery overshadow Caribbean tour by Prince William and Kate to celebrate Queen
.JPG "A man protests outside the British High Commission in Kingston to demand an apology and slavery reparations during a visit to the former British colony by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate, in Kingston, Jamaica, Tuesday, March 22, 2022. The two-day visit to Jamaica is part of a larger trip to the Caribbean region encouraged by Queen Elizabeth II as some countries debate cutting ties with the monarchy like Barbados did late last year.")
It is supposed to be a royal Caribbean tour filled with pomp and circumstance to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years since her historic accession to the British throne in 1952.
But this week’s visit by Her Majesty’s heirs, Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas is stirring up protests and debate about colonialism, reparations and an apology for slavery in some corners of the countries they are touring.
On Saturday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were forced to cancel an outing in the foothills of the Maya Mountains near Belize’s Indian Creek village after protests erupted about indigenous rights and colonialism. And in Jamaica, where they arrived Tuesday hoping to celebrate the island’s rich sporting and cultural heritage, protesters welcomed them with a list of 60 reasons why they should apologize for slavery and begin a process of reparations.
Jamaicans from all walks of life staged a protest in front of the British High Commission in Kingston to read the 60 reasons. The gathering stemmed from an open letter that was published over the weekend, urging William and Kate to recognize the need for atonement and reparations. After initially attracting 100 Jamaican personalities and organizations, the list of signatories had reached 200 by the time the royal couple touched down, said Trevor Munroe, a civil society advocate and former member of Jamaica’s Senate from 1998 to 2007 who is among the signers.
“You, who may one day lead the British monarchy, are direct beneficiaries of the wealth accumulated by the British state over centuries, including that stemming from the trafficking and enslavement of Africans,” the signers said. “You, therefore, have the unique opportunity to redefine the relationship between the British monarchy and the people of Jamaica.”
The debate over slavery and reparations is not new. But the issue has been gathering momentum in the past year amid allegations of racism within the British royal family and intense debates about colonialism, republicanism and independence versus parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Feeding the political momentum is last year’s decision by Barbados to cut ties with the British monarchy and become an independent republic. Instead of Queen Elizabeth as its head of state, the easternmost island of the Caribbean now has a president, former governor general and the queen’s representative, Sandra Mason, in the symbolic role.
With the move, just eight former colonies in the English-speaking Caribbean, including Jamaica, are left paying allegiance to the queen. The other former colonies are Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Though independent, they are considered parliamentary democracies with a constitutional monarchy because they recognize the queen as the symbolic head of state.
“We had 10 million slaves coming from Africa to the Caribbean and at the end of 400 years, 2 million remained. And during that period, every conceivable atrocity was committed, not only in the Caribbean but also in the southern United States,” said Munroe. “Frankly speaking, the time has come and gone for an apology.”
Munroe said the exploitation of the indigenous people of the Caribbean and the transatlantic trafficking of Africans and their enslavement in the former British colonies amount to the “Black people’s Holocaust.”
“The minimum we ask is that you recognize the crimes against humanity which you’ve committed and apologize. Then, we can talk simultaneously about reparations and atonement for the extraordinary devastation that the colonial apartheid system brought on our people,” he said.
In the letter, supporters note that rather than celebrate the Queen’s 70th anniversary, they plan to celebrate Jamaica’s 60 years as an independent nation later this summer, and celebrate the freedom fighters who fought against British rule and abominable human rights abuses. Some are hoping that with that milestone, the country also follows in the steps of Barbados and becomes a republic.
Rosalea Hamilton, a professor and member of Jamaica’s Advocates Network, doesn’t deny that both the letter and Tuesday’s protest are tied to this push.
“We wanted to highlight that issue and we also hope to make that link between what we hope will be the next significant steps in the development of a nation, which is to create a republic,” she said. “You can’t begin to talk about a republic until we sever the relations, and so a big part of this is saying, ‘We now need to sever that relationship.’
Still, she finds the visit to be ill-timed and a waste of government resources.
“We’re coming off the throes of a global pandemic. There are many people who are struggling to build their businesses, and literally to try and find food. There are kids who are out of school,” Hamilton said. “Some people feel that the funds spent on this visit should have been diverted to assisting our children who need help.”
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This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 6:58 PM.
