PM Tells Prince William Jamaica Will Become a Republic

As most Belizeans know by now, Jamaica was the next stop on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s Caribbean tour after leaving Belize. But while our Prime Minister welcomed the royal couple by avoiding any controversial issues, the Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, addressed the changing postcolonial relationship with Britain head on. Holness is reported to have told the Prince that Jamaica intends to fulfil its ambitions as an independent country and is planning on becoming a republic. The comments, reported by the UK’s Guardian newspaper, are a direct follow-up to statements P.M. Holness made in December when Barbados announced its intention of removing the Queen as Head of State. At that time, Holness said there was no question that Jamaica would be going down the same path and that the issue has become a mainstream topic over the last decade. The Guardian cites Jamaican polls that indicate while only forty percent of Jamaican’s supported separation in 2011, by 2020 that number had risen to over sixty percent. That sentiment may have strengthened further after Barbados followed through on its plan just weeks ago and elected its first president. The royal couple was greeted in Jamaica by protests from those who say the Queen and the royal family need to apologize for the atrocities of colonialism and the African slave trade. P.M. Holness said that as future monarchs, William and Kate are “direct beneficiaries of the wealth accumulated by Britain’s royal family over the centuries stemming from the trafficking and enslavement of Africans.”. This week one hundred people signed a petition delivered to the British High Commission in Jamaica asking Britain to apologize for the exploitation of Africans and for compensation.