Time Come? Caribbean Decolonization and the Monarchy
- Title
- Time Come? Caribbean Decolonization and the Monarchy
- Date
- January 20, 2025
- Description
- In 2021, Barbados became a republic. It was the first independent Caribbean country to make the transition from monarchy to republic since Trinidad and Tobago in 1976 (Dominica had become independent as a republic in 1978). Despite expectations that the example of Barbados might lead to other Caribbean countries making a similar constitutional journey, none has yet followed and there remain eight so-called ‘Commonwealth Realms’ in the region which retain King Charles III as their sovereign. Why have Caribbean countries been so slow to adopt republican constitutions? Why did most of them become independent Commonwealth Realms in the first place and what are the political and symbolic implications of retaining that status? And what developments are we likely to witness in the next few years? Philip Murphy, author of Monarchy and the End of Empire (2013), shed light on all these questions in his lecture.