Barbados became a republic

 

Barbados removed Britain's Queen Elizabeth as head of state, creating a new republic on Tuesday with its first president and severing its last remaining colonial ties nearly 400 years after the first British ships arrived in the Caribbean, Reuters reported.

At midnight, the new republic was born to the shouts of hundreds of people along the Chamberlain Bridge in the capital, Bridgetown. A salute of 21 cannons, fired as the national anthem of Barbados, was played over a crowded Heroes' Square.                                                                                    Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, stood gloomily when Queen Elizabeth's royal standard was lowered and that of Barbados was raised, a move that Republicans hope will prompt discussion of similar proposals in other former British colonies that have the Queen as their sovereign. .

"We humans must give the Republic of Barbados its spirit and essence," said President Sandra Mason, the island's first president. "We have to shape his future. We are each other and guardians of our nation. We humans are Barbados. ”           The creation of this republic offers a new beginning, "said Prince Charles, whose mother made her warmest wishes. "From the darkest days of our past and the horrific atrocities of slavery that forever tarnish our history, the people of this island have forged their way with extraordinary force."