August 30, 2024
Trinidad and Tobago’s redesign of its coat of arms could see the late Queen Elizabeth removed amid a plan to scrap the symbol of colonialism.
The Caribbean nation has already said it wants to take away a depiction of three ships used by Christopher Columbus.
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Many islanders feel the explorer’s expeditions to the area paved the way for centuries of European colonial rule and enslavement in the region.
The plan is to replace ships – the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María – with the steelpan, the famous percussion instrument that originated in the Caribbean nation.
The government has asked residents of the twin islands whether they support removing statues, signs, and monuments with colonial ties.
At a meeting late Wednesday, people of African, European, and Indigenous descent stepped up to the microphone one by one to voice their thoughts.
Some thought the government needed to go further than just Columbus.
“What the hell is the queen still doing on top of the coat of arms? Please let us put her to rest,” said Eric Lewis, a member of the First Peoples.
Her late Majesty is represented on the nation’s coat of arms above the shield.
