At the end of last year, the Caribbean state of Barbados became a republic. Now, the Jamaican government has taken the opportunity of a royal visit to announce plans to do the same:
Jamaica’s prime minister has told the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge that his country is “moving on” and intends to become a republic.They've already established a ministry for constitutional reform, but Barbados provides an easy model for quick change: simply twink out the old royalist terms like "monarch" and crown", write in "president" and "state", and appoint your existing, domestically-appointed governor-general as president. This settles the main change - getting rid of the British - while preserving existing constitutional norms and leaving space open for further changes if desired.The royals’ arrival in Jamaica on Tuesday coincided with a much-publicised demonstration urging the monarchy to pay reparations for slavery, and calls from politicians for the country to become a republic.
The couple’s visit to Jamaica has given the nation the opportunity to address “unresolved” issues, the prime minister, Andrew Holness, told them. During an official welcome, Holness said: “There are issues here which are, as you would know, unresolved but your presence gives an opportunity for those issues to be placed in context, put front and centre and to be addressed in as best [a way] as we can.
“Jamaica is as you would see a country that is very proud of our history and very proud of what we have achieved. We are moving on and we intend to attain in short order … our goals and fulfil our true ambitions as an independent, developed, prosperous country.”
And obviously, this raises the question: when will Aotearoa join the modern world?
