Barbados became the world’s newest republic in 2021 and officially removed Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state at a ceremony which coincided with the country’s 55th anniversary of independence.
It was attended by the incoming King Charles, who in a speech acknowledged the "appalling atrocity of slavery" the Caribbean island suffered.
Caribbean nations have long toyed with the idea of cutting ties with the monarchy, but in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, the rumblings of republican movements became even more robust and reverberated across the region.
Guyana, Trinidad, Dominica and Barbados are all republics, and have paved the way for other countries to consider making the shift.
These states remain members of the Commonwealth but elect their own heads of state without external influence and oversee their own domestic and foreign affairs.
Barbados' new President Sandra Mason, awards then Prince Charles with the Order of Freedom of Barbados during the presidential inauguration ceremony in Barbados in 2021. Source: AP / David McD Crichlow
Jamaica's slave history
A British colony for more than 300 years, Jamaica became a key outpost in the transatlantic slave trade which operated from the 16th to the 19th centuries. During this period, the British empire enslaved, exploited and abused hundreds of thousands of people.
Jamaicans have been calling for recognition of this brutality for decades. But poet and academic Opal Palmer Adisa says that is not enough.
“We don't just want an apology because to a certain extent that is easy,” she says.
“We want to be compensated for the labour that our ancestors did that in fact enriched Britain and the British Empire.”
Poet and academic Opal Palmer Adisa with Professor Rosalea Hamilton. Credit: SBS Dateline
But the couple were met with protests, and in Jamaica, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said his country intended to become a republic.
"We are moving on," he said. "We intend to ... fulfil our true ambitions and destiny as an independent, developed, prosperous country, “ he said.
Opal says the reparations she and others involved in Jamaica's republican movement are demanding would help to address historical oppression and achieve tangible outcomes.
“Why is it that in Jamaica, a predominantly black nation, that poor people who are black don't have land when their ancestors have built the British empire?” Opal asks.
“You have stolen and benefited and now we want back what we have earned to benefit our people.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in Jamaica in 2022, as part of their tour of the Caribbean on behalf of the Queen to mark her Platinum Jubilee. Credit: Jane Barlow/PA/Alamy
Jamaica’s government plans to hold a referendum before 2025, but current polls say a little more than 50 per cent support becoming a republic.
Monarchists such as Jason Green say the monarchy provides a level of stability that cannot be guaranteed as a republic.
“The republican argument is we get rid of the king, have a president and we’ll move forward and become a developed country – that’s what has been sold to us,” he says.
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Jason Green is a monarchist in Jamaica. Credit: SBS Dateline
“There is often this perception out there that patriotism means that you have to support a republican for government.
“To me, patriotism means supporting whatever is in the best interest of your country. And as a monarchist, I believe that retaining the constitution we have now is in the best interest of Jamaica.”
Australia's republican movement
While Opal is one of the leading pro-republic voices in Jamaica, she says the movement is gathering momentum around the globe.
“I also think there is a kind of international energy that's happening … not just [in] the Caribbean, you also have Africa, you also have Asia.
“All of us now are speaking the same language and are pointing the same finger at the British Empire and what they've done to all of us.”
In 1999 Australia held a referendum which asked voters whether they approved of an alteration to the constitution which would establish Australia as a republic with the Queen and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of the members of the Commonwealth Parliament.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has refused to hold a referendum on a republic in this term of parliament following the Queen’s death in September 2022, but has suggested he will pursue a referendum if his government is re-elected.
Mr Albanese’s government has appointed the nation's first assistant minister for the republic, Matt Thistlethwaite.
All of us now are speaking the same language and are pointing the same finger at the British Empire and what they've done to all of us.Opal Palmer Adisa
Craig Foster is the chair of the Australian Republican movement.
He says that an Australian republic is about a unifying and inclusive national identity.
“Conversations that Australia has long avoided are now unpacking the lasting impacts of dispossession, the racism that underpinned colonisation and the understanding that any further formal association [with the Crown] is not only inhibiting and suffocating to cultural growth but deeply damaging to unity,” he told SBS Dateline.
“Inhibiting because it entrenches discrimination, inequality, unaccountability, and a failure of representation at the very apex of the nation.
“The Crown by its very nature discriminates on grounds of gender, nationality, genealogy, and religion as the British king is ‘defender of the (Anglican) faith’ and therefore antithetical to the religious diversity of Australia. It represents a fundamental affront to Australia as we see ourselves today.”
Craig Foster is the chair of the Australian Republican movement. Credit: SBS Dateline.
“We need full independence to grow into our contemporary skin,” Foster said.
“Genuine multiculturalism, in my view, means absolute equality and access for every cultural background, ethnicity and race in Australia.
“While ever we have a monarchy as the head of state of this country, then that's not real.”
“It's not about the personalities involved, it's about the system.”
Philip Benwell has been the chair of the Australian Monarchist League for 30 years.
He says the constitutional monarchy is the “best system in the world.”
“It's a reason why Australia has become one of the great countries in the world, because it's ensured political stability, which has in turn ensured economic stability.
“By having a monarch who is represented in this country by the governor-general… [they] become the executive head of state [and their] job is to be the guardian of the Constitution and the Australian people.
“By having that system of an independent umpire, it means politicians cannot assume total and absolute power.”
Philip Benwell has been the chair of the Australian Monarchist League for 30 years Credit: Supplied
“There was a political crisis, where the Senate had blocked supply because of actions of the government, which meant the government could not pay the wages of public servants, the army or anybody else, and was coming to a standstill,” Benwell says.
“It was the governor's job to make sure that the government continued and .. he asked the prime minister to hold a double dissolution [election], the prime minister refused.
“The option that the governor-general saw that he had was to dismiss the prime minister, he appointed the leader of the Opposition as a caretaker prime minister on the basis that the caretaker prime minister would call an immediate election, which he did.
“That election was held within a month. And the people had their say. That is democracy in action.”
By having that system of an independent umpire, it means politicians cannot assume total and absolute power.Philip Benwell
Some recent polls suggest there is a rising tide of Australians in support of a republic. In January, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s Resolve Political Monitor released a poll which showed support for the republic increased from 36 to 39 per cent among eligible voters since the death of Queen Elizabeth.
“I think you'll find that the majority of people do not want to change, it's not like asking a simple question, “ Mr Benwell said.
“It's dealing with changing the entire structure of our way of life, our system of governance.
“It's not about the personalities involved, it's about the system.
“Personalities come and go … The fact is, the system continues, because it is the system that protects our democracy and our freedom, not the individuals involved.”
