Barbados: The World's Newest Republic

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2021

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

November 30 2021, Bridgetown, fifty-five years since Barbados’ 1966 Independence, the Royal Standard flag representing the Queen was lowered and Dame Sandra Mason was sworn in as the president of Barbados. The handover ceremony marked the birth of the world’s newest republic.

The most easterly of the Caribbean Islands, Barbados was inhabited by its indigenous peoples prior to the European colonisation of the Americas in the 16th century. Under the command of Captain John Powell, the first English ship arrived in Barbados in May 1625 and its men took possession of the island in the name of King James I. During this period, Barbados became an English and later British colony that served as a plantation economy, dependent on the labour of enslaved Africans on the island's sugar plantations.

Dan is joined by Guy Hewitt, who served as the High Commissioner of Barbados in London from 2014 to 2018. They discuss the detailed history of Barbados, the significance of the Slave Trade until its formal abolition in 1834, the impact of the Commonwealth, subsequent Barbadian-British relations, and why now sees the end to the 396-year-reign of the British Monarchy over the Island country.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi everyone, welcome to Dan Snow's history. On the 29th of November 2021, at a few seconds
0:08.8	past midnight, Barbados became a republic, removing Queeners with a second as head of state.
0:18.1	The Queen Standard was low for the final time, Prince Charles heir to a throne of the UK,
0:23.3	attended the event and spoke of the appalling atrocity of slavery and how it forever stains
0:29.5	our history. It was an event rich and simpler than those things are. It was held in national
0:35.2	hero square in Bridgetown once known as Trafalgar Square. It remains to be seen with the Barbados
0:41.2	will be the last of the Commonwealth countries to declare themselves republic over the next few years.
0:46.8	And it's podcasting on the history of Barbados and how we got to this point. So history
0:50.4	right at the present day. I've got the perfect person to do it. We got Guy Hewitt,
0:54.4	High Commissioner of Barbados in London from 2014 to 2018. He knows both Barbados and the UK
1:02.3	better than most. If you would like to watch a program about the history of Barbados,
1:06.9	trust me, I'm happy to make that program. I just need you to subscribe to History Hit TV.
1:11.8	It's our digital history channel. If you subscribe, you will contribute to sending me to Barbados
1:17.8	and I will post regular reports of how it's all going. May also wonderful TV shows. It's going
1:22.8	to be perfect. You know what? It's a win-win. Win for you. Win for me. It costs less than the price
1:28.8	of a pint of beer every month. That's subscription. If you subscribe today, you'll get two weeks
1:33.1	totally free at everlyhistoryhit.tv. But in the meantime, folks, his guy Hewitt, enjoy.
1:44.4	Guy, thank you very much for coming on the podcast. The lighted to join you,
1:48.6	Dan and to be here with your listeners. Now, what's the movie called Barbados? Is this something
1:53.3	that everyone's very engaged in? I think it has been a big event. Barbados becoming a republic
2:00.8	is a significant event in and of itself. However, I don't think it has taken hold or taken
2:09.3	root in the average Barbadian in the way that they should have. If we think about a republic
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.