Trinidad and Tobago is planning to redesign its coat of arms to put distance between its history of colonialism – this also includes removing a depiction of three ships used by Christopher Columbus
The late Queen visiting Trinidad and Tobago in 2009 (
Image: Tim Rooke / Rex Features)
Trinidad and Tobago’s redesign of its coat of arms could see Her Majesty the Queen 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. 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.
Trinidad and Tobago’s coat of arms (
Image:
AP)
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. A golden helmet facing the front represents Queen Elizabeth II, the colony’s ruler at the time of its design.
Trinidad and Tobago was first colonised by the Spanish, who ruled it for nearly 300 years before ceding it to the British, who governed it for more than 160 years until the islands’ independence in 1962.
The colonial imprint remains throughout streets and plazas, with a statue of Columbus dominating a square of the same name in the capital of Port-of-Spain.