Sorry Will and Kate, if it’s not Reparations, Jamaica doesn’t want it
What Happened?
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, are facing pushback from local protesters during their official visit "to the Realms" of Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas. The Duke and Duchess are touring on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen on the occasion of her Platinum Jubilee (the Queen's 70th year on the throne). The trip also coincides with Jamaica celebrating 60 years of their hard-won independence from British colonial rule.
Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas are countries that were formally colonized by the British. They have rich and vibrant histories, but they are histories that also heavily feature colonization and enslavement of their people at the hands of various empires and monarchies, most notably and recently the British.
On Saturday, the royals cancelled their first stop in Indian Creek, Belize, amid anti-colonialism protests but have refrained from commenting on the issue.
On Sunday, 100 Jamaican leaders signed an open letter preceding Will and Kate's trip to Jamaica asking that the monarchy pay atonement and reparations for the wounds of their abusive colonial past. The open letter compiled sixty reasons why the royals should apologize and pay reparations in lieu of their celebratory tour.
"It is important as we turn 60 years old as an independent nation that we stand as 'adults' on solid ethical, moral and human justice grounds to say to Britain, who was once our "parent", that you have done wrong in enriching yourselves off of chattel slavery and colonialism." - Nora Blake via The Independent
➡️CONTEXTUAL SIDE BAR: ROYAL TOURS👑
Let's be clear: royal tours are essentially ceremonial PR stunts for the ruling family. Their purpose is to create contemporary imagery consistent with a rhetoric that is beneficial to the monarchy and, by extension, the U.K. In recent years, that rhetoric has been one of the non-calloused white saviours gracing the global south with their 'humanitarian efforts.'
Problem: pictures don't tell the story of how these poor, "uncivilized" (yes, we're still not over that) countries became so poor. And how the monarchy got into a position to 'help.' Here's a hint; the answer to both is the monarchy's historical exploitation of the land and the people they have oppressed.
But we're so glad you got that picture laying the cornerstone at an English-style schoolhouse that you're building on land your family stole, Prince William. Thank you, that really fixed centuries of colonialism.
So why does any of this matter?
Quick recap: Jamaica was a major hub for the transatlantic slave trade. African people were trafficked to and through Jamaica by European powers to labour on plantations while their owners amassed fortunes that would result in generational wealth. This isn't a history that simply goes away. The wealth that was created on the backs of enslaved folk in Jamaica and other former British colonies exists today. In fact, it paid for Will and Kate's plane tickets.
This, among others, is a reason why the Jamaican leaders who penned and signed that incredible letter maintain that reparations paid by the monarchy will be a central element in atoning for their colonial past. It is wealth that countless Jamaicans, Africans, and other colonized groups have paid for with their lives and without their consent.
Further, the British Monarchy is a classic case of history written by the victor. Colonialism has a legacy of environmental degradation, the spread of disease, economic instability, ethnic rivalries, the systemic destruction of indigenous culture, language and ways of life, and human rights violations, one that most BIPOC folk, aka the global majority, still carry.
When we talk about great evils in history, such as Nazis and the Confederacy, we talk about how horrific their crimes against humanity were. We rightfully call it what it is, and condemn it.
So what exactly is the difference between what the Monarchy did, and continues to perpetuates, vs. what the Confederacy and the Nazi's did? Because tbh, it kind of feels like there are a lot of similarities with the exception being, the Monarchy wasn't defeated and has a really great PR team.
We shouldn’t celebrate colonizers
Can you imagine if someone came to your home and for several 100s of years, bled your community and nation of its resources, systemically dismantled cultures, religions and communities, ripped families apart, trafficked you and then, after a few decades of being slightly less aggressive with its oppression, came by annually and made you celebrate them?
That is what is being asked of the people of Belize, the Bahamas and Jamaica; they are being told to celebrate their oppressor, and it's all sorts of fucked up.
Do you know where else this is happening? Across the Commonwealth, including here in Canada. On Canada Day, we celebrate a country, which, btw is a constitutional monarchy, despite the fact that there has not been meaningful reparations to the Indigenous community that has been historically and presently oppressed.
So, Now What?
We aren't here to say the royals as individuals suck because whatever, love them or hate them, we don't care - but at least see the institution they represent for what they are.
The institution of the Monarchy needs to be abolished and reparations must be made.
Call on the Monarchy to atone for their centuries-long history of exploiting, oppressing and enslaving people on colonized land. This includes paying reparations for their debts to humanity and acknowledging, publicly, the harm they have wrought upon currently and historically colonized nations and their people.
The Monarchy needs to do own their shit, which won't happen without public pressure. The people in Jamaica protested William and Kate's visit. So what will the people of Canada do to show up and demand reparations for Indigenous and Black folk and people of colour whose ancestral land was colonized by European monarchs.
