Nelson's statue removed from Bridgetown, Barbados

 In Feb 2020 I was in Bridgetown, Barbados, and took photos of Nelson's statue in Trafalgar Square, opposite the Parliament buildings. I wrote "Statue of Admiral Lord Nelson. It was erected on 22 March 1813 in the area known as Trafalgar Square, opposite Parliament Buildings. The statue predates Nelson Column in Trafalgar Square in London by nearly 30 years. Bajans (Barbadians) are grateful to Nelson due to his victory at Cape Trafalgar in 1805. This meant Barbados would not become a French West Indian colony, which would have been the alternative if Nelson had not gained victory for the British off Cape Trafalgar on the southern coast of Spain. This battle was the most decisive naval victory of the wars. It was also important for trade routes from Britain to Barbados."

So I was really surprised to read in the news in Nov that Nelson's statue has been removed. Apparently in September Barbados announced plans to replace Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and move on from its colonial past. 

In 1999 Trafalgar Square was renamed National Heroes Square, although Nelson is not on the list of Barbados’ 10 National Heroes. 

In 2020 the Black Lives Matter campaign sprung up worldwide after a black man whilst being arrested by a white policemen in the US. Lots of statues in England were removed if they represented someone who had connections with the slave trade during colonial times. 

So Nelson's statue in Bridgetown was a particular target, as it was a vestige of colonial rule, made even more controversial because of Nelson’s defence of the slave trade upon which Barbados’ plantation economy was based.

The bronze statue was put up in 1813 to commemorate Nelson and the British Royal Navy’s victory over the French and Spanish in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The Caribbean was an important battleground in the Napoleonic Wars. There were 3 big colonisers, Britain, France and Spain.

The statue will be housed at the Barbados Museum in the Historic Garrison Area.

I wonder if anything will happen to Nelson's Dockyard on Antigua, which I visited in 2019. 

****

UPDATE

I was in Barbados again in January 2022 and managed to take a photo of the empty plinth where Nelson's statue used to be.

Another change - In 2021, the name Barbados Police Service was selected to be the new name for the Royal Barbados Police Force and replaced the old name when Barbados became a republic on November 30, 2021.