BRIDGETOWN (Reuters) – Barbados removed the statue of British Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson from the capital Bridgetown’s main square on Monday, 16 Nov., two months after announcing plans to replace Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and move on from its colonial past. The statue was unveiled 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, then largely colonised by Britain, France and Spain, was also an important battleground in the Napoleonic Wars and the ruling-classes and plantation elite had the statue erected to mark his role in the campaigns.
But the statue has been targeted for removal by various administrations since 1990 as 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 square where it stood was originally called Trafalgar Square but was renamed National Heroes Square in 1999, although Nelson is not on the list of Barbados’ 10 National Heroes. But it took the global reassessment of history and racism triggered by the killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer in May this year, to prompt the government into action. At a ceremony on Monday night, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said the government accepted the statue was an “important, historic relic”. But she said: “It is not a relic to be placed in the National Heroes Square of a nation that has had to fight for too long to shape its destiny and to forge a positive future for its citizens.”
In a May 1805 letter to his friend Simon Taylor in Jamaica, retired Barbados Community College history tutor Trevor Marshall noted, Nelson wrote that “I have ever been, and shall die, a firm friend of our present Colonial system”.
He went on to denounce “the damnable doctrine” of abolitionists of the day like William Wilberforce. Nelson was killed on the deck of his flagship HMS Victory by a French sniper at the Battle of Trafalgar off Spain in October that same year. Two years later, Britain abolished the slave trade.
“If Nelson had been alive, the end of slavery would have come even later,” Marshall said.
After decades of overlooking Bridgetown’s principal thoroughfare, the Nelson statue will be housed at the Barbados Museum in the Historic Garrison Area.
It joins a number of other statues across the globe, including slave traders in Britain to Confederate generals in the United States, to have been hauled down as the Black Lives Matter campaign gathered momentum.
The famous statue of Nelson in Trafalgar Square in London – erected about 30 years after the Barbados one – has also been targeted by activists for removal.
Barbados was claimed for England in 1625 and became independent after more than three centuries of colonial rule in 1966. Its present-day population of about 287,000 people are mostly the descendants of African slaves brought over to work the plantations.
Moves are underway now for Barbados to ditch Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and to become a republic before the 55th anniversary of its independence next year.
(Editing by Sarah Marsh and Angus MacSwan)
]]>Paris, France, October 08, 2020– Interest by French golf enthusiasts in experiencing the virtues of St. Kitts and Nevis’ golf facilities is growing in momentum, reports the Federation’s Honorary Consul in France, Dr. David Doyle.
With international travel slowly picking up, the leading French weekend news anchor, Le Figaro Magazine, has launched a series of advertisements promoting St. Kitts and Nevis for its annual Figaro Golf Cruise programme for the Winter 2020/21 cruise season. “The Federation benefits from this Golf Cruise programme not only in terms of raising awareness amongst the French golf community, but also from features and articles in Le Figaro newspaper and on its website, mentioning about the destination among Leisure travellers,” declared the Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, Transportation and Ports.
Le Figaro Magazine, part of the Le Figaro Groupe that publishes the French daily newspaper (readership: 20m per month), has operated a dedicated Caribbean Golf Cruise operation for the past five years. The most recent advertisement above, features the 18-hole Robert Trent Jones II Golf Course, Four Seasons, Nevis.
Dr Doyle, who is also the Federation’s ambassador to UNESCO in Paris noted, “We started negotiations with Le Figaro many years ago, for the inclusion of the Federation for their Leisure Traveller who plays golf whilst on their stay-over vacation on this dedicated golf cruise”.
Le Figaro will continue its Golf Cruise programme in the Caribbean in February 2021, to include the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, and St. Martin/St. Marteen. The itinerary traditional includes a two-day stop-over for approximately 80 French golf aficionados, to play golf at the Thomas McBroom Royal St. Kitts Golf Course and the 18-hole Robert Trent Jones II, Four Seasons, Nevis.
More recently, Mr Louët stated: “The courses of St Kitts and Nevis are important to include for the stages of the Figaro golf cruises in the Caribbean. Their layout and the atmosphere that reigns there offer what is most warm and welcoming in the West Indies. We are happy to be able to return there with French golfers from the year 2021”
August 24th 2020 (AllianceFrançaise) Bonjour à tous,
Applications are open for the INTERREG ELAN scholarship and immersion program.
This program provides Kittitian and Nevisian students with the opportunity to study in the French Universities of the Antilles, in Guadeloupe or Martinique.
Students will benefit from a travel allowance and a scholarship of €700 per month, which will help to cover expenses (i.e. accommodation, meals, transportation and registration fees) for the duration of the immersion programme. The scholarship will also help to cover the first regular year at the selected university or institution of higher education for the duration of the INTERREG ELAN project.
Students with an A2 proficiency in French (equivalent to CXC French) will attend intensive classes at the Alliance Française of St. Kitts and Nevis in order to pass the DELF B1 exam in December 2020. In January 2021, they will join the 5-month immersion program in Martinique in order to pass their B2 exam in June 2021 and subsequently enroll in a French institution of higher education in September 2021.
Students who apply for the INTERREG ELAN scholarship must:
Additional information and application contacts:
Mr. Sterge Woodley, ELAN Focal Point, +1869 760 2705 or sterge.woodley@moeskn.org
Ms. Marine Moncaut, Alliance Française’s Director, +1869 667 9019 or direction.afskn@gmail.com
Applications must be submitted before September 6th, 2020.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 17th, 2020 (ZIZ News)
By: Chaïra Flanders
Three lucky persons were adjudged winners in three different categories of the Alliance Française St. Kitts and Nevis #StayHome French singing competition finale on Wednesday night.
Vlad Bolfa was announced winner of the Children category with a total of 74.2 points. He will collect a $500 cash voucher.
Mikayla Peets was announced the winner of the Adolescent category with a total of 81.4 points, earning herself a $750 cash voucher.
As the competition wrapped up, President of the Alliance Française, Kara Daly revealed that Blestina Charles beat out her competitors to win the Adult category with a total of 79.90 points. She was an online crowd favorite who wore a gold crown during her in studio performance.
Blestina who is also a student of the University of the West Indies says she will use her $1000 cash voucher to pay for her studies.
With only a 0.36 difference, Hilary Ferguson followed closely behind with a total of 79.54 points to earn the 1st runner spot.
The virtual competition saw many students, French and Music teachers, guests from France, Alliance Française Institutions across the region and officials from the Ministry of Education in attendance.
During the performances, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, William Vincent Hodge said, “these young people are rising stars. I am impressed”.
The french singing finale which was held via Zoom, peaked at 300 viewers which is the maximum number of participants allowed via the video communications platform.
Director of the Alliance Française St. Kitts and Nevis, Marine Moncaut chaired the event.
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