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“Liberation Day"

Regional Headquarters, Jamaica, Friday, October 22, 2021. The following statement is issued by Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice-Chancellor of The UWI.

In 1636 the English Governor of Barbados, Henry Hawley, under pressure from slave investors, and with the full support of King Charles I, declared that all black people brought to the island shall be deemed under law non-human, chattel, and property in perpetuity. The western commercial markets and their political sovereigns embraced and elevated the island as it became a unique and very special place.

From there on, the monarchy of Britain, as patron of the slave merchants and planters, wallowed in the slave-produced wealth and deemed Barbados “the richest spot of land in the world”. Queen Elizabeth I had laid the policy foundation for the crime; King James I and King Charles I built the political and constitutional slavery infrastructure. Through the decades down to Elizabeth II, the Royal family that had created and owned the “Royal African Slave Trading Company” ruled the island.

But Barbados did not just become the first black majority Caribbean island, it was host to the first Black Holocaust. It was Britain’s genocide island. The British imported 600,000 enslaved Africans into the colony between 1627 and 1833. When the Act to end chattel slavery came into full effect in 1838, there were a mere 83,000 remaining on the island. Today, there are less than 300,000, half the number imported. What has happened to these Africans? Genocide. Slavery and genocide constituted the cause and effect of the business model.

Now black people are free from the monarchy and its parliament that had deemed their ancestors’ property forever. Independence in 1966 gave them the tools to complete their liberation. His Right Excellent Errol Barrow cracked the mould; The Honourable Mia Mottley shattered the remaining scaffold and dismantled its indignity. She proclaimed the end of the Empire and declared the country free at last.

It took the power and passion of two magnificent women to bring an end to the historic sin. Two women of consciousness, commitment and courage carried us over the line to liberty. Her Excellency Dame Sandra and Honourable Prime Minister Mottley are now the symbols of the new sovereignty. And this is as it should be.

Since the 1730s women have outnumbered men on the island. Women have been the majority for some 250 years. The island has been a woman’s place for more than 70% of its modern history. No other colony or country in the Americas has such a demographic history. Barbados is unique in this regard. And so, the women have spoken and acted, and the final column of colonialism has fallen.

The writing was on the wall the day that Mia had said Lord Horatio Nelson shall fall. One man, nonetheless, chose to walk from the House rather than stand his legislative ground. He will forever be remembered as the single soul who threw the mud that spoilt the Speaker’s score. Oscar Wilde, a century ago, had reminded us that he who throws mud loses ground. But today we stand secure on Mia’s land as all bar one hail the Republic!

-End-

About Professor Sir Hilary Beckles

Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, 8th Vice-Chancellor of The UWI is a distinguished academic, international thought leader, United Nations committee official, and global public activist in the field of social justice and minority empowerment. He is also the President of Universities Caribbean, Chairman of the CARICOM Reparations Commission and Chairman of the Caribbean Examinations Council. For more, visit http://uwi.edu/VCBiography.asp

About The UWI

The UWI has been and continues to be a pivotal force in every aspect of Caribbean development; residing at the centre of all efforts to improve the well-being of people across the region.

From a university college of London in Jamaica with 33 medical students in 1948, The UWI is today an internationally respected, global university with near 50,000 students and five campuses: Mona in Jamaica, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago, Cave Hill in Barbados, Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda and its Open Campus, and 10 global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

The UWI offers over 800 certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, Food and Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities and Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology, Social Sciences, and Sport. As the Caribbean’s leading university, it possesses the largest pool of Caribbean intellect and expertise committed to confronting the critical issues of our region and wider world.

The UWI has been consistently ranked among the top universities globally by the most reputable ranking agency, Times Higher Education (THE). In the latest World University Rankings 2022, released in September 2021, The UWI moved up an impressive 94 places from last year. In the current global field of some 30,000 universities and elite research institutes, The UWI stands among the top 1.5%.

The UWI is the only Caribbean-based university to make the prestigious lists since its debut in the rankings in 2018. In addition to its leading position in the Caribbean, it is also in the top 20 for Latin America and the Caribbean and the top 100 global Golden Age universities (between 50 and 80 years old).  The UWI is also featured among the leading universities on THE’s Impact Rankings for its response to the world’s biggest concerns, outlined in the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including Good Health and Wellbeing; Gender Equality and Climate Action.

For more, visit www.uwi.edu.

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)