For Bahamians, the Queen represents a dual history

Last week, Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest. Thousands of world dignitaries and leaders including President Biden attended the state funeral which was filled with the pomp and pageantry appropriate for a historical figure of her stature.

As it stands, Queen Elizabeth II remains the longest-reigning British monarch and the longest-reigning female monarch in world history. We will likely never see be a female British monarch again in our lifetimes, particularly one that ruled for more than half a century.

For many Americans, Queen Elizabeth II seemed to be a mythological figure from the script of a fairy tale. or perhaps a recognizable character from a popular Netflix TV show, “The Crown.” Yet, for millions of people, the Queen’s passing was the loss of their head of state.

As British monarch, the Queen oversaw fourteen countries as head of state. These countries included Australia, Canada and The Bahamas. As head of state, the Queen played a ceremonial and fixed role in these countries, approving newly elected governments and their legislation through her representative, the governor general.

For Bahamians, our relationship with the Queen runs deep. The Bahamas became a Crown colony in 1718. The archipelago remained a British colony until 1973, after a decades-long independence movement by anti-colonial Bahamian leaders. In The Bahamas, the Queen’s presence was heavily seen through her images on our $1 and $100-dollar bills and felt through the uttering of the words “To God, to the Queen and to thy country.” I still remember reciting these words during my time in Boy Scouts as it was a part of our pledge.

The Queen’s fixture symbolized an unbending amount of British influence in Bahamian society. Being a link to the past made the Queen and the British monarchy a living representation of British history. This gives persons permission to attach their thoughts and familial experiences to this institution. Many who have mourned the Queen have commended her stoic and constant leadership amidst periods of global change.

For them, she embodied the best of British values, especially the midst of ruling a fading empire that once ruled 25% of the world’s land. Indeed, under Queen Elizabeth’s rule, many were able to relive the nostalgia of a once glorious empire.

However, there are always two sides to history. For many, the Queen was a living representation of a cruel and violent empire that exploited many of its subjects who were non-white. These indigenous people were subjected to various abuses that would today be classified as crimes against humanity. After the emancipation of African slaves in British colonies in 1834, reparations were not paid to the slaves, but to the slave owners. In essence, the oppressor was awarded, but not the oppressed.

Aside from leaving institutions of democracy, the British also implanted colonial societies entrenched in colorism, sexism and white supremacy. This pattern rings true not only in The Bahamas but also in other British colonies. For more evidence of the abuses perpetuated by the British Empire, look up the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya or the Bengal famine in India, just to name a couple.

Though the Queen did not commit these atrocities, and protocol prevented her from expressing opinions, more should have been done on her end to acknowledge the sins of her ancestors on their colonies. Restorative justice can only occur by first acknowledging the wrong that was perpetuated on the oppressed by the oppressor.

As we have seen in the United States and even on our campuses, the continual whitewashing of history excludes the voices of the forgotten. My biggest fear is the stories and faces of those who lived under the empire will die along with the Queen. News anchors have repeated the phrase “the end of an era” over and over since her death. The struggles of my ancestors, and of all the indigenous populations of the nations that were colonized by Great Britain, cannot be forgotten. Though many of them have passed on, their passions and hopes for the future live on through their descendants.

Hence, how do I feel about the Queen? While watching bits of her funeral, I began to think about the plight of my ancestors and how they contributed to propping up the British Empire and its monarchy. Feelings of anger began to build up inside me as I remembered the abuses. However, feelings of somberness began to appear as I began to remember the Queen and her constant presence. It was like my childhood was ending. Somehow, I was able to reconcile my resistance to colonialism and oppression with a level of respect for the Queen and British institutions. It’s like loving someone who doesn’t necessarily love you back all the time. In laying Queen Elizabeth II to rest, we may find the opportunity to come together and create an honest history that acknowledges the wrongs of the past and offers a blueprint for an inclusive future.