Trinidad and Tobago Remove Colonial References From Its Coat of Arms
Fresh coat of arms the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Photo: X/ @caribbeannewsuk
February 9, 2025 Hour: 1:48 pm
Tridad and Tobago’s authorities informed that they will replace the three Columbus’s ships, which are shown on the lower part of the shield and symbolize the Trinidad island, from the national coat of arms.
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The Prime Minister of the Caribbean nation, Keith Rowley, said at a rally of his People’s National Movement (PNM) “You see them three Columbus ships in the emblem? They will go,” adding that Columbus’ three ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Niña, with the steelpan.”
The House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago unanimously approved last January, Monday the 13th, the legislative bill that includes the change and will become law once it is also approved in the Senate and the PM signs the bill.
During a recent speech to the House of Representatives, Rowley stressed that “symbolism matters. It’s not a matter of one or the other, we can have everything. We can have symbols, we can have jobs, we can have food, but at the end of the day, symbolism matters.”
In addition, the PM said no We should not banalize the steelpan “because they are elections” and remember that last year, his country took the step of making the steelpan the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.
The current emblem was designed in 1962 by a committee that included artist Carlyle Chang and carnival designer George Bailey, and was intended to incorporate colonial and indigenous elements of the country’s history.
On the top, the emblem features a golden rudder in front of a palm tree, a traditional symbol in the British colonial seals of Tobago, while a gold hull representing the queen of the era crowns the shield where the three ships appear.
Autor: ACJ
Fuente: PL // NewsDay // Daily Express // Global Voices