The death of Queen Elizabeth II and remembering the bitter era of the British empire’s violent exploitation
Black people have suffered the most from colonialism in the world
With the death of Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain, many British and world politicians have released statements mourning her loss. Today, Britain is one of the top ten economies in the world with a GDP of 3 trillion dollars. However, historians say that part of this huge capital is the result of decades of colonialism of this country in Africa, Asia and the Americas.
In the past days, except for the sympathy of many people of the world with the British people and the royal family, some others who lived or were born in British colonial countries, have a critical view of the role of Queen Elizabeth in the post-colonial era. The last years of colonial Britain coincided with the reign of Queen Elizabeth, part of which was accompanied by severe repression of citizens of countries that died for independence in the purgatory of the British Empire.
One of the countries that escaped from British colonialism during the era of Elizabeth II was Kenya. The unrest and rebellions of supporters of independence in this country began in 1952, at the same time as the coronation of the British Queen.
The British government, with the support of the Queen, imprisoned and tortured many independence activists and Black people, and some died.
Kenya declared independence in December 1963. With the end of the colonial era, Britain with the Queen’s ingenuity tried to unite some of the former colonial countries under the name of “Commonwealth”.
Although some countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand have become economic giants, at the same time the Queen or the King of Great Britain is in charge of the general presidency. The selection of governors is done at the suggestion of the prime ministers of these countries, but with the approval of the Queen or the King of Great Britain. Republican movements have existed in these countries for years, but they are not so popular and lively.
Last August, before the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the senator of the Australian Parliament once again reminded of the colonial era and the role of the British Queen. Australian Parliament Senator Lidia Thorpe called Queen Elizabeth a “colonialist” when she took the oath to represent the Australian people. After that, the speaker of the parliament asked him to read the text of the affidavit exactly according to the rules, and she did so with a bit of mockery, but what this parliament senator did was very newsworthy.
In recent years, there have been increasing calls from British intellectuals and historians for the monarchy to confront its colonial past. However, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, we did not see an apology or an official announcement in this regard. It remains to be seen whether Charles III will make any comments in the coming weeks and months or not.
