Barbados Gains Independence From British Monarch

Barbados has become a republic, replacing the British monarch as its head of state and severing its last remaining colonial bonds nearly 400 years after the first English ships arrived at the Caribbean island. <br />The new republic was born to the cheers of hundreds of people lining Chamberlain Bridge in the capital, Bridgetown, at the stroke of midnight. <br />Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, stood somberly as the royal standard was lowered and the new Barbados declared, a step which republicans hope will spur discussion of similar proposals in other former British colonies where Queen Elizabeth II remains their sovereign. <br />Sandra Mason was sworn in as Barbados’s first president in the shadow of Barbados’s parliament.