Trinidad to remove three famous Columbus ships from its coat of arms
Kyiv • UNN
The government of Trinidad and Tobago has announced a change in the national coat of arms to remove symbols of European colonization. The Columbus ships on the coat of arms will be replaced with the local musical instrument stilpen by the end of September.
Trinidad and Tobago is redrawing the island's coat of arms for the first time since its creation in 1962 to remove references to European colonization, AP reports, according to UNN.
Details
Three of Christopher Columbus's ships - Pinta, Niña and Santa María - will be replaced with the stilpen, a popular percussion instrument that originates from the eastern Caribbean island.
Prime Minister Keith Rowley made the announcement on Sunday to a standing ovation, saying the coat of arms would be redesigned by the end of September.
"This should mean that we are on the way to eliminating the colonial remnants that are in our constitution," he said.
The current coat of arms also features a hummingbird, a palm tree, and a red ibis, the national bird of Trinidad.
Rowley's statement comes about a week before Trinidad and Tobago is to hold public hearings on whether certain statues, signs and monuments should be removed.
Addendum
The upcoming changes are part of a worldwide movement to eradicate symbols of the colonial era, which in recent years has seen statues of Columbus removed or toppled across the United States.
Columbus arrived in Trinidad and Tobago in 1498.