BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — The Barbados Government says it will remove the statue of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson from the National Heroes Square in the heart of the capital, Bridgetown.

Minister with responsibility for culture, John King, said that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Mia Mottley has agreed to relocate the statue.                                                               

The bronze statue at the top of Broad Street in the capital city of Bridgetown was erected on March 22, 1813 in the area known as Trafalgar Square, opposite Parliament buildings.                                   

Nelson visited Barbados in 1805 and was considered a hero by locals of the day for his battles against the French who controlled some of the other islands in the Caribbean.

Minister King said the decision to remove the statue was made based on substantial consultations carried out about two decades ago by the National Heroes Square and Development Committee as well as the Committee of National Reconciliation.

The Cabinet has also agreed that there should be further public consultations with respect to the identification of a location for the statue, taking into account existing recommendations.

A government statement said that it is intended that the removal and determination of a new location would take place during the season of Emancipation, which ends on August 23.

The removal of the statue comes at a time when the global anti-racism movement sparked by the death at the hands of police in the United States of George Floyd has forced many people in Europe and other countries to confront uncomfortable truths about their pasts.