A public hearing will be held on the island on whether certain statues, signs and monuments with colonial references should also be removed.

The coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago hangs at the entrance of a government building in Port-of-Spain (Ash Allen/AP)

Port of Spain, August 26 (RHC) – Trinidad and Tobago is redesigning the island’s coat of arms for the first time since its founding in 1962 to remove references to European colonization – a move welcomed by many in the eastern Caribbean nation.

The three ships of explorer Christopher Columbus – the Pinta, the Nina and the Santa Maria – are replaced by the steelpan, a popular percussion instrument that originated on the island.

Prime Minister Keith Rowley made the announcement for the first time at a party conference of his ruling People’s National Movement and received a standing ovation. He said the changes would be implemented by the end of September. “This should be a sign that we are on the way to removing the colonial remnants from our constitution,” he said.

The current coat of arms also features hummingbirds, a palm tree and a scarlet ibis, Trinidad’s national bird. This is the first time the symbol has been changed since it was designed in 1962 following Trinidad’s independence from the United Kingdom.

Trinidad and Tobago will also soon hold a public hearing on whether certain statues, signs and monuments with colonial references should also be removed.

Rowley also advocates abolishing the British king’s Privy Council as the highest appeal body, a legal arrangement that still exists in several Commonwealth countries, including Trinidad, local media reported.

The Prime Minister said he no longer wanted Trinidad and Tobago to be “squatters on the steps of the Privy Council”.

Last year, Saint Lucia voted to remove the council from the country’s legal system and instead have it join the Caribbean Court of Justice in 2023.

Trinidad and Tobago is one of 14 Caribbean countries that have demanded reparations from Britain and other colonial powers, The Telegraph newspaper reported.

The changes are part of a global movement to eradicate symbols of the colonial era. In recent years, statues of Columbus have been removed or toppled across the United States.

Christopher Columbus landed on Trinidad and Tobago in 1498 and “discovered” the island by accident. Although the island of Trinidad had been inhabited by indigenous peoples for centuries, Christopher Columbus claimed it for the Spanish Empire. The Spanish governor José María Chacón surrendered the island to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby in 1797. In 1802, Trinidad and Tobago were officially surrendered to Britain as separate states in the Treaty of Amiens and were united in 1889. They gained independence in 1962 and became a republic in 1976.