UK: The death of Queen Elizabeth II rekindled American criticism that had been dormant about the monarchy's financial gains from the bloody colonization of the Caribbean, African and Asian countries by the British Empire.
Since his passing on Thursday, American commentators, academics and a former US diplomat have used social media and other platforms to urge a full examination of the lasting impact of the British monarchy.
Many saw the Queen's death as a bitter reminder of the British Empire's violent exploitation of nations throughout history, resulting in decades of suffering, death, and economic and social destruction. Many also saw this as an opportunity to confirm the call for revaluation.
According to Harvard University history professor Maya Jasnoff, the Queen's appearance in life as a "constancy of steadfastness" was in fact "a more stable traditionalist front than the violent upheavals of decades".
She emphasized that British colonial authorities in Kenya suppressed the Mau Mau Rebellion months after Elizabeth II became queen, and learned of her passing through her father's treetops in Kenya, which, according to the New York Times, was "a Led the establishment of vast systems of detention camps and the torture, rape, castration and killings of thousands of people." The British government eventually settled a lawsuit brought by Kenyan survivors for £20 million.
Cornell University professor Mukoma Wa Ngugi criticized the "theatre" surrounding the Queen's demise.
The queen, who is referred to by Carnegie Mellon University associate professor Uzu Anya as "a thief and rapist of the genocidal empire's chief monarch", must suffer excruciating pain, Anya wrote in a deleted tweet. Anya's initial post was taken down by Twitter for breaking her terms of service, and the university issued a statement condemning the decision.
On the Democracy Now news programme, Priyamvada Gopal, professor of postcolonial studies at the University of Cambridge, said that the British monarchy "has come to represent a deep, profound and grave inequality."
He called "power and privilege and wealth in the hands of a few, which the rest of us are invited to worship and think of as perfectly normal," the concentration of power in other countries such as the British monarchy and the United States. Comparing between. The states, which, prior to their independence, were once under the British monarchy and now effectively colonize Puerto Rico and other island nations.
King Elizabeth II presided over more than 30 countries as head of state, and her family's colonial legacy "had a terrifying effect on much of the world," according to Richard Stengel, who worked for public diplomacy and public affairs in the state. Served as Under Secretary to President Barack Obama. Stengel said on MSNBC that while Queen Elizabeth's "unique service" should be praised, her family's legacy of colonialism had "a terrible impact on much of the world."
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch, and the royal family have recently been forced to address their colonial past by public pressure and claims of racism within the family.
The Queen's death, according to New York University law professor Melissa Murray, whose ancestors are from Jamaica, "will intensify the debate about colonialism, reunification and the future of the Commonwealth."
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