Barbados removes Nelson statue in break with colonial past

BRIDGETOWN (Reuters) - Barbados removed the statue of British Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson from the capital Bridgetown's main square on Monday, two months after announcing plans to replace Britain's Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and move on from its colonial past.The bronze statue was unveiled in 1813 to commemorate Nelson and the British Royal Navy's victory over the French and Spanish in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

The Caribbean, then largely colonised by Britain, France and Spain, was also an important battleground in the Napoleonic Wars and the ruling-classes and plantation elite had the statue erected to mark his role in the campaigns.