Historian hails Trinidad plan to remove Columbus ships from coat of arms

PM's proposal to replace ships with steelpan wins applause from his party but some in capital voice opposing views

The government of Trinidad and Tobago wants to remove a depiction of three ships used by Christopher Columbus from its coat of arms, in a move hailed by a historian as important in addressing historical inaccuracies and shrugging off colonial identities.

The Caribbean country's prime minister, Keith Rowley, announced a plan on 18 August to replace the ships with a representation of Trinidad and Tobago's national instrument, the steelpan.