What will happen to the British colonies in the reign of Charles?
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Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) --
The death of Queen Elizabeth II has sparked an avalanche of reflection and reaction on the internet.
But it was not all mourning: some young Africans shared images and stories of their own elders, who endured a brutal period of British colonial history during the queen's long reign.
"I can't cry," one of them wrote on Twitter, posting an image of what she said was her grandmother's "movement pass," a colonial document that prevented Kenyans from traveling freely under British rule in the East African country.
Another wrote that her grandmother "used to tell us how they were beaten and how their husbands were taken from them and left in the care of their children" during colonial times.
"May we never forget them. They are our heroines," she added.
Her refusal to mourn highlights the complexity of the queen's legacy, which despite her wide popularity was also seen as a symbol of oppression in parts of the world where the British Empire extended.
Queen Elizabeth II inspects men of the newly renamed Nigerian Queen's Regiment, Royal West African Frontier Force, at Kaduna Airport, Nigeria, during her tour of the Commonwealth, February 2, 1956.
Kenya, which had been under British rule since 1895, was made an official colony in 1920 and remained so until it gained independence in 1963. One of the worst atrocities under British rule occurred during the Mau Mau uprising, which began in 1952, the year Queen Elizabeth came to the throne.
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The colonial administration at the time carried out extreme acts of torture, including castration and sexual assault, in detention camps that held up to 150,000 Kenyans.
Elderly Kenyans who sued for compensation in 2011 were eventually awarded £19.9m from a British court, to be shared among more than 5,000 claimants.
The then UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "The British government recognizes that Kenyans were subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration. The British government sincerely regrets that these abuses took place, and spoil Kenya's progress towards independence.
The memory of the queen in Africa cannot be separated from that colonial past, communication professor Farooq Kperogi of Kennesaw State University told CNN.
"The queen's legacy began in colonialism and is still wrapped up in it. It used to be said that the sun did not set on the British empire. No amount of compassion or sympathy that her death has generated can erase that," he told CNN. .
Queen Elizabeth II on her way to the Kumasi Durbah with Kwame Nkrumah, President of Ghana, during her tour of Ghana, November 1961.
"A tragic period"
While many African leaders have mourned his passing - including Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who described his reign as "unique and wonderful" - other leading voices in regional politics have not.
In South Africa, an opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), was outspoken.
"We do not mourn Isabel's death, because for us her death is a reminder of a very tragic period in the history of this country and of Africa," the EFF said in a statement.
"Our interaction with Britain has been one of pain, ... death and dispossession, and dehumanization of the African people," he added.
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip wave to a crowd of schoolchildren at a rally at a racecourse in Ibadan, Nigeria, on February 15, 1956.
Others recalled the UK's role in the Nigerian civil war, where weapons were secretly supplied to the government for use against Biafrans who wanted to form a breakaway republic.
Between 1 and 3 million people died in that war.
British musician John Lennon returned his MBE, an honorary degree, to the queen in protest at Britain's role in the war.
However, many on the continent remember the queen as a stabilizing force who brought about positive change during her reign.
Ayodele Modupe Obayelu, from Nigeria, told CNN: "His reign spelled the end of the British Empire and the African countries ... became a Republic. He doesn't really deserve any awards or ovations for it, but it was a step in the right direction." correct".
Nigerian magazine publisher Dele Momodu met Queen Elizabeth on a state visit to Abuja, Nigeria in 2003.
And Ovation magazine editor Dele Momodu was full of praise, saying he met her in 2003 in Abuja while covering her visit to Nigeria.
He added that she had fled Nigeria for the UK in 1995, during the dictator Sani Abacha's rule.
"I told her I was a refugee and now a magazine editor. She said 'congratulations' to me, and passed the other people in the line. I salute her. She worked until the end and never tired of working for her country. She did everything he could for his country and that's a lesson in leadership," he told CNN.
Momodu believes that the queen tried to "atone" for the brutality of the British Empire.
"She came to Nigeria during our independence and some of the artifacts were returned under her rule. That is why the Commonwealth continues to prosper. I feel very sad that the world has lost a great human being."
Adekunbi Rowland, also from Nigeria, said: "The passing of the queen represents the end of an era. As a woman, I am intrigued by her story. This young woman had an unprecedented accession to the throne and, with great grace and dignity, did everything that it was in his power to protect the country and Commonwealth he loved, no matter what it took."
Queen of the Commonwealth of Nations
The queen once declared, "I think I have seen more of Africa than anyone else."
She made her first official foreign visit to South Africa in 1947, as princess, and throughout her reign she would visit more than 120 countries, many of them on the continent.
Elizabeth, then Princess, and Prince Philip step off their plane in Nairobi, Kenya, on the first leg of their tour of the Commonwealth in 1952.
It was during a visit to Kenya in 1952 that she learned that she had become queen.
Ella's father George passed away while there with Prince Philip and she immediately ascended the throne.
When colonialism crumbled and gave way to independence and self-government in what had been British Overseas Territories, the former colonies became part of a Commonwealth group headed by the Queen, and she worked tirelessly to keep the group together throughout the years.
He forged strong ties with African leaders, including Nelson Mandela, whom he visited twice in South Africa, and Kwame Nkrumah, with whom he was photographed dancing during his visit to Ghana in 1961.
Queen Elizabeth II dances with Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah during her visit to Accra, Ghana, in 1961.
However, there is now a growing clamor for independence and accountability for the UK's past crimes, such as slavery.
In November 2021, Barbados removed the queen as head of state, 55 years after declaring independence from the British, and other Caribbean countries, such as Jamaica, have signaled their intention to do the same.
Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, visited Jamaica in March, but faced protests and calls for redress during the trip.
A formal apology was also requested for the royal family's ties to slavery.
"During her 70 years on the throne, her grandmother has done nothing to repair and atone for the suffering of our ancestors that took place during her reign and/or during the entire period of British African trafficking, slavery, indenture and colonization," wrote members of a protest group, the Advocates Network Jamaica.
In June, Prince Charles became the first British royal to visit Rwanda, where he was representing the queen at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.
Following the death of his mother, he now heads the Commonwealth of Nations, and will embark on a new relationship with its members, about a third of whom are in Africa.
Some wonder if she'll be as effective at building the organization as her mother, and more importantly, to what extent she's still relevant, given her roots in the Imperium.
Queen ElizabethQueen Elizabeth II