History of the European country of Malta
Malta
has been inhabited since 5900 BC.
[1]
[2]
The first inhabitants were farmers; their agricultural methods degraded the soil until the islands became uninhabitable. The islands were repopulated around 3850 BC by a civilization that at its peak built the
Megalithic Temples
, which today are among the oldest surviving buildings in the world. Their civilization collapsed in around 2350 BC; the islands were repopulated by
Bronze Age
warriors soon afterwards.
Malta's prehistory ends in around 700 BC, when the islands were colonized by the
Phoenicians
. They ruled the islands until they
fell in 218 BC
to the
Roman Republic
. The island was acquired by the Eastern Romans or
Byzantines
in the 6th century AD, who were expelled by
Aghlabids
following a
siege in 870 AD
. Malta may have been sparsely populated for a few centuries until being repopulated by
Arabs
in the 11th century. The islands were
invaded
by the Norman
County of Sicily
in 1091, and a gradual Christianization of the islands followed. At this point, the islands became part of the
Kingdom of Sicily
and were dominated by successive feudal rulers, including the
Swabians
, the
Aragonese
, and eventually the
Spanish
. The islands were given to the
Order of St. John
in 1530, who
ruled them
as a vassal state of Sicily. In 1565, the
Ottoman Empire
attempted to take the islands in the
Great Siege of Malta
, but the invasion was repelled. The Order continued to rule Malta for over two centuries, and this period was characterized by a flourishing of the arts and architecture and an overall improvement in society. The Order was expelled after the
French First Republic
invaded the islands
in 1798, marking the beginning of the
French occupation of Malta
.
After a few months of French rule, the Maltese
rebelled
and the French were expelled in 1800. Malta became a
British protectorate
, becoming a
de facto
colony
in 1813. The islands became an important naval base for the British, serving as the headquarters of the
Mediterranean Fleet
. During the last quarter of the 19th century, there were advancements in technology and finance. In subsequent years, the Anglo-Egyptian Bank was established in 1882 and the Malta Railway began operating in 1883. In 1921, London granted self-government to Malta. This resulted in the establishment of a bicameral parliament consisting of a Senate (which was later eliminated in 1949) and an elected Legislative Assembly. The Crown Colony of Malta was self-governing in 1921?1933, 1947?1958, and 1962?1964.
During
World War II
British forces in Malta were
heavily attacked
by Italian and German air power, but the British held firm. In 1942
the island was awarded
the
George Cross
, which today appears on Malta's flag and coat of arms.
In 1964 Malta became an independent
Commonwealth realm
known as the
State of Malta
, and in 1974 it became a republic while remaining in the
Commonwealth
. Since 2004 the country has been a member state of the
European Union
.
Geology
[
edit
]
Malta
stands on an underwater ridge that extends from North Africa to
Sicily
. At some time in the distant past, Malta was submerged, as shown by marine
fossils
embedded in rock in the highest points of Malta. As the ridge was pushed up and the
Strait of Gibraltar
closed through tectonic activity
, the sea level was lower, and Malta was on a bridge of dry land that extended between the two
continents
, surrounded by large lakes. Some caverns in Malta have revealed bones of
elephants
,
hippopotamuses
, and other large animals now found in
Africa
, while others have revealed animals native to
Europe
.
Neolithic (5900 BC?3850 BC)
[
edit
]
While until recently, it was believed that Malta's first inhabitants arrived in the islands in 5700 BC, it has now been established that this occurred around 5900 BC, as is evidenced by studies of ancient soils.
[2]
[1]
These first
Neolithic
people have generally been assumed to have arrived from Sicily (about 100 kilometres or 62 miles north),
[
citation needed
]
but DNA analysis shows that they originated from different parts of the Mediterranean, including both Europe and Africa.
[2]
They were mainly farming and fishing communities, with some evidence of hunting activities. They apparently lived in caves and open dwellings. During the centuries that followed there is evidence of further contacts with other cultures, which left their influence on the local communities, evidenced by their pottery designs and colours.
[
citation needed
]
The farming methods degraded the soil; at the same time prolonged drought set in, and the islands became too dry to sustain agricultural practices. This occurred partly due to climate change and drought, and the islands were uninhabited for about a millennium.
[2]
Research carried out as part of the FRAGSUS project, comprising analysis of soil cores from valleys, which contained ancient pollen and animal evidence from past environments, revealed that "climate change fluctuations made Malta uninhabitable in some periods of prehistory. There was a substantial break of around 1,000 years between the first settlers and the next group who settled permanently on the Maltese islands and eventually built the megalithic temples."
[2]
Temple period (3850 BC?2350 BC)
[
edit
]
A second wave of colonization arrived from Sicily in around 3850 BC.
[2]
Prof.
Caroline Malone
has said: "Given the restricted land space of Malta, it is remarkable that the second colonisation survived for 1,500 years. This sort of settlement stability is unheard of in Europe and is impressive in terms of how they were able to live on an ever-degrading land for such a period of time."
[2]
One of the most notable periods of Malta's history is the temple period, starting around 3600 BC. The
?gantija
Temple in Gozo is one of the oldest free-standing buildings in the world. The name of the complex stems from the Maltese word
?gant
, which reflects the magnitude of the temple's size. Many of the temples are in the form of five
semicircular
rooms connected at the centre. It has been suggested that these might have represented the head, arms, and legs of a deity, since one of the commonest kinds of statue found in these temples comprises obese human figures, popularly termed "fat ladies" despite their ambiguity of gender, and often considered to represent fertility.
[
citation needed
]
The civilization which built the temples lasted for about 1,500 years until about 2350 BC, at which point the culture seems to have disappeared. There is speculation about what might have happened and whether they were completely wiped out or assimilated,
[
citation needed
]
but it is thought that the collapse occurred due to climate conditions and drought.
[2]
Prof. Malone has stated: "We can learn a lot from the mistakes made by the first Maltese. The lack of water, coupled with the destruction of soil that takes centuries to form, can cause the failure of a civilisation. The second group of inhabitants to Malta in 3850?2350 BC managed their resources adequately and harnessed soil and food for over 1,500 years. It was only when climate conditions and drought became so extreme that they failed."
[2]
Between 2600 and 2400 BC. e. on the island of Malta there was a huge infant mortality - about 50%.
[3]
Bronze Age (2350 BC?700 BC)
[
edit
]
After the Temple period came the
Bronze Age
. From this period there are remains of a number of settlements and villages, as well as
dolmens
? altar-like structures made out of very large slabs of stone. They are claimed to belong to a population certainly different from that which built the previous megalithic temples.
It is presumed the population arrived from Sicily because of the similarity to the constructions found in the largest island of the Mediterranean sea.
[4]
One surviving
menhir
, which was used to build temples, still stands at
Kirkop
; it is one of the few still in good condition.
Among the most interesting and mysterious remnants of this era are the so-called cart ruts as they can be seen at a place on Malta called
Misraħ Għar il-Kbir
(informally known as Clapham Junction). These are pairs of parallel channels cut into the surface of the rock, and extending for considerable distances, often in an exactly straight line. Their exact use is unknown. One suggestion is that beasts of burden used to pull carts along, and these channels would guide the carts and prevent the animals from straying. The society that built these structures eventually died out or at any rate disappeared.
[
citation needed
]
Between 1400 BC and 1200 BC there was a Mycaenaean influence on the Malta, which is evidenced by presence of Mycaenaean artefacts.
[5]
Antiquity
[
edit
]
Phoenicians and Carthage
[
edit
]
Phoenicians
?possibly from
Tyre
?began to
colonize
the islands around the early
8th century BC
[
citation needed
]
[
dubious
–
discuss
]
, using it as an outpost from which they expanded sea exploration and trade in the Mediterranean. They called the principal island Ann (
Phoenician
:
???????
,
?NN
).
Necropolises have been found at
Rabat
on Malta and
Rabat
on Gozo, suggesting the main settlements were at present-day
Mdina
on Malta and
Cittadella
on Gozo.
[9]
The former settlement was also known as Ann,
suggesting it served as the colony's seat of government. The principal port, meanwhile, was at
Cospicua
on the
Grand Harbor
. Known simply as Maleth (
??????
,
ML?
, "The Port"), it was probably the namesake of the Greeks' and Romans' names for the entire island.
The Maltese Islands fell under the hegemony of
Carthage
around the middle of 6th century BC,
[
citation needed
]
along with most other Phoenician colonies in the western Mediterranean. By the late 4th century BC, Malta had become a trading post linking southern Italy and
Sicily
to
Tripolitania
. This resulted in the introduction of
Hellenistic
features in architecture and pottery. It is not known if Malta was settled like a traditional Greek
apoikia
, so some support that Malta was never a Greek colony.
[10]
Hellenistic architectural features can be seen in the Punic temple at
Tas-Sil?
and
a tower
in
?urrieq
. The Greek language also began to be used in Malta, as shown in the bilingual Phoenician and Greek inscriptions found on the
Cippi of Melqart
. In the 18th century, French scholar
Jean-Jacques Barthelemy
deciphered the extinct
Phoenician alphabet
using the inscriptions on these cippi.
[9]
In 255 BC, the
Romans
raided Malta during the
First Punic War
, devastating much of the island.
[9]
Roman rule
[
edit
]
According to Latin historian
Livy
, the Maltese Islands passed into the hands of the Romans at the start of the
Second Punic War
in the year
218 BC.
Livy reports the commander of the Punic garrison on the Island
surrendered without resistance
to
Tiberius Sempronius Longus
, one of the two
consuls
for that year, who was on his way to North Africa. The archipelago?known to the Romans as Melita or Melite?became part of the
province
of
Sicily
, but by the 1st century it had its own local senate and people's assembly. By this time, both Malta and Gozo minted distinctive coins based on
Roman weight measurements
.
[11]
Serving as the administrative hub of the islands, Mdina also became known as
Melita
. Its size grew to its maximum extent, occupying the entire area of present-day
Mdina
and large parts of
Rabat
, extending to what is now
St Paul's Church
. Remains show that the city was surrounded by thick defensive walls and was also protected by a protective ditch that ran along the same line of St Rita Street, which was built directly above it. Remains hint that a religious centre with a number of temples was built on the highest part of the promontory. The remains of one impressive residence known as the
Domus Romana
have been excavated, revealing well-preserved
Pompeian style
mosaics. This
domus
seems to have been the residence of a rich Roman aristocrat, and it is believed to have been built in the 1st century BC and abandoned in the 2nd century AD.
[12]
The islands prospered under Roman rule, and were eventually distinguished as a
Municipium
and a Foederata
Civitas
. Many Roman antiquities still exist, testifying to the close link between the Maltese inhabitants and Sicily.
[14]
Throughout the period of Roman rule,
Latin
became Malta's official language, and
Roman religion
was introduced in the islands. Despite this, the local Punic-Hellenistic culture and language is thought to have survived until at least the 1st century AD.
[11]
In AD 60, the
Acts of the Apostles
records that
Saint Paul
was shipwrecked on an island named Melite, which many Bible scholars and Maltese conflate with Malta; there is a tradition that the shipwreck took place on the shores of the aptly named "
St. Paul's Bay
". In
Acts 28
, Saint Paul is welcomed by the islanders who build him a fire. As Paul is gathering wood for the fire, a poisonous viper in the wood is driven out by the heat and bites Paul. Paul is unaffected by the bite, leading the people of Malta to believe he is a god. This assumption allows Paul the opportunity to introduce the
Gospel
to the island.
Malta remained part of the Roman Empire until the early 6th century.
[11]
The
Vandals
and later the
Ostrogoths
might have briefly occupied the islands in the 5th century,
[15]
but there is no archaeological evidence to support this.
[16]
Middle Ages
[
edit
]
Byzantine rule
[
edit
]
In 533,
Byzantine
general
Belisarius
may have landed at Malta while on his way from
Sicily
to North Africa, and by 535, the islands were integrated into the Byzantine province of
Sicily
. During the Byzantine period, the main settlements remained the city of Melite on mainland Malta and the
Citadel
on Gozo, while
Marsaxlokk
,
Marsaskala
,
Marsa
and
Xlendi
are believed to have served as harbours. The relatively high quantity of Byzantine ceramics found in Malta suggests that the island might have had an important strategic role within the empire from the 6th to 8th centuries.
[17]
From the late 7th century onward, the Mediterranean was being threatened by
Muslim expansion
. At this point, the Byzantines probably improved the defences of Malta, as can be seen by defensive walls built around the basilica at
Tas-Sil?
around the 8th century. The Byzantines might have also built the
retrenchment
which reduced Melite to one-third of its original size.
[18]
Arab period
[
edit
]
In 870 AD, Malta was occupied by Muslims from
North Africa
. According to
Al-Himyar?
,
Aghlabids
led by Halaf al-H?dim
besieged the Byzantine city of Melite
, which was ruled by governor Amros (probably Ambrosios). Al-H?dim was killed in the fighting, and Saw?da Ibn Mu?ammad was sent from
Sicily
to continue the siege following his death. The duration of the siege is unknown, but it probably lasted for some weeks or months. After Melite fell to the invaders, the inhabitants were massacred, the city was destroyed and its churches were looted. Marble from Melite's churches was used to build the castle of
Sousse
.
[19]
According to Al-Himyar?, Malta remained almost uninhabited until it was resettled in around 1048 or 1049 by a Muslim community and their slaves, who rebuilt the city of Melite as Medina, making it "a finer place than it was before". However, archaeological evidence suggests that Melite/Medina was already a thriving Muslim settlement by the beginning of the 11th century, so Al-Himyar?'s account might be unreliable.
[20]
In 1053?54, the Byzantines
besieged Medina
but they were repelled by its defenders.
[19]
Although their rule was relatively short, the Arabs left a significant impact on Malta. In addition to their language,
Siculo-Arabic
,
cotton
,
oranges
and
lemons
and many new techniques in irrigation were introduced. Some of these, like the
noria
(waterwheel), are still used, unchanged, today. Many place names in Malta date to this period.
A long historiographic controversy loomed over Medieval Muslim Malta. According to the "Christian continuity thesis", spearheaded by
Giovanni Francesco Abela
and still most present in popular narratives, the Maltese population continuously inhabited the islands from the early Christian Era up to today, and a Christian community persisted even during Muslim times. This was contested in the 1970s by the medieval historian
Godfrey Wettinger
, who claimed that nothing indicated the continuity of Christianity from the late 9th to the 11th century on the Maltese Islands ? the Maltese must have integrated into the new Arab Islamic society. The Christian continuity thesis had a revival in 2010 following the publication of
Tristia ex Melitogaudo
by
Stanley Fiorini
, Horatio Vella and Joseph Brincat, who challenged Wettinger's interpretation based on a line of a Byzantine poem (which later appeared to have been mistranslated). Wettinger subsequently reaffirmed his thesis, based on sources from the Arab historians and geographers Al Baqri,
Al-Himyar?
, Ibn Hauqal, Qazwini, who all seemed to be in agreement that "the island of Malta remained after that a ruin without inhabitants" ? thus ruling out any continuity whatsoever between the Maltese prior to 870 and after. This is also consistent with
Joseph Brincat
’s finding of no further substrata beyond Arabic in the
Maltese language
, a very rare occurrence which may only be explained by a drastic lapse between one period and the following. To the contrary, the few Byzantine words in Maltese language can be traced to the 400
Rhodians
coming with the knights in 1530, as well as to the influx of Greek rite Christians from Sicily.
[21]
Norman Kingdom of Sicily rule
[
edit
]
Malta returned to Christian rule with the
Norman conquest
. It was, with
Noto
on the southern tip of Sicily, the last Arab stronghold in the region to be retaken by the resurgent Christians.
[22]
In 1091, Count
Roger I of Sicily
,
invaded
Malta and turned the island's Muslim rulers into his vassals. In 1127, his son
Roger II of Sicily
fully established Norman rule in Malta, paving the way for the islands' Christianization.
[23]
Malta was part of the
Kingdom of Sicily
for nearly 440 years. During this period, Malta was sold and resold to various feudal lords and barons and was dominated successively by the rulers of
Swabia
,
Anjou
,
[24]
the
Crown of Aragon
, the
Crown of Castile
and Spain. Eventually, the Crown of Aragon, which then ruled Malta, joined with Castile in 1479, and Malta became part of the
Spanish Empire
.
[25]
Meanwhile, Malta's administration fell in the hands of local nobility who formed a governing body called the
Universita
.
The islands remained largely Muslim-inhabited long after the end of Arab rule. The Arab administration was also kept in place
[26]
and Muslims were allowed to practise their religion freely until the 13th century.
[27]
Muslims continued to demographically and economically dominate Malta for at least another 150 years after the Christian conquest.
[28]
[a]
In 1122, Malta experienced a Muslim uprising and in 1127
Roger II of Sicily
reconquered the islands.
[29]
Even in 1175,
Burchard, bishop of Strasbourg
, an envoy of
Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
, had the impression, based upon his brief visit to Malta, that it was exclusively or mainly inhabited by Muslims.
[30]
[31]
In 1192,
Tancred of Sicily
appointed
Margaritus of Brindisi
the first
Count of Malta
, perhaps for his unexpected success in capturing
Empress Constance
contender to the throne. Between 1194 and 1530, the
Kingdom of Sicily
ruled the Maltese islands and a process of full
latinisation
started in Malta. The conquest of the Normans would lead to the gradual
Romanization
and
Latinization
and subsequent firm establishment of
Roman Catholicism
in Malta, after previous Islamic domination.
[32]
[33]
Until 1224, however, there remained a strong Muslim segment of society.
In 1224,
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
, sent an expedition against Malta to establish royal control and prevent its Muslim population from helping a Muslim rebellion in the
Kingdom of Sicily
.
[34]
After the
Norman conquest
, the population of the Maltese islands kept growing mainly through immigration from the north (Sicily and Italy), with the exile to Malta of the entire male population of the town of
Celano
(Italy) in 1223, the stationing of a Norman and Sicilian garrison on Malta in 1240 and the settlement in Malta of noble families from Sicily between 1372 and 1450. As a consequence of this, Capelli et al. found in 2005 that "the contemporary males of Malta most likely originated from Southern Italy, including Sicily and up to Calabria."
[35]
According to a report in 1240 or 1241 by
Gililberto Abbate
, who was the royal governor of Frederick II of Sicily during the
Genoese Period
of the County of Malta,
[36]
in that year the islands of Malta and Gozo had 836 Muslim families, 250 Christian families and 33 Jewish families.
[37]
Around 1249, some Maltese Muslims were sent to the Italian colony of
Lucera
, established for Sicilian Muslims.
[b]
For some historians, including Godfrey Wettinger, who follow on this
Ibn Khaldun
, this event marked the end of Islam in Malta. According to Wettinger, "there is no doubt that by the beginning of
Angevin
times [i.e. shortly after 1249] no professed Muslim Maltese remained either as free persons or even as serfs on the island."
[38]
[c]
The
Maltese language
nevertheless survived ? an indication that either a large number of Christians already spoke Maltese, or that many Muslims converted and remained behind.
In 1266, Malta was turned over in
fiefdom
to
Charles of Anjou
, brother of France's King Louis IX, who retained it in ownership until 1283. Eventually, during Charles's rule religious coexistence became precarious in Malta, since he had a genuine intolerance of religions other than Roman Catholicism.
[28]
However, Malta's links with Africa would still remain strong until the beginning of
Aragonese and Spanish rule
in 1283, following the
War of the Sicilian Vespers
.
[28]
: 31
In September 1429,
Hafsid
Saracens
attempted to capture Malta
but were repelled by the Maltese. The invaders pillaged the countryside and took about 3,000 inhabitants as slaves.
[39]
By the end of the 15th century, all Maltese Muslims would be forced to convert to Christianity and had to find ways to disguise their previous identities by Latinizing or adopting new surnames.
[28]
[d]
Hospitaller rule (1530?1798)
[
edit
]
Malta was ruled by the
Order of Saint John
as a vassal state of the
Kingdom of Sicily
from 1530 to 1798.
Early years
[
edit
]
In the early 16th century, the
Ottoman Empire
started spreading over the region, reaching South East Europe. The Spanish king
Charles V
feared that if Rome fell to the Turks, it would be the end of Christian Europe. In 1522,
Suleiman I
drove the
Knights Hospitaller
of St. John out of
Rhodes
. They dispersed to their commanderies in Europe. Wanting to protect Rome from invasion from the south, in 1530,
Charles V
handed over the island to these knights.
For the next 275 years, these famous "Knights of Malta" made the island their domain and made the
Italian language
official. They built towns, palaces, churches, gardens, and fortifications, they embellished the island with numerous works of art, and enhanced cultural heritage.
The order of the Knights of St. John was originally established to set up outposts along the route to the Holy Land, to assist pilgrims going in either direction. Owing to the many confrontations that took place, one of their main tasks was to provide medical assistance, and even today the eight-pointed cross is still in wide use in ambulances and first aid organisations. In return for the many lives they saved, the Order received many newly conquered territories that had to be defended. Together with the need to defend the pilgrims in their care, this gave rise to the strong military wing of the knights. Over time, the Order became strong and rich. From hospitallers first and military second, these priorities reversed. Since much of the territory they covered was around the Mediterranean region, they became notable seamen.
From Malta the knights resumed their seaborne attacks of Ottoman shipping, and before long the
Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent
ordered a final attack on the Order. By this time the Knights had occupied the city of
Birgu
, which had excellent harbours to house their fleet. Birgu was one of the two major urban places at that time, the other most urban place being
Mdina
the old capital city of Malta. The defences around Birgu were enhanced and new fortifications built on the other point where now there is
Senglea
. A small fort was built at the tip of the peninsula where the city of
Valletta
now stands and was named
Fort Saint Elmo
.
Great Siege
[
edit
]
On 18 May 1565,
Suleiman the Magnificent
laid siege to Malta. By the time the Ottoman fleet arrived the Knights were as ready as they could be. First, the Ottomans attacked the newly built fort of St. Elmo and after a whole month of fighting the fort was in rubble and the soldiers kept fighting until the Turks ended their lives. After this they started attacking Birgu and the fortifications at Senglea but to no gain.
After a protracted siege ended on 8 September of the same year, which became known in history as
the Great Siege
, the
Ottoman Empire
conceded defeat as the approaching winter storms threatened to prevent them from leaving. The Ottoman Empire had expected an easy victory within weeks. They had 40,000 men arrayed against the Knights' 9,000, most of them Maltese soldiers and simple citizens bearing arms. Their loss of thousands of men was very demoralising. The Ottomans made no further attempts to conquer Malta and the Sultan died in the next year.
After the siege
[
edit
]
The year after, the Order started work on a new city with fortifications like no other, on the Sciberras Peninsula which the Ottomans had used as a base during the siege. It was named
Valletta
after
Jean Parisot de Valette
, the Grand Master who had seen the Order through its victory. Since the Ottoman Empire never attacked again, the fortifications were never put to the test, and today remain one of the best-preserved fortifications of this period.
Unlike other rulers of the island, the Order of St. John did not have a "home country" outside the island. The island became their home, so they invested in it more heavily than any other power. Besides, its members came from noble families, and the Order had amassed considerable fortunes due to its services to those en route to the Holy Land. The architectural and artistic remains of this period remain among the greatest of Malta's history, especially in their "prize jewel" ? the city of Valletta.
However, as their main
raison d'etre
had ceased to exist, the Order's glory days were over. In the last three decades of the eighteenth century, the Order experienced a steady decline. This was a result of a number of factors, including the bankruptcy that was a result of some lavish rule of the last Grand Masters, which drained the finances of the Order. Due to this, the Order also became unpopular with the Maltese.
Indeed, in 1775, a revolt known as the
Rising of the Priests
occurred. Rebels managed to capture Fort St Elmo and
Saint James Cavalier
, but the revolt was suppressed and some of the leaders were executed while others were imprisoned or exiled.
[40]
French occupation (1798?1800)
[
edit
]
Over the years, the power of the knights declined; their reign ended in 1798 when
Napoleon Bonaparte
's expeditionary fleet stopped off there en route to his
Egyptian expedition
. Napoleon asked for safe harbour to resupply his ships, and when they refused to supply him with water,
Napoleon Bonaparte
sent a division to scale the hills of Valletta. Grand Master
Hompesch
capitulated on 11 June. The following day a treaty was signed by which the order handed over sovereignty of the island of Malta to the
French Republic
. In return the French Republic agreed to "employ all its credit at the
congress of Rastatt
to procure a principality for the Grand Master, equivalent to the one he gives up".
[41]
During his very short stay (six days), Napoleon accomplished quite a number of reforms, notably the creation of a new administration with a Government Commission, the creation of twelve municipalities, the setting up of a public finance administration, the abolition of all feudal rights and privileges, the abolition of slavery and the granting of freedom to all Turkish slaves (2000 in all). On the judicial level, a family code was framed and twelve judges were nominated. Public education was organised along principles laid down by Bonaparte himself, providing for primary and secondary education. Fifteen primary schools were founded and the university was replaced by an ’Ecole centrale’ in which there were eight chairs, all very scientific in outlook: notably, arithmetic and stereometry, algebra and stereotomy, geometry and astronomy, mechanics and physics, navigation, chemistry, etc.
[42]
He then sailed for Egypt leaving a substantial garrison in Malta. Since the Order had also been growing unpopular with the local Maltese, the latter initially viewed the French with optimism. This illusion did not last long. Within months the French were closing convents and seizing church treasures, most notably the sword of Jean de Valette which has since been returned to Malta in 2017, after a century in Paris, and for many years exhibited at the
Louvre
, in
Paris
. The Maltese people rebelled, and the French garrison of General
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
retreated into Valletta. After several failed attempts by the locals to retake Valletta, the British were asked for their assistance. Rear Admiral Lord
Horatio Nelson
decided on a total blockade in 1799. The French garrison surrendered in 1800.
Malta in the British Empire (1800?1964)
[
edit
]
British Malta in the 19th and early 20th centuries
[
edit
]
In 1800, Malta voluntarily became part of the
British Empire
as a
protectorate
. Under the terms of the 1802
Treaty of Amiens
with France, Britain was supposed to evacuate the island, but failed to keep this obligation ? one of several mutual cases of non-adherence to the treaty, which eventually led to its collapse and the
resumption of war
between the two countries.
Although initially the island was not given much importance, its excellent harbours became a prized asset for the British, especially after the opening of the
Suez Canal
in 1869. The island became a military and naval fortress, the headquarters of the British Mediterranean fleet.
Home rule
was refused to the Maltese until 1921 although a partly elected legislative council was created as early as 1849 (the first Council of Government under British rule had been held in 1835), and the locals sometimes suffered considerable poverty.
[43]
This was due to the island being overpopulated and largely dependent on British military expenditure which varied with the demands of war. Throughout the 19th century, the British administration instituted several liberal constitutional reforms
[44]
which were generally resisted by the Church and the Maltese elite who preferred to cling to their feudal privileges.
[45]
Political organisations, like the
Nationalist Party
, were created or had as one of their aims, the protection of the
Italian language
in Malta.
In 1813 Malta was granted the Bathurst Constitution; in 1814 it was declared free of the
plague
, while the 1815
Congress of Vienna
reaffirmed the British rule under the 1814
Treaty of Paris
. In 1819, the local Italian-speaking
Universita
was dissolved.
The year 1828 saw the revocation of the right of sanctuary, following the Vatican Church-State proclamation. Three years later, the See of Malta was made independent of the See of
Palermo
. In 1839, press censorship was abolished, and the construction of St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral began.
Following the 1846 Carnival riots, in 1849 a Council of Government with elected members under British rule was set up. In 1870 a
referendum
was held on ecclesiastics serving on Council of Government, and in 1881 an Executive Council under British rule was created; in 1887, the Council of Government was entrusted with "dual control" under British rule. A backlash came in 1903, with the return to the 1849 form of Council of Government under British rule.
The last quarter of the century saw technical and financial progress in line with the
Belle Epoque
: The following years saw the foundation of the
Anglo-Egyptian Bank
(1882) and the beginning of operation of the
Malta Railway
(1883); the first definitive postage stamps were issued in 1885, and in 1904 tram service began.
In 1886 Surgeon Major
David Bruce
discovered the microbe causing the
Malta Fever
, and in 1905
Themistocles Zammit
discovered the fever's sources.
Finally, in 1912,
Dun Karm Psaila
wrote his first poem in Maltese.
Between 1915 and 1918, during
World War I
, Malta became known as
the Nurse of the Mediterranean
due to the large number of wounded soldiers who were accommodated in Malta.
[46]
Malta in the Interwar period
[
edit
]
In 1919, the
Sette Giugno
(7 June) riots over the excessive price of bread led to greater autonomy for the locals during the 1920s. After Filippo Sciberras had convened a National Assembly, in 1921 self-government was granted under British rule. Malta obtained a
bicameral
parliament
with a Senate (later abolished in 1949) and an elected Legislative Assembly.
Joseph Howard
was named Prime Minister. In 1923 the
Innu Malti
was played for the first time in public, and the same year Francisco Buhagiar became Prime Minister, followed in 1924 by Sir
Ugo Pasquale Mifsud
and in 1927 by Sir
Gerald Strickland
.
The 1930s saw a period of instability in the relations between the Maltese political elite, the Maltese Catholic church, and the British authorities; the 1921 Constitution was suspended twice. First in 1930?1932, when British authorities assumed that a free and fair election would not be possible following a clash between the governing
Constitutional Party
and the Church
[47]
[48]
and the latter's subsequent imposition of mortal sin on voters of the party and its allies, thus making a free and fair election impossible. Again, in 1933 the Constitution was withdrawn over the Government's budgetary vote for the teaching of Italian in elementary schools, after just 13 months of a Nationalist administration.
[49]
Malta thus reverted to the Crown Colony status it held in 1813.
Before the arrival of the British, the official language since 1530 (and the one of the handful of educated elite) had been Italian, but this was downgraded by the increased use of English. In 1934
Maltese
was declared an official language, which brought the number up to three. Two years later, the Letters Patent of the 1936 constitution declared that Maltese and English were the only official languages, thereby legally settling the long-standing '
Language Question
' that had dominated Maltese politics for over half a century.
In 1934, only about 15% of the population could speak Italian fluently.
[50]
This meant that out of 58,000 males qualified by age to be jurors, only 767 could qualify by language, as only Italian had until then been used in the courts.
[50]
In 1936 the Constitution was revised to provide for the nomination of members to Executive Council under British rule (similar to the 1835 constitution) and in 1939 to provide again for a partly elected Council of Government under British rule.
British Malta during the Second World War
[
edit
]
Before World War II, Valletta was the location of the
Royal Navy
's
Mediterranean Fleet
's headquarters. However, despite
Winston Churchill
's objections,
[52]
the command was moved to
Alexandria
,
Egypt
, in April 1937 fearing it was too susceptible to air attacks from Europe.
[52]
[53]
[54]
[
page needed
]
At the time of the Italian declaration of war (10 June 1940), Malta had a garrison of less than four thousand soldiers and about five weeks of food supplies for the population of about three hundred thousand. In addition, Malta's air defences consisted of about forty-two
anti-aircraft
guns (thirty-four "heavy" and eight "light") and four
Gloster Gladiators
, for which three pilots were available.
Being a British colony, situated close to Sicily and the
Axis
shipping lanes, Malta was bombarded by the Italian and German air forces. Malta was used by the British to launch attacks on the Italian navy and had a submarine base. It was also used as a listening post, reading German radio messages including
Enigma
traffic.
[55]
The first air raids against Malta occurred on 11 June 1940; there were six attacks that day. The island's
biplanes
were unable to defend due to the
Luqa Airfield
being unfinished; however, the airfield was ready by the seventh attack. Initially, the Italians would fly at about 5,500 m, then they dropped down to three thousand metres (in order to improve the accuracy of their bomb-aiming).
Journalist
Mabel Strickland
spoke of the Italian bombing efforts as such: "The Italians decided they didn't like [the
Gladiators
and
AA
guns], so they dropped their bombs twenty miles off Malta and went back."
[56]
Despite these words, the accuracy of Italian bombers improved after repeated attempts, causing a great deal of devastation to both military and civilian infrastructure in Malta. However, these raids proved ineffective to the Axis siege efforts, as any damage incurred was eventually repaired before a new wave of bombers could launch bombing runs over the islands.
[57]
By the end of August, the Gladiators were reinforced by twelve
Hawker Hurricanes
which had arrived via
HMS
Argus
.
[56]
During the first five months of combat, the island's aircraft destroyed or damaged about thirty-seven Italian aircraft, while suffering even greater losses than the Italians. Italian
fighter
pilot
Francisco Cavalera
observed, "Malta was really a big problem for us?very well-defended.".
[56]
Nevertheless, the Italian bombing campaign was causing serious damage to the island's infrastructure and the ability of the
Royal Navy
to operate effectively in the Mediterranean.
[57]
(pp?60?67)
On Malta, 330 people had been killed and 297 were seriously wounded from the war's inception until December 1941. In January 1941, the German
X.
Fliegerkorps
arrived in Sicily as the
Afrika Korps
arrived in
Libya
. Over the next four months 820 people were killed and 915 seriously wounded.
[58]
On 15 April 1942,
King George VI
awarded the
George Cross
(the highest civilian award for gallantry) "to the island fortress of Malta ? its people and defenders".
[56]
Franklin D. Roosevelt
arrived on 8 December 1943, and presented a United States Presidential Citation to the people of Malta on behalf of the people of United States. He presented the scroll on 8 December but dated it 7 December for symbolic reasons. In part it read: "Under repeated fire from the skies, Malta stood alone and unafraid in the centre of the sea, one tiny bright flame in the darkness ? a beacon of hope for the clearer days which have come."
[59]
(The complete citation now stands on a plaque on the wall of the Grand Master's Palace on Republic Street, in the town square of Valletta.
[60]
)
In 1942, a convoy code-named
Operation Pedestal
was sent to relieve Malta. Five ships, including the tanker
SS
Ohio
, managed to arrive in the Grand Harbour, with enough supplies for Malta to survive. In the following year
Franklin D. Roosevelt
and
Winston Churchill
visited Malta.
George VI
also arrived in Grand Harbour for a visit.
During the Second World War,
Ugo Mifsud
and
George Borg Olivier
were the only remaining Nationalist members of parliament of Malta. Ugo Mifsud fainted after delivering a very passionate defence against the deportation to concentration camps in
Uganda
of
Enrico Mizzi
and 49 other
Italian Maltese
accused of pro-Italian political activities. He died a few days later.
In 1943, the
Allies
launched the
invasion of Sicily
from Malta. The invasion was coordinated from the
Lascaris War Rooms
in Valletta. Following the
Armistice of Cassibile
later in 1943, a large part of the
Italian Navy
surrendered to the British in Malta.
The
Malta Conference
was held in 1945, in which Churchill and Roosevelt met prior to the
Yalta Conference
with
Joseph Stalin
.
The 1946 National Assembly resulted in a new constitution in 1947. This restored Malta's self-government, with
Paul Boffa
as Prime Minister. On 5 September 1947, universal suffrage for
women in Malta
was granted. That year,
Agatha Barbara
was the
first woman elected
as a Maltese Member of Parliament.
From home rule to independence
[
edit
]
After the Second World War, the islands achieved self-rule, with the
Malta Labour Party
(MLP) of
Dom Mintoff
seeking either full integration with the UK or else "self-determination" (independence) and the
Partit Nazzjonalista
(PN) of
George Borg Olivier
favouring independence, with the same "dominion status" that Canada, Australia and New Zealand enjoyed.
The 1953 Coronation incident (where, initially, no invitation was sent for a Maltese delegation to attend the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II), temporarily united Maltese politicians. After the MLP's electoral victory in 1955, in December Round Table Talks were held in London, on the future of Malta, namely the Integration proposal put forward by Mintoff. It was attended by the new Prime Minister Dom Mintoff, Borg Olivier, and other Maltese politicians, along with the British
Colonial Secretary
,
Alan Lennox-Boyd
. The British government agreed to offer the islands their own representation in
British Parliament
, with three seats in the
House of Commons
, with the
Home Office
taking over responsibility for Maltese affairs from the Colonial Office.
[61]
Under the proposals, the Maltese Parliament would retain authority over all affairs except defence, foreign policy, and taxation. The Maltese were also to have social and economic parity with the UK, to be guaranteed by the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) the islands' main source of employment.
A
UK integration referendum
was held on 11 and 12 February 1956, in which 77.02% of voters were in favour of the proposal,
[62]
but owing to a boycott by the Nationalist Party and the Church, only 59.1% of the electorate voted, thereby rendering the result inconclusive.
[63]
There were also concerns expressed by British MPs that the representation of Malta at Westminster would set a precedent for other colonies, and influence the outcome of general elections.
[61]
In addition, the decreasing strategic importance of Malta to the Royal Navy meant that the British government was increasingly reluctant to maintain the naval dockyards. Following a decision by the Admiralty to dismiss 40 workers at the dockyard, Mintoff declared that "representatives of the Maltese people in Parliament declare that they are no longer bound by agreements and obligations toward the British government" (the 1958
Caravaggio incident
). In response, the Colonial Secretary sent a cable to Mintoff, stating that he had "recklessly hazarded" the whole integration plan.
[64]
Under protest, Dom Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister along with all the MLP deputies on 21 April 1958. Georgio Borg Olivier was offered to form an alternative government by Governor Laycock but refused. This led to the Governor declaring a state of emergency thus suspending the constitution and Malta was placed under direct colonial administration from London. The MLP had now fully abandoned support for integration (when Mintoff's demands for financial guarantees were not accepted) and now advocated full independence from Britain. In 1959, an Interim Constitution provided for an Executive Council under British rule.
While France had implemented a similar policy in its colonies, some of which became
overseas departments
, the status offered to Malta from Britain constituted a unique exception. Malta was the only
British colony
where integration with the UK was seriously considered, and subsequent British governments have ruled out integration for remaining overseas territories, such as
Gibraltar
.
[65]
From 1959 Malta's British governor started to pursue a plan of economic development based on promoting
tourism
and
tax competition
, offering very low tax rates on pensions, royalties and dividends to attract British (referred to as ‘sixpenny settlers’) and former colonial pensioners. Malta saw a large influx of Britons from
Rhodesia
after 1967.
[66]
In 1961, the
Blood Commission
provided for a new constitution allowing for a measure of self-government and recognising the "State" of Malta.
Giorgio Borg Olivier
became Prime Minister the following year, when the
Stolper report
was delivered.
Independent Malta (since 1964)
[
edit
]
Nationalist governments (1964?1971)
[
edit
]
United Kingdom legislation
Following the passage of the Malta Independence Act 1964 (c. 86) by the
British Parliament
and the approval of a new
Maltese constitution
by 54.5% of voters in a
referendum
, the
State of Malta
(
Maltese
:
Stat ta’ Malta
) was formed on 21 September 1964 as an independent
constitutional monarchy
, with
Elizabeth II
as
Queen of Malta
and
head of state
. The date continues to be celebrated annually as Independence Day (
Maltese
:
Jum l-Indipendenza
), a national holiday in Malta. On 1 December 1964, Malta was admitted to the
United Nations
.
In the first two post-independence electoral rounds, in
1962
and
1966
the
Nationalist Party
emerged as the largest party, gaining a majority of the Parliamentary seats. In these years,
relations with Italy
were of the utmost importance to secure independence and establish linkages with continental Europe. Malta signed four cooperation agreements with Italy in 1967, during a visit of
Aldo Moro
to the island.
In 1965 Malta joined the
Council of Europe
, and in 1970, Malta signed an Association Treaty with the
European Economic Community
.
Labour governments (1971?1987)
[
edit
]
The
elections of 1971
saw the
Labour Party
(MLP) under
Dom Mintoff
win by just over 4,000 votes.
The Labour government immediately set out to re-negotiate the post-Independence
military
and financial agreements with the
United Kingdom
. The government also undertook
nationalization
programmes and the expansion of the
public sector
and the
welfare state
.
Employment laws
were updated with
gender equality
being introduced in salary pay. Concerning civil law,
civil marriage
was introduced and
homosexuality
and
adultery
were decriminalised (1973);
capital punishment
for
murder
was abolished in 1971. The following year, Malta entered into a Military Base Agreement with the
United Kingdom
and other
NATO
countries, after mediation by Italy's
Aldo Moro
.
Through a package of constitutional reforms, Malta became a
republic
on 13 December 1974, with the last Governor-General, Sir
Anthony Mamo
, as its first
President
. The
?ieħ ir-Repubblika
Act
, promulgated the following year, abolished all titles of
nobility
in Malta and mandated that they cease to be recognised.
[67]
The Party was confirmed in office in the
1976 elections
. Between 1976 and 1981 Malta went through difficult times and the Labour government demanded that the Maltese tighten their belts in order to overcome the difficulties Malta was facing. There were shortages of essential items; water and electricity supplies were systematically suspended for two or three days a week. Political tensions increased, notably on
Black Monday
, when following an attempted assassination of the Prime Minister, the premises of the
Times of Malta
were burned and the house of the Leader of Opposition was attacked.
The end of British presence and shaky relations with Libya and Italy
[
edit
]
On 1 April 1979 the last British forces left the island after the end of the economic pact to stabilise the Maltese economy. This is celebrated as
Freedom Day
(
Jum Il-Ħelsien
) on 31 March. Celebrations start with a ceremony in
Floriana
near the
War Memorial
. A popular event on this memorable day is the traditional regatta. The regatta is held at the Grand Harbour and the teams taking part in it give it their best shot to win the much coveted aggregate Regatta Shield.
Under Mintoff's premiership, Malta began establishing close cultural and economic ties with
Muammar Gaddafi
's
Libya
,
[68]
as well as diplomatic and military ties with
North Korea
.
[69]
[70]
During the
Mintoff
years, Libya had loaned several million dollars to Malta to make up for the loss of rental income which followed the closure of British military bases in Malta.
[68]
These closer ties with Libya meant a dramatic new (but short-lived) development in Maltese foreign policy: Western media reported that Malta appeared to be turning its back on
NATO
, the
UK
, and Europe generally.
[71]
History books were published that began to spread the idea of a disconnection between the Italian and Catholic populations, and instead tried to promote the theory of closer cultural and ethnic ties with North Africa. This new development was noted by Boissevain in 1991: "The Labour government broke off relations with NATO and sought links with the Arab world. After 900 years of being linked to Europe, Malta began to look southward. Muslims, still remembered in folklore for savage pirate attacks, were redefined as blood brothers".
[72]
Malta and Libya had entered into a
Friendship and Cooperation Treaty
, in response to repeated overtures by
Gaddafi
for a closer, more formal union between the two countries
[
when?
]
; and, for a brief period, Arabic had become a compulsory subject in Maltese secondary schools.
[73]
[74]
In 1984 the
Mariam Al-Batool Mosque
was officially opened by Muammar Gaddafi in Malta, two years after its completion.
In 1980 an oil rig of the Italian company
Saipem
commissioned by
Texaco
to drill on behalf of the Maltese government 68 nautical miles south-east of Malta had to stop operations after being threatened by a Libyan gunboat. Both Malta and Libya claimed economic rights to the area and this incident raised tensions. The matter was referred to the
International Court of Justice
in 1982 but the court's ruling in 1985 dealt only with the delineation of a small part of the contested territory.
[75]
[76]
In 1980, Malta signed a
neutrality
agreement with
Italy
, under which Malta agreed not to enter into any alliance and Italy agreed to guarantee Malta's neutrality.
[77]
Malta's relations with Italy have been described as "generally excellent".
[78]
Constitutional crisis in the 1980s
[
edit
]
The
1981 general elections
saw the
Nationalist Party
(NP) gaining an absolute majority of votes, yet the Labour winning the majority of parliamentary seats under the
Single Transferable Vote
and Mintoff remained Prime Minister, leading to a political crisis. The Nationalists, now led by
Eddie Fenech Adami
, refused to accept the electoral result and also refused to take their seats in Parliament for the first years of the legislature, mounting a campaign demanding that Parliament should reflect the democratic will of the people. Despite this, the Labour government remained in power for the full five-year term. Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister and Party leader and appointed
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
as his successor in 1984.
The Mifsud Bonnici years were characterised by political tensions and violence. After a five-year debate, Fenech Adami, through the intervention of Dom Mintoff, reached an agreement with
Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici
to improve the constitution. Constitutional amendments were made voted and made effective in January 1987 which guaranteed that the party with an absolute majority of votes would be given a majority of parliamentary seats in order to govern. This paved the way for the return of the Nationalist Party to government later that year.
The accession process to the European Union (1987?2004)
[
edit
]
The
general elections that followed in 1987
saw the Nationalist Party achieve such a majority of votes. The new Nationalist administration of Edward Fenech Adami sought to improve Malta's ties with
Western Europe
and the
United States
.
The
Nationalist Party
advocated Malta's membership in the European Union presenting an application on 16 July 1990. This became a divisive issue, with
Labour
opposing membership.
A wide-ranging programme of liberalisation and public investments meant the confirmation in office of the Nationalists with a larger majority in the
1992 elections
. In 1993, local councils were re-established in Malta.
General elections were held in Malta on 26 October 1996
; although
Labour
received the most votes, the Nationalists won the most seats. The 1987 constitutional amendments had to be used for the second time, and the Labour Party was awarded an additional four seats to ensure they had a majority in Parliament.
Malta's EU application was subsequently frozen.
A split in the Labour Party in 1998, between the PM Sant and the former PM Mintoff (died in 2012) resulted in the government losing the majority. Notwithstanding the President of the Republic's preference for a negotiated solution, all attempts proved futile, and he had no other option but to accept Sant and his government's resignation and a call for early elections.
On being returned to office in the
1998 elections
with a wide 13,000 vote margin, the
Nationalist Party
reactivated the EU membership application. Malta was formally accepted as a candidate country at the Helsinki European Council of December 1999.
[79]
In 2000,
capital punishment
was abolished also from the military code of Malta.
EU accession negotiations were concluded late in 2002 and a
referendum on membership in 2003
saw 90.86% casting a valid vote of which 53.65% were "yes" votes.
Labour
stated that it would not be bound by this result were it returned to power in the following general election that year.
[80]
In the circumstances, elections were called and the
Nationalist Party
, led by Prime minister Fenech Adami,
won another mandate
,
[81]
In April 2004, Eddie Fenech Adami was sworn in as
President of Malta
.
Lawrence Gonzi
succeeded him as Prime Minister and the leader of the Nationalist Party.
[82]
The accession treaty was signed and ratified and Malta joined the EU on 1 May 2004.
[83]
A consensus on membership was subsequently achieved with
Labour
saying it would respect this result.
Joe Borg
was appointed as first Maltese
European commissioner
in the first
Barroso Commission
.
[84]
Malta in the European Union (2004?present)
[
edit
]
Malta's accession to the European Union in 2004 had important implications for the state's foreign policy. Notably, Malta was required to withdraw from the
Non-Aligned Movement
of which the state had been an active member since 1971.
[85]
In the context of EU membership, Malta joined the
Eurozone
on 1 January 2008;
[86]
the
2008 election
confirmed Gonzi in the premiership,
[87]
while in 2009
George Abela
became President of Malta.
[88]
On 28 May 2011, the Maltese voted 'yes' in the consultative
divorce referendum
.
[89]
At that time, Malta was one of only three countries in the world, along with the
Philippines
and the
Vatican City
, in which divorce was not permitted. As a consequence of the referendum outcome, a law allowing divorce under certain conditions was enacted in the same year.
[90]
Following a corruption scandal
John Dalli
had to resign and was replaced by
Tonio Borg
as Maltese commissioner in 2012.
[91]
A
snap election was called for March 2013
after the Gonzi government lost the Parliamentary majority. The Nationalist Party lost the election after having governed Malta more than 15 years since 1987 (except for a period from 1996 to 1998).
[92]
Labour Party leader
Joseph Muscat
was elected as Prime Minister.
[93]
[94]
In April 2019, the parliament elected
George Vella
as the 10th
President of the Republic of Malta
to succeed
Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca
.
[95]
On 16 October 2017, Maltese
journalist
and anti-corruption activist
Daphne Caruana Galizia
was assassinated in a car bomb near her residence in
Bidnija
.
[96]
Her murder caused an uproar of criticism for the Labour government and the judicial system on the islands. Following evidence of implication between Joseph Muscat's close circle and the arrest of
Yorgen Fenech
, a long series of protests on the islands and international criticism precipitated the
2019?2020 political crisis
. This resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister
Joseph Muscat
, Minister
Konrad Mizzi
, and Prime Minister's Chief of Staff
Keith Schembri
.
[97]
An internal election on 11 January 2020 within the
Maltese Labour party
elected
Robert Abela
, son of former president George Abela, as party leader, and Prime Minister of Malta.
[98]
[99]
Malta became the first country in the European Union to legalize
recreational use of cannabis
on 14 December 2021.
[100]
In March 2022, the ruling Labour party, led by Prime Minister Robert Abela, won its third successive
election
. It gained even bigger victory than in 2013 and in 2017.
[101]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
"Of greater cultural significance, the demographic and economic dominance of Muslims continued for at least another century and a half after which forced conversions undoubtedly permitted many former Muslims to remain."
[28]
: 31
- ^
"The establishment of an Italian colony for Sicilian Muslims at
Lucera
on the Italian Peninsula beginning in 1223 has led to much speculation that there must have been a general expulsion of all Muslims from Malta in 1224. However, it is virtually impossible to reconcile this viewpoint with a report of 1240 or 1241 by Gilibert to Frederick II of Sicily to the effect that in that year Malta and Gozo had 836 families that were Saracen or Muslim, 250 that were Christian, and 33 that were Jewish. Moreover,
Ibn Khaldun
is on record as stating that some Maltese Muslims were sent to the Italian colony of Lucera around 1249.
[28]
: 28
- ^
"Ibn Khaldun puts the expulsion of Islam from the Maltese Islands to the year 1249. It is not clear what actually happened then, except that the Maltese language, derived from Arabic, certainly survived. Either the number of Christians was far larger than Giliberto had indicated, and they themselves already spoke Maltese, or a large proportion of the Muslims themselves accepted baptism and stayed behind.
Henri Bresc
has written that there are indications of further Muslim political activity on Malta during the last
Suabian
years. Anyhow there is no doubt that by the beginning of Angevin times no professed Muslim Maltese remained either as free persons or even as serfs on the island."
[38]
- ^
"Though by the end of the fifteenth century all Maltese Muslims would be forced to convert to Christianity, they would still be in the process of acquiring surnames as required in European tradition. Ingeniously, they often used their father's personal Arabic names as the basis of surnames, though there was a consistent cultural avoidance of extremely obvious Arabic and Muslim names, such as Muhammed and Razul. Also, many families disguised their Arabic names, such as
Karwan
(the city in Tunisia), which became Caruana, and some derived family names by translating from Arabic into a Roman form, such as Magro or Magri from Dejf."
[28]
: 24
References
[
edit
]
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Farrugia, Claire (19 March 2018) [2018-03-18].
"First inhabitants arrived 700 years earlier than thought"
.
Times of Malta
. Retrieved
25 March
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
"700 years added to Malta's history"
.
Times of Malta
. 16 March 2018.
Archived
from the original on 16 March 2018
. Retrieved
27 March
2021
.
- ^
Island cores unravel mysteries of ancient Maltese civilisation
// Phys.org, July 11, 2019
- ^
Piccolo, Salvatore; Darvill, Timothy (2013).
Ancient Stones, The Prehistoric Dolmens of Sicily
. Abingdon, GB: Brazen Head Publishing.
ISBN
9780956510624
.
- ^
Kessler, P. L.
"Kingdoms of Italy - Sicani"
.
www.historyfiles.co.uk
. Retrieved
25 June
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
Cassar 2000
, pp. 53?55
- ^
Bonanno, Anthony (1983).
"The Tradition of an Ancient Greek Colony in Malta"
(PDF)
.
Hyphen
.
4
(1): 1?17.
- ^
a
b
c
Cassar 2000
, pp. 56?57
- ^
Depasquale, Suzannah; Cardona, Neville Juan (2005).
Site Catalogue: The Domvs Romana ? Rabat Malta
.
Malta
: Heritage Books. p. 3.
ISBN
9993270318
.
- ^
Bonanno, Anthony (1995).
"Underwater Archeology: A New Turning-Point in Maltese Archeology"
(PDF)
.
Hyphen
.
7
(3): 109, 110.
- ^
"Roman (218 BC-870 AD)"
.
A Lawyer's History of Malta
. 2011. Archived from
the original
on 7 January 2016.
- ^
Rix, Juliet (2013).
Malta and Gozo
. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 9.
ISBN
9781841624525
.
- ^
Blouet 2007
, p. 38
- ^
Cassar 2000
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