Crown Colony of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies | |||||||||
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| 1813–1964 | |||||||||
| Anthem: L-Innu Malti "The Malta Hymn" Royal anthem God Save the King (1813–1837; 1901–1952) God Save the Queen (1837–1901; 1952–1964) | |||||||||
 Europe in 1815, Malta in dark green,United Kingdom in cyan | |||||||||
 Europe during theCold War, Malta in dark green,United Kingdom in cyan | |||||||||
| Status | British colony | ||||||||
| Capital | Valletta | ||||||||
| Official languages | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• 1813–1820(first) | George III | ||||||||
• 1952–1964(last) | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1813–1824(first) | Sir Thomas Maitland | ||||||||
• 1962–1964(last) | Sir Maurice H. Dorman | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1921–1923(first) | Joseph Howard | ||||||||
• 1962–1964(last) | Giorgio Borġ Olivier | ||||||||
| Legislature | Parliament | ||||||||
| Senate(to 1933) | |||||||||
| Legislative Assembly | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 23 July 1813 | ||||||||
| 30 May 1814 | |||||||||
• Independence | 21 September 1964 | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1821 | 119,000[1] | ||||||||
| Currency | Maltese scudo and various other currencies(1813–1825) Pound sterling(1825–1964) | ||||||||
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TheCrown Colony of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies (commonly known as theCrown Colony of Malta or simplyMalta) was the British colony in the Maltese islands, that has become the modernRepublic of Malta. It was established when theMalta Protectorate was transformed into aBritish Crown colony in 1813, and this was confirmed by theTreaty of Paris in 1814. The colony gained independence in 1964.
From 1530 to 1798, Malta had beenruled by the Order of Saint John. The Order was ousted during theWar of the Second Coalition and Malta wasoccupied by Napoleon. The Maltese rebelled after a couple of months of French rule and asked Britain for help. Eventually, the French capitulated in 1800 and Malta voluntarily became aBritish protectorate. Britain was then supposed to evacuate the island according to the terms of theTreaty of Amiens of 1802, 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 Britain and France a year later.
Malta became a Crown Colony on 23 July 1813, whenSir Thomas Maitland was appointed asGovernor of Malta. That year, Malta was granted the Bathurst Constitution. Malta's status as a Crown Colony was confirmed by theTreaty of Paris of 1814, which was itself reaffirmed by theCongress of Vienna of 1815.
Theplaguebroke out in Malta in March 1813, when a British merchant ship infected with the disease arrived fromAlexandria. The disease began to spread especially inValletta and theGrand Harbour area, and when Governor Maitland arrived, stricter quarantine measures were enforced. The plague spread to Gozo by January 1814, but the islands were free of the disease by March of that year. Overall, 4,486 people were killed which amounted to 4% of the total population.
After the eradication of the plague, Maitland made several reforms. He was autocratic since he refused to form an advisory council made up of Maltese representatives, and so he was informally known as "King Tom". He formed theMalta Police Force in 1814, while the local Italian-speakingUniversità was dissolved in 1819. Various reforms were undertaken in taxation and the law courts as well. Maitland remained Governor until his death on 17 January 1824.[2]
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In 1825, theMaltese scudo and the other circulating currencies at the time were officially replaced by the pound sterling, with the lowest-valued coin being a one-third farthing coin minted at irregular intervals, the last such issue occurring in 1913, keeping alive the tradition of the Maltese "grano", equal to one-twelfth of a penny. Despite this, scudi and other foreign coinage continued to circulate in limited amounts, and the last scudi were withdrawn over 60 years later in October and November 1886.[3]
During theGreek War of Independence, Malta became an important base for British, French and Russian naval forces, especially after theBattle of Navarino of 1827. The local economy improved and there was a boom in business, but shortly after the war ended in 1832 there was an economic decline.
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 the AnglicanSt Paul's Pro-Cathedral began.
Following the 1846 Carnival riots, in 1849 a Council of Government with elected members under British rule was set up. In 1870 areferendum 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. In 1878 a Royal Commission (theRowsell-Julyan-Keenan Commission) recommended in its report the Anglicisation of the educational and judicial systems. A backlash came in 1903, with the Return to the 1849 form of Council of Government under British rule.
Despite this,home rule was refused to the Maltese until 1921, and the locals sometimes suffered considerable poverty.[4] 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[5] which were generally resisted by the Church and the Maltese elite who preferred to cling to their feudal privileges.[4][5] Political organisations, like theNationalist Party, were created to protect theItalian language in Malta.
The last quarter of the century saw technical and financial progress in line with theBelle Epoque: the following years saw the foundation of theAnglo-Egyptian Bank (1882) and the beginning of operation of theMalta Railway (1883); the first definitivepostage stamps were issued in 1885, and in 1904 tram service begun. In 1886 Surgeon MajorDavid Bruce discovered the microbe causing theMalta Fever, and in 1905Themistocles Zammit discovered the fever's sources. Finally, in 1912,Dun Karm Psaila wrote his first poem in Maltese.
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DuringWorld War I, Malta became known asthe Nurse of the Mediterranean due to the number of wounded soldiers who came to be treated.
In 1919, theSette Giugno 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 abicameralparliament with a Senate (later abolished in 1949) and an elected Legislative Assembly.Joseph Howard was named Prime Minister. In 1923 theInnu Malti was played for the first time in public, and the same yearFrancesco Buhagiar became Prime Minister, followed in 1924 by SirUgo Pasquale Mifsud and in 1927 by SirGerald Strickland.
The 1930s saw a period of instability in the relations between the Maltese political elite, the Maltese church, and the British rulers; the 1921 Constitution was suspended twice. First in 1930–32, following a clash between the governingConstitutional Party and Church 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.[6] Malta thus reverted to the Crown Colony status it held in 1813.
Before the arrival of the British, the official language for hundreds of years, and one of the educated elite had been Italian, but this was downgraded by the increased use of English. In 1934, English andMaltese were declared the sole official languages. That year only about 15% of the population could speak Italian fluently.[5] 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.[5]
In 1936 the Constitution was revised to provide for the nomination of members to Executive Council under British rule, and in 1939 to provide again for an elected Council of Government under British rule.
Before World War II, Valletta was the location of theRoyal Navy'sMediterranean Fleet's headquarters. However, despiteWinston Churchill's objections,[7] the command was moved toAlexandria,Egypt, in April 1937 fearing it was too susceptible to air attacks from Europe.[7][8][9][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-twoanti-aircraft guns (thirty-four "heavy" and eight "light") and fourGloster Gladiators, for which three pilots were available.
Being a British colony, situated close to Sicily and theAxis 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 includingEnigma traffic.[10]
The first air raids against Malta occurred on 11 June 1940; there were six attacks that day. The island'sbiplanes were unable to defend due to theLuqa 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 (to improve the accuracy of their bombs). Major Paine stated, "[After they dropped down], we bagged one or two every other day, so they started coming in at [six thousand metres]. Their bombing was never very accurate. As they flew higher it became quite indiscriminate."Mabel Strickland would state, "The Italians decided they didn't like [the Gladiators and AA guns], so they dropped their bombs twenty miles off Malta and went back."
By the end of August, the Gladiators were reinforced by twelveHawker Hurricanes which had arrived viaHMSArgus. During the first five months of combat, the island's aircraft destroyed or damaged about thirty-seven Italian aircraft. Italianfighter pilotFrancisco Cavalera observed, "Malta was really a big problem for us—very well-defended."
On Malta, 330 people had been killed and 297 were seriously wounded from the war's inception until December 1941. In January 1941, the GermanX.Fliegerkorps arrived in Sicily as theAfrika Korps arrived inLibya. Over the next four months, 820 people were killed and 915 seriously wounded.[11]
On 15 April 1942,King George VI awarded theGeorge Cross (the highest civilian award for gallantry) "to the island fortress of Malta – its people and defenders".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 the 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 center of the sea, one tiny bright flame in the darkness – a beacon of hope for the clearer days which have come."[12] 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.[13]
In 1942, theOperation Pedestal convoy arrived in Grand Harbour, and the following yearFranklin D. Roosevelt andWinston Churchill visited Malta.King George VI also arrived in Grand Harbour for a visit.
During theSecond World War,Ugo Pasquale Mifsud andGeorge 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 inUganda ofEnrico Mizzi and 49 otherMaltese Italians accused of pro-Italian political activities. He died a few days later.
TheAllies launched their invasion ofSicily from Malta in 1943. After theCassibile armistice in the same year, the Italian Fleet surrendered to the Allies in Malta. In 1945, Churchill and Roosevelt met in Malta prior to theYalta Conference withJoseph Stalin.
The 1946 National Assembly resulted in the 1947 constitution, with the restoration of self-government, andPaul Boffa became the fifth Prime Minister of Malta.
After the Second World War, the islands achieved self-government, with theMalta Labour Party (MLP) ofDom Mintoff seeking either full integration with the UK or elseself-determination (independence), and thePartit Nazzjonalista (PN) ofGiorgio Borġ Olivier favouring independence, with the same "dominion status" that Canada, Australia and New Zealand enjoyed. Meanwhile, after the 1948Red Flag Incident, in 1949 Britain signed theNorth Atlantic Treaty and joinedNATO.
After the 1952 accession of QueenElizabeth II, in December 1955 a Round Table Conference was held in London, on the future of Malta, attended by the new PM Dom Mintoff, Borġ Olivier and other Maltese politicians, along with the BritishColonial Secretary,Alan Lennox-Boyd. The British government agreed to offer the islands three seats of their own in theBritish House of Commons.[14] In addition, theHome Office would take over responsibility for Maltese affairs from the Colonial Office.[15] Under the proposals, the Maltese Parliament would also retain responsibility 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 BritishMinistry of Defence (MoD), the islands' main source of employment.
AUK integration referendum was held on 11 and 12 February 1956, in which 77.02 per cent of voters were in favour of the proposal, but owing to a boycott by the Nationalist Party, only 59.1 per cent of the electorate voted, allowing the opposition to claim that the result was inconclusive.[16]
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.[17]
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 1958Caravaggio incident)[18] In response, the Colonial Secretary sent a cable to Mintoff, stating that he had "recklessly hazarded" the whole integration plan.[18]
Under protest, Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister, while Borġ Olivier declined to form an alternative government. This led to the islands being placed under direct colonial administration from London for the second time, with the MLP abandoning support for integration and now advocating independence. 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 becameoverseas departments, the status offered to Malta from Britain constituted a unique exception. Malta was the onlyBritish colony where integration with the UK was seriously considered, and subsequent British governments have ruled out integration for remaining overseas territories, such asGibraltar.[19]
In 1961, the Blood Commission provided for a new constitution allowing for a measure of self-government. Giorgio Borġ Olivier became Prime Minister the following year when the Stolper report was delivered. Malta became independent on 21 September 1964.
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