British Protectorate of Malta | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1800–1813 | |||||||||
 | |||||||||
| Anthem: God Save the King | |||||||||
 Map of Malta and Sicily, 1808 | |||||||||
| Status | Protectorate of the United Kingdom | ||||||||
| Capital | Valletta | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• 1800–13 | George III | ||||||||
| Civil Commissioner | |||||||||
• 1799–1801 | Alexander Ball | ||||||||
• 1801 | Henry Pigot | ||||||||
• 1801–02 | Charles Cameron | ||||||||
• 1802–09 | Alexander Ball | ||||||||
• 1810–13 | Hildebrand Oakes | ||||||||
| Historical era | Napoleonic Wars | ||||||||
| 4 September 1800 | |||||||||
• Declaration of Rights | June 1802 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 23 July 1813 | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1807[1] | 93,054 | ||||||||
| Currency | Maltese scudo | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Malta Protectorate (Italian:Protettorato di Malta,Maltese:Protettorat ta' Malta) was the political term forMalta when it was aBritish protectorate. Theprotectorate existed between the capitulation of theFrench forces in Malta in 1800 and the transformation of the islands to theCrown Colony of Malta in 1813.
%2c_by_Henry_William_Pickersgill.jpg)
During theMaltese uprising against the French, the Maltese people formed a National Assembly as a provisional government. Messengers were sent to the British fleet in Sicily for help, and a British convoy consisting of 13 battered ships under CaptainSir James Saumarez appeared off the island in late September 1798.
In October SirAlexander Ball arrived in Malta, and a year later he was appointed as Civil Commissioner.
The French garrison under GeneralVaubois had been driven toMosta, and finally surrendered on 4 September 1800. Malta therefore became a British protectorate. In August 1801, the Civil Commissioner,Charles Cameron, appointedEmmanuel Vitale as Governor of Gozo instead ofSaverio Cassar. This effectively brought an end to Gozo's independence asla Nazione Gozitana.
In June 1802, 104 representatives from the Maltese towns and villages signed a declaration entitledLa Dichiarazione dei Diritti degli abitanti delle Isole di Malta e Gozo (The Declaration of Rights of the inhabitants of the Islands of Malta and Gozo) by which they proclaimedGeorge III to be their king and that he had no right to surrender Malta to another power. By the Declaration they also proclaimed that Malta should be self-governing while under British protection.[2]
Harbour activity in Malta increased, which included theGeorge Washington, the first American warship to navigate the Mediterranean in early 1801.[3] Valletta emerged as a crucial logistical and diplomatic base for the American forces in their war against North African corsairs, known as theFirst Barbary War (1801-1805). American warships, such as theUSS Constitution, docked in Malta's Grand Harbour to obtain fresh water, supplies, and essential repairs, which enabled the American squadron to maintain its blockade and operations against the Barbary States.[3][4] It also contributed to an audacious plan byUS Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, who employed a seized Tripolitan vessel (renamed theIntrepid), disguised as a merchant ship from Malta and outfitted with British colours, to infiltrate Tripoli harbour and destroy theUSS Philadelphia, which had been captured by the Tripolitans.[5][6][7][8]
Under the terms of the 1802Treaty of Amiens with France, Britain was supposed to evacuate the islands, but failed to keep this obligation - one of several mutual cases of non-adherence to the treaty, which eventually led to its collapse and theresumption of war between the two countries. Between 1802 and 1806, Southern Europe received a fifth of British exports to Europe, or £3,200,000 per year, while Northern Europe accounted for four-fifths of British exports to Europe, with an average of £12,800,000 annually. In 1806,Napoleon'sContinental Blockade disrupted commercial connections between England and several European nations. Between 1808 and 1812, the share to Southern Europe increased to sixty percent, averaging £10,000,000 annually, primarily through Malta andSicily. In addition, Malta served as a staging point for the importation of raw materials and commodities from theBarbary States and theLevant toEngland and to theAustrian States.[9]
Port activity surged to an impressive average of 1,500 ships visiting Malta every year.[10] Ironically, the surge in commercial activity partially reversed the poverty and destruction caused by the Maltese insurrection against French control a few years earlier.[3] The circulating currency used in Malta reflected this international trade, comprising a mixture ofMaltese scudi and tari from the era of the Order, Sicilian, Spanish and South American dollars, together with British gold sovereigns and half sovereigns.[10][11][12] This period of economic prosperity led to the foundation of institutional banking on the islands with the first Maltese bank, theAnglo Maltese Bank, formed on 23 June 1809 by Maltese and British merchants, followed by theBanco Di Malta andTagliaferro's Bank in 1812.[10][13][14] The conclusion of theNapoleonic Wars andan epidemic in 1813 ultimately brought an end to the golden era of the Anglo-Maltese trade. Nevertheless, this set the basis for Malta becoming a major British overseas naval base for the following 150 years.[9]
Politically,Lampedusa was also part of theKingdom of Sicily. In the late 18th century, whileMalta was still under the Knights, thePrince of Lampedusa had let the island to Salvatore Gatt, a Maltese entrepreneur, who settled on the island with a few Maltese workers.
The British considered taking over Lampedusa as a naval base instead of Malta, but the idea was dropped as the island did not have deep harbours and was not well developed. Despite this, the authorities in Malta and the British government still attempted to take over the island as they believed that it could be used to supply Malta with food in case Sicily fell to Napoleon.
In 1800, Ball sent a Commissariat to Lampedusa to assess the feasibility of this and the result was that the island could easily be used to supply Malta with food at a relatively low cost as there was grazing ground and an adequate water supply. In 1803, some Maltese farmers settled on Lampedusa with cattle and sheep, and they began to grow barley.
In 1810, Salvatore Gatt transferred the lease to Alexander Fernandez, the British Commissariat, and the latter attempted to create a large Maltese colony on the island. This never materialized as aRoyal commission in 1812 stated that this was just a business venture and Britain refused to help Fernandez. Further problems arose when the plaguedevastated Malta in 1813–14, and on 25 September 1814, SirThomas Maitland withdrew British troops from Lampedusa.
Fernandez remained proprietor of the island until 1818, when Gatt returned and remained there with his family up to 1824.[15]
In 1813 the island was transformed into aBritish Crown colony by the Bathurst Constitution. On 23 July SirThomas Maitland replaced SirHildebrand Oakes and was the first Civil Commissioner to be given the title of "Governor". Malta officially became a colony by theTreaty of Paris in 1814.[2]
FormerBritish Empire and currentBritish Overseas Territories | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
