The Gozitan Nation | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1798–1801 | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
 Location of Gozo within theMaltese Islands | |||||||||
| Status | Unrecognised state De facto independent state | ||||||||
| Capital | Rabat | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Government | Provisionalfeudalmonarchy | ||||||||
| King | |||||||||
• 1798–1801 | Ferdinand III of Sicily | ||||||||
| Governor-General | |||||||||
• 1798–1801 | Saverio Cassar | ||||||||
| Historical era | French Revolutionary Wars | ||||||||
• Revolt | 3 September 1798 | ||||||||
• Established | 28/29 October 1798 | ||||||||
• British protectorate established | 4 September 1800 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 20 August 1801 | ||||||||
| Currency | Maltese scudo | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Malta | ||||||||
TheGozitan Nation,[a] commonly known asGozo,[b] was anunrecognised state located on the island ofGozo between 1798 and 1801 during theFrench Revolutionary Wars.[1] It was a monarchy recognising the authority ofFerdinand III of Sicily with a provisional government led by Governor-GeneralSaverio Cassar. Its capital wasRabat. The country was established between 28 and 29 October 1798 from the territory ofFrench-occupied Malta and was eventually incorporated intoMalta Protectorate on 20 August 1801.
Until 10 June 1798, Malta and Gozo had beenadministered by the Knights Hospitaller. When Napoleon ousted the Knights from the islands in theMediterranean campaign of 1798, the French established garrisons in various locations in Malta, as well as theCittadella andFort Chambray, the main fortifications on Gozo.
On 2 September 1798, the Maltese rebelled against the French inMdina, requesting to return to rule by the Kingdom of Sicily. Word spread, and the Gozitans revolted on 3 September. Thearchpriest and parish priest of Rabat, Saverio Cassar, was chosen as the revolt's leader on 18 September. The rebel headquarters was established in theBanca Giuratale (which is now the seat of the Victoria Local Council). Cassar organised thedejma and collected money to pay the troops under his command. Pro-French partisans were arrested, including threecanons.
The French garrison held out in the Cittadella and Fort Chambray until they capitulated on 28 October after negotiations made with the help ofAlexander Ball. The 217 French soldiers there agreed to surrender without a fight and transferred the island, its fortifications, 24 cannons, a large quantity of ammunition, and 3200 sacks of flour to the British.[2]
A day later, the British transferred control of the Cittadella and the rest of the island to the Gozitans. The people declaredKing Ferdinand as their monarch and established a provisional government led by Saverio Cassar, who became governor-general.[3][4] The provisional government included several British and Maltese representatives, and their first action was to distribute the captured food supplies to the island's 16,000 inhabitants. The Neapolitan flag (which later became theflag of the Two Sicilies) was flown over Gozo, and munitions and supplies arrived fromNaples, with King Ferdinand praising his "faithful Maltese subjects."[5]
On 29 October, Cassar requested that Gozo become a separate diocese. TheRoman Catholic Diocese of Gozo was eventually created on 22 September 1864, 65 years after Cassar's petition.[6] During Cassar's rule of Gozo, he organised the administration, reopened the law courts and elected new jurists; and even opened a customs house.
King Ferdinand took advantage ofNapoleon's absence in theFrench campaign in Egypt and Syria and ofHoratio Nelson's victories and seized Rome on 29 November. On the defeat of some of his columns, Ferdinand hurried back to Naples. On the approach of the French, Ferdinand fled on 23 December aboard Nelson's shipHMS Vanguard toPalermo, leaving his capital in a state of anarchy.[7] The French took Naples and theParthenopean Republic was established by its citizens; Ferdinand reconquered it in May 1800.
When the French garrison inValletta surrendered in September of that same year, the British established theMalta Protectorate. Cassar continued to rule Gozo independently until 20 August 1801, when the Britishcivil commissioner,Charles Cameron, removed him from the position.[8]Emmanuel Vitale, another leader of the Maltese insurrection, became governor, superintendent and the health director of Gozo, a post which he held until his death fourteen months later.
On 16 December 1805, Cassar died at the age of 58.
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| Siege of Malta | |||||||
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|  Europe at the height of Napoleon's Empire | |||||||||||
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| Napoleonic creations |
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36°02′36″N14°14′49″E / 36.04333°N 14.24694°E /36.04333; 14.24694
