Malta at the turn of the 19th Century.
Malta at the turn of the 19th Century.
In 1530 under the surveillance of the Grand Master L'Isle D'Adam, the Order of St.John came to Malta and after 267 years the Order under Grand Master Hompesch left the Maltese Islands. The knights managed to change the island from one dependant upon agriculture to one economically stable. In fact, they gave to our islands great stability, as the military order gave security and safety by means of various fortifications and the development of the marvellous Grand Harbour. During this time we had an increase in the population of the islands, which reached that of 80,000 people. One can also mention the social stability brought by the order, as various projects were carried out, including the development of new towns, new fortified city, new water supply system (Aqueducts), more jobs created such as corsair, building, cultivation of cotton and last but not least trade. During these times there were 3 authorities, which had their own prisons, law courts and jurisdiction over a number of people in Malta. These authorities were, the Order of St.John, the Inquisition that protected the Christian Church from heresy etc. and the Church. The last two had their own patentees, law courts and prisons, an example being the church prison in Birgu. Amongst these authorities one could note several quarrels and arguments. Those people under the authorities of the Inquisition and the Church paid no taxes and had no guard duties. However the Order was neutral and the knights came from various countries. In fact there were some conflicts especially between French and Spanish Knights, as there were numerous. During these times there was also a slow rise in the Bourgeoisie. The education here in Malta was limited, and one could attend either the church schools or the local schools known as the Universita. Few Maltese, also went abroad to Sicily in order to further their studies. In fact a fourth minor authority did existed, but it was of a lesser importance. This was the Universita of Mdina and Valletta, which had their simple local laws and were in charge of buying corn. In the 1750s the Bourgeoisie in Malta started getting new ideas from abroad and foreigners started to come to Malta and mix with Maltese. This era of new ideas along all Europe was known as the Enlightment, were Kings and Queens started to take up new ideas, hence changing things according to reason, overcoming traditions.
The effects of the French Revolution on Malta.
The order of St. John consisted of 8 different langues, were 3 of them were of French basis, such as the Langue of Auvergne, Langue of France and the Langue of Provence. This meant that the majority of the nights here in Malta were French, and the dominance by the French affected the culture and the way of living. The knights came from noble families, which were rich and had land property. They bought from their property income that resulted from products and rents. Almost every Knight had its land, and the money of the lands went to the Order. The money came from all Europe and this meant that they had lands in all Europe. The French émigrés came to Malta because in this place the French dominated and secondly the Order was aristocratic hence the emigrants could enjoy principles that in their country were being abolished. Another problem was the abolition of feudalism and also the confiscation of church lands. If a certain knight, had lands in France this meant that his lands were confiscated and that he no longer received the feudal dues paid by the peasants, hence the Order was economically declining due to a drastic decrease in their income from lands. Besides, even the early years of Napoleon affected negatively the Knights, where all church lands in Italy and the Confederation of the Rhine were nationalised, leading the loss of income. As a result of this crisis we also had in Malta a group of enlightened Maltese who turned against the autocratic Order of St.John, and form clubs such as the "Gakkbini" lead by the famous Maltese Mikiel Anton Vassalli. The Maltese nobles turned against the knights because the former were snubbed by the Order. In fact we had the French knights who wanted themselves to take Malta. Vassalli suggested the Order to make peace with Turkey in order to improve her trade, and also as a result there would be prosperity for the Maltese. Besides he suggested a Maltese langue in the Order of St John, in other words a say in the running of Malta. Through the revolution the Knights had lost their privileges and lands that meant money for French. It was as if they were losing a type of protection in the sense that the French during the 18th century were extremely important for the Maltese, and left their influence upon everyone. Now that the Order found itself in a crucial situation, the question how was the order going to be replaced rose. France was the favourite ones however the knights were against it and two countries that definitely were candidates of taking Malta instead of the French were Russia and Britain. At that time the Order of St. John had some lands in the Polish territory that was subdivided between Prussia, Austria and Russia. However the lands that the Order had were part of Russia hence it tries to maintain good relations with Russia and safeguard their lands, property and income from Russia. On the other hand, England tried to agree with Malta but it actually failed, as the British hoped in agreeing with Malta in recompense of money and protection. In return the Maltese got a small army and other port facilities, yet this failed as England reckoned Malta to be enemy of the French anyway.
The French seizure on Malta
In 1792 France was at war with many European countries and meanwhile the Order was trying to keep away and avoid any French menace. Hence i.e. the Order was not helping France as it was seen as the enemy of the Order in Malta. In 1798 according the Napoleon and Directory's comment, if Malta fell into Russia or British hands, France trade would be lost. In fact, on 12th April 1798, Napoleon gave the go ahead to take Malta. According to a count in 1798, the Order of St. John in Malta amounted 332, where more than half of them supported Napoleon and were considered traitors. On 19th May 1798, the French fleet left Toulon, and Napoleon had full support of the Directory to attack and take Malta. On 9th June 1798 the French fleet was sighted from Malta, during the evening. The French had about 60,000 men and the Maltese numbered only one sixth of them, and were badly equipped and not experienced, due to lack of money. On the 10th of June 1798, Napoleon started coming ashore; in fact 5 general came ashore Malta. The defence system of Malta consisted only of fortified city such as Valletta, Birgu, Senglea and Mdina, fortification walls such as the Floriana Walls, Margherita Lines and the Cottonera Lines. Then in Malta we also had the 7 major towers such as the St. Lucian tower, St. Tumas tower, it-Torri l-Ahmar etc. tow days later Malta and Gozo was invaded by the French troops and Napoleon. Some resistance was put-up by the Maltese but thwarted by pro-French generals. On the other hand Gozo quickly surrendered agreeing to terms with the French. At Mdina a council met and it was guaranteed by Vabois that the French would respect the rights of the Maltese. As a result on the 13th of June 1798 the knights were sent out. The day before this one we had the capitulation of the Order of St. John were this honoured and favoured more the Knights and to a certain extent pro-French knights. The Maltese nearly gained nothing and the rights of the Maltese remained as they were before, including the freedom towards property and the freedom of worship. Centuries before the arrival of the French, it was agreed in 1530, i.e. when Charles V gave Malta to the Order that if the Order left the Islands, Malta had to go back to Sicily or Spain. During their stay in Malta, the Order brought tax-free corn from Sicily but from 12th June 1798 this stopped. Napoleon remained in Malta only for 6 days, were he live in Valletta in Palazzo Pariso. In these days he re-organised the whole administration of Malta. The first thing he did was that he established the Commission in order to run the country. Some famous names were Baron Dorell, Canon F. Saver Caruana, and Dr. Grungo etc. The Commission had a chief commissioner who issued the laws and gave orders. The people of the commission, who were Maltese, were limited and restricted to say their opinions, as they had to please the chief Commissioner who was the French Reynaud St.Jean d'Angely. Hence one can say that it wasn't a democratic institution. Napoleon left the military section of Malta in the hands of the General Vabois. One can also mention the various changes taken by Napoleon in administration. He divided the Maltese islands in 12 municipalities, 10 in Malta and 2 in Gozo lead by a council that consisted of the President and 4 members. The west municipality had in its hands the Massa Frumentaria that was a bank that controlled the money spent in wheat importation. The order's property went to the French. The Maltese had by force to wear the cockade, a sign of the French revolution, symbol of liberty, a fact that wasn't permitted to the Maltese. The best law made by Napoleon was the Equality of people, as in front the law and during everyday life each person on the island was considered equal having the same rights. Another important factor was the abolition of the inquisition and slavery. Even though slavery had given Malta big incomes, it was abolished and all the slaves were sent back home. With the abolition of slavery the church had lost an essential part of her power in Malta, as now, only one authority had the power to rule over the Maltese. To take-off any evidence of other rules in our country, any coat of arms were destroyed and this was considered to be too harsh and eventually lead to political vandalism. Most changes were only promises as there was no time to be carried out and even upset the Maltese people. Since the Maltese deficit was high, when the knights were sent-off the French raised the taxes and besides they also turned to the church things and sold them on auction. Some of these precious things were taken on Napoleon's ship. Before leaving from Malta, to the Egyptian campaign, he recruited some sailors, especially from Birgu. On 13th June 1798 Napoleon met the clergy in Malta and decided that the foreign clergy had to leave Malta. The people interested in taking the religious vows had to be over 30 years as they could have changed their mind. Besides, Napoleon wanted a society that depended upon the government and not upon the church. Each religious order in Malta had to have only one convent were all monks had to live. No novices or citizen could wear the religious clothing before taking the religious vows. All extra money from the church had to be given to the poor or devoted to the teaching. The cathedral of Malta was decided to be the church of St. John in Valletta. The freedom of worship was allowed and the Jews were protected and allowed to have their own synagogue. Napoleon also issued important reforms regarding education. According to Napoleon, during his stay in Malta, he found out that the educational system in Malta was poor and few Maltese were very well educated. These issues were published and confirmed the opening of 15 new primary schools for the Maltese children. Each year sixty students were chosen to further their study in the Paris University but on their family expenses. Napoleon wanted the Maltese to get pro-French education. The university was closed and instead we have the polytechnic lead by 8 teachers, were the teachers were paid from the income and benefices of the previous university. During his stay in Malta Napoleon made other laws. He introduced new taxes on wine, salt etc, hence increasing the income. The expenses of cleaning and lighting the public streets were paid by the inhabitants of the streets. The salaries of the health department were paid from the money of ship and their passengers. Hospital could improve their facilities from the closed hospitals. The income from the stamps was used to improve the Postal service. Bonaparte decreased the authority of the church by various means. The bishop from then on, had only under is hand the priests, clergy. All other activities were taken place in the civil court and not in the church court. No donations had to be given to the church and no one could protest to the church. The French was made the official language and the streets of Valletta were given new names. A newspaper known as the "Journal de Malte" was published.
The Maltese Uprising against the French.
In August 1798, Malta received news that the French had lost at Aboukir Bay. Many Maltese sailors had died there, in this battle, against the successful British fleet. The Maltese were very unhappy to this defeat. Besides this fact, the Maltese were also disappointed and angry because the church was loosing its power and the precious things in churches were being stolen by the French and auctioned at Mdina in order to recover from the economic instability that Malta was in. On the 2nd September 1798, we had the Maltese uprising against the French. In fact this entire rebel started at Mdina, with the murdering of a French auctioneer. Than the French were confronted at harassment by people from Zebbug and Attard, that went to Mdina passing through Siggiewi. Seeing this, General Vabois ordered to close down the fortified cities of Valletta and Birgu. Hence the Maltese, who were being led by Manuel Vitale, were out in the countryside. On 4th September 1798 the Maltese established the National Assembly, with representatives from each town lead by Vitale, Manduca and Canon Caruana. The forces at Mdina surrendered to Vabois and the latter immediately closed the city. The French was occupying the cities while the Maltese dominated the countryside, with their own battalions and being well organised. Meanwhile as time was passing by Vabois permitted the Maltese to leave the cities. On 5th September 1798, the Maltese asked help from the Kingdom of Two Sicilies, asking them for food and ammunition, as the Maltese were now in the countryside, lacking any type of ammunition and wheat. The Maltese asked the British to blockade the Maltese harbour. In fact the British sent the Portuguese, as the English were busy on their Egyptian campaign. However mistrusting the Portuguese, Captain Ball arrived in Malta with his fleet. In Gozo, the same thing happened as the Gozitans rose against the French. The Gozo were extremely well organised and had some contacts to whom they could ask help. By the arrival of Ball and Nelson, the latter being in charge of the blockade, helped to bring to an end the trouble in Gozo, by threatening that he would attack the French in the closed city. Dun Salvatore Cassar, carried out the negotiations and in fact the French diplomatically surrendered. After this event Dun Salvatore Cassar raised the flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in Gozo. Cassar was supporting the Kingdom of Two Sicilies either to like the King and hence becomes nominated as bishop or he wanted to keep Gozo free from the British and the National Congress. In October 1798 after the arrival of Nelson, the French surrendered Gozo and concentrated on Malta. In Malta the last months of 1798 were radical, as the Maltese were not only short of ammunition and weapons, but also even short of food supply, as wheat was found in the silos of the city. At times when famine was definitely dominating, Malta in December 1798 did receive some sort of supply from Sicily, maybe thanks to the contacts that the Gozitan Dun Salvatore had with the Kingdom. A new year had started for the French rule in Malta, however the first month of 1799 was bloody and many brave and courageous patriots were shot and guillotined. The scheme lead by Lorenzi and Dun Mikiel Xerri was to attack the magisterial palace, the place were Vabois lived. Meanwhile rebels in the city started to form, taking into consideration that they would take St. James Cavalier and open the doors of the city, thus those outside the city would enter and attack the French. Meanwhile news had reached Malta that the French had won against Naples, and meant that a ship full of supply for the Maltese, coming from the Kingdom was blockaded. Due to this victory Vabois ordered to be organised a feast, and during the night when two commanders where returning back from Manuel Islands, the Maltese rebellions at Marsamxett, that had to attack at sunrise, were spotted by the French. The Maltese realised and tried to escape; yet the majority of them were caught and sentenced to death. The French discovered the involvement of Lorenzi and Dun Mikiel Xerri who was considered to be the mastermind of the scheme. At the end of January 1799 these patriots were all killed. By the 11th February 1799, Captain Ball suggested that the National Assembly had to change its name to National the national Congress, a congress elected by the heads of the families. The congress consisted of a judge, a representative of the church and a representative of each village, elected by the villagers. The reason of the change was that the Britain wanted to show to the Maltese that the British had liberal ideas, hence being responsible leaders, becoming more popular among the Maltese. Definitely, Ball wanted to impress Malta with these liberal reforms. The Maltese reacted positively as for the first time that had a sort of say in the country. After all his achievements, Nelson made Ball the Governor of the Island, chief of all forces. He was awarded a promotion and now had to preside the National Congress. During these months help arrived from the Kingdom of two Sicilies and Britain, thus the two powers were considered crucial for the Maltese. In December 1799, the British and Russians did their best to keep the Russians away from Malta, as the Tsar also wanted the Islands. Even though Russian offered all type of help, she failed to win Malta, as her troops were delayed. Yet the two forces of Britain and the Kingdom of two Sicilies were aware of this situation, i.e. they wanted to keep Russia as a friend in the Anti-French coalition. Seeing this Russian was disappointed and joined the neutral countries of Sweden and Denmark. In July 1800 Pigot arrived in Malta with more than 1800 soldiers. He took the command of all forces in Malta, while Ball remained the Governor. The fights between France and Britain began to diminish and by 4th September 1800 after the agreement between Pigot, Ball and Vabois, the French surrendered. The real French capitulation was signed a day later, on 5th September 1800. With this capitulation the Maltese gained nothing, however the French had to pay the damage caused by them, pay the wives of Maltese soldiers and pay the money owed to some merchants.
The British illegal stay in Malta from 1800-1814
After the departure of the French on 7th September 1800, there where some countries, known as the Pretenders that conjured to take Malta under their hands. These were the Maltese, the King Ferdinand VI of Naples, Russia, Order of St. John and Britain. The British wanted to have Malta because they were the once that blockaded the ports during the French era, offering any type of supply. Besides Pigot had come to Malta to sign the capitulation that expelled the French and lastly Abercromby, chief of Forces of the Mediterranean had himself encouraged the Maltese to raise the ...
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After the departure of the French on 7th September 1800, there where some countries, known as the Pretenders that conjured to take Malta under their hands. These were the Maltese, the King Ferdinand VI of Naples, Russia, Order of St. John and Britain. The British wanted to have Malta because they were the once that blockaded the ports during the French era, offering any type of supply. Besides Pigot had come to Malta to sign the capitulation that expelled the French and lastly Abercromby, chief of Forces of the Mediterranean had himself encouraged the Maltese to raise the British flag. In October 1800, Abercromby left Spain to the East (Egypt), but on his way he stopped in Malta on excuse that his vessels needed major repairs and that his men needed rest. This was organised in order to put pressure on Malta, even if indirectly these repairs brought prosperity into Malta. Abercromby saw Malta as an excellent coaling station, i.e. the dockyard and besides he noticed Malta's strategic position very important especially in times of conflict. On his way to Malta, Abercromby decided and reformed the government in Malta, were Pigot became the governor while Ball became the Civil Commissioner. Meanwhile the pretenders started to surrender, were Russia gave up her claims forever and Ferdinand VI didn't want to put extra pressure on Malta, as he didn't want to fight with Britain, as the latter was crucial in her aid whenever France attacked here. Ball re-awarded and helped financially those families who suffered under the French and did anything to increase the supply of corn in Malta. He also did his utmost to promote Malta's trade in cotton. He re-opened the Maltese universities and Jesuits College, the rector chosen being Saver Caruana. When Pigot and Ball left Malta we had the talks between France and Britain about Malta. The new civil commissioner Charles Cameron could only act in agreement with Malta. The Maltese took this as a sign that Britain wanted Malta. On 26th July 1801 the Preliminary Treaty of London was signed between the French and the British, as a sign of peace. The Maltese after this treaty were very disappointed, as they had to return under the rule of the Order of St. John. They had used their energy to get rid of the Order for nothing, and thus the situation was that the Maltese wanted Britain to stay. Here one can mention William Eton who worked at the French Lazaretto and being an Englishmen, he was paid by the British, serving as an investigator for the Maltese and objecting the treaty of London. William Eton decided to write a letter, with the help of the Maltese, as a protest and send it to Cameron. Some representatives also went to Britain to object this, but they were refused. Finally, the final decision was taken at the Treaty of Amiens on the 25th March 1802. in Europe this treaty was signed to bring temporary stability and peace, but in Malta it shocked everyone as the Maltese once again were under the Order of St. John. The knights had to follow the same laws that they had constituted before they left, with some new editions. The Order has to use the same ancient regime, as they had to follow the same principles as before. The Knights retained back Malta, and immediately they had to choose a Grand Master elected by the Langues. Malta and the Order had to be an independent state, with no French and English Langue. A Maltese langue had to be established with her auberge and offices. No Maltese nobles were needed in this Langue. The British had to leave Malta in 3 months times and the Maltese were under the Sicilian King, i.e. a military force was guaranteed by Sicily. The garrison consisted of half foreigners, mainly Sicilians and the others Maltese. The independence of Malta had to be guaranteed by the major powers, namely Britain and France. The order of St. John had to be neutral and had no preferences towards certain countries or others, i.e. supported no particular country. The Maltese port was open to all countries. The countries that wanted to use it had to pay dues, in order to use the port's facilities. This served as an income for the Maltese langue. However the Barbary States (namely North African countries) weren't permitted to use the port's facilities as they were considered as outsiders. Some of these mentioned stipulations in the Preliminary Treaty of London and this treaty had become the new constitution of Malta. Malta had to have 2,000 troops, or better a Sicilian and Neapolitan force in Malta for 1 year or until needed. Some months after the Treaty of Amines, France and Britain sent some representatives in order to see whether the Treaty of Amines was obeyed, or better if the Knights had come to Malta or not. The French sent the General Vial, who had some French Knights friends in Malta. During his stay he tried to increase the interest of the Maltese in favour of France, some sort of propaganda. On the other hand the British sent the General Ball who had already been in Malta. The General tried to increase British popularity. This treaty of Amiens had caused some reactions and insecurity amongst the Maltese and as a result, on the 10th July 1802, the Maltese National congress presented the declaration of rights. It said that the Maltese belonged to the British and the latter had no right to give Malta to any power or sovereign they wanted. If the British went away from Malta, the Maltese had the right to choose their new sovereign or government by elections from Maltese. Besides, Britain had to respect the Maltese constitution. The General congress had to be elected by the people. The Maltese asked and wanted the Consiglio Popolare, a council that had the right to make demands/petitions in favour of the Maltese, in front the British monarchy. Besides the Consiglio could make and pas new legislations and laws. An important agreement in these declarations was the religion, as the religion had to be respected and tolerated by the King and Queen, together with their representatives, that in turn would receive tolerance from the Maltese authorities. There had to be no foreign interference in the Maltese spiritual and social affairs and any religious problems had to be solved by the Pope or by the head of any monastic order. The Maltese asked for religion toleration, without any insults from other worship groups. Finally they declared that Malta had to be a country were power is supreme, following the laws and respect them. The British governor ordered Ball not to move the troops in the harbour, as the Maltese according the declaration wanted to be free. Meanwhile England and France were arguing with each other's behaviour, especially regarding Malta. As a result of this Ball doesn't allow the Bailiff Tommasi to enter Malta and become the new Grand Master as the Maltese didn't want him, thus the order couldn't take Malta. In 1803 Nelson re-visited Malta and stated the importance of Malta, as a British naval station. He said that Malta should never be given to other countries, but only Britain. Nelson was aware that Malta especially during crisis in the Mediterranean (such as the Continental System) could serve as a crucial and strategic point for all European countries touching the Mediterranean. Nelson on the British navy took Maltese sailors to blockade Toulon. Worth saying is that during the illegal British stay in 1802 till 1815 (until Malta was recognized a British colonial in the congress of Vienna), Malta's economy was stable and very prosperous, experiencing 13 years of great economic stability. In these years the Maltese had ended the bankrupt that went back to the rule of the Order in Malta. The Maltese economic resources also came form the French lands, lands that were of the Knights staying in Malta, but helped the Maltese economy. One can also mention that the employment sector was very stable, mainly due to the harbour activity, including the dockyard, the latter being considered immensely important by the British. Some of the Maltese were also farmers however this employment although was numerous started to decline due to the harbour activities and as a result of Trade. In fact Malta exported the cotton crop and also trade from corsairing. When comparing this to the French economic activity in Malta, one could notice a large difference. During their two years stay the French economic activity was interrupted. First of all the Maltese harbours were blockaded by the British fleets, hence the trade was blockaded. Leading to this, the French controlled the export of cotton (important crop in Malta) to certain countries, i.e. prohibited exportation to countries that were France's enemy. The Maltese were also at war, meaning that the French in Malta were also experiencing an internal war in their colony. This disrupted everything. Any money in Maltese coffers was taken by France to pay for the running of Malta, Therefore we can say that there was a difference between the ways France ran the country and by the way the British increased Malta's prosperity. British ships' entering the harbour not only brought with them a reliable supply of food and ammunition, but also troops that generated Malta's harbour activity and also some repairs in the dockyard. The troops and also the ship's crew wanted to but their daily necessities that increased drastically the income of the industries. This lead an increase in the rate of employment around the harbour area. New commodities for traders and for harbours were introduced into the islands. Therefore the farmers who gained through their seasonal prosperity, harbour workers and dockyard workers granted the majority of employment. Another interesting fact was the way population increased around these areas and how the Cottonera generated and became densely populated. another reason for Malta's prosperity was the effect of the Berlin and Milan Decrees known better as the Continental System. This system blockaded all the British trade in Europe and brought discontent around Europe. However, for Malta this brought prosperity, in fact Malta had become the main artery of contraband gods in the Mediterranean. Many ships were coming to Malta buying goods, thus more warehouses were needed, together with an increase in the demand of new workers, which lead to an increase in employment. However Malta realised that Britain was using her and that it was only a seasonal prosperity that gave temporary stability for several years. As a result of the continental system certain companies couldn't risk to work in countries under this system. Hence these companies transferred their work base in Malta. The amount of prosperity can also be seen in the setting up of two banks, which were the Banco di Malta and the Banco Anglo-Maltese. However during these years of prosperity, some problems accounted the British. Some people couldn't careless about political freedoms, as they only wanted to get rich. However others were quite disappointed because they weren't getting rich and had no political power like the landlords and the nobles. In fact number of petitions were made during these years. William Eton, who was the superintendent of Lazaretto, was a very outspoken man. He didn't like the way Ball ruled and during Ball's time had left for England. In fact after Ball left in 1809, Eton returned back in 1811, in England he kept contact with the Maltese and organised some new demands. In fact these proposals of 1811 were very important demands like those of 1801 known as the Declaration of rights. The 1811 demands included the re-establishment of the Consiglio Popolare, as Eton urged that Spain in 1282 had given Malta the right of elective self-government. This Consiglio had to have new powers and it represented everybody except the clergy. The latter would have their own council where all decisions were to be obeyed by all and did not require approval by the governor. Lastly the consiglio was to see that justice was carried out well, and in any wrong doings, people had to be punished, thus a better justice system. One can note that these demands granted for self-government. This petition and list of grievances was signed and taken to London by Marchese Testaferrata. Humiliated enough this petition taken by Marchese was ignored by the Secretary of state in London. After that Ball left Malta, Oakes immediately left his effect in his petition, insulting a proclamation against the petition. Secondly he ordered all those people involved in the petition to be sacked from their jobs. The petition received a negative response from the authorities in London and Malta. The British said that illiterate and ignorant people only signed the petition. A consiglio popolare would consist of such people and cause trouble, thus it was not feasible. Besides the consiglio popolare was not really an institution that had power. However a positive result was the event that followed, i.e. the Royal Commission of 1812. The royal commission had to examine no military matter because these maters were already dealt in the Treaty of Amiens. Besides France needed to keep the secret as she was still at war against France. The Royal Commission of 1812 concluded that the laws of the country had to be changed because the situation was changing. The commission didn't want to give the Maltese the trial by jury hence it was prohibited. It passed a law about the way the judge had to be paid. He was given a salary, hence decreasing the corruption in the country. No matter the number of cases the judge had, he was given a fixed salary. The church had several special privileges. In fact it had great power through its own courts. The clergy didn't take part in certain military actions. Hence the Commission was aware that they couldn't make any changes, as this would anger the priests. The British commission said that all the Maltese that were active and were critical politicians were considered as troublemakers. The politicians represented the nobility, landowners and the professions. The commission was right to say that they didn't represent the islands. Hence the commission made two suggestions, that of doing away with the Consiglio Popolare, which actually was a negative one and that from then onwards Malta had a governor who was in charge of everything that was a positive one. Another problem was also that of the growing population and the finances. The British wanted to find new sources of income. The commission was careful and cautious. They realised that they had to introduce the Income tax, however the commission was afraid that she would anger the people. The other option was the 1% of tax on all imports. All the people would suffer, and hence they could have affected the economy of Malta, if they rebelled against the British. Finally although trade had increased there were things that angered the Maltese, like the fact that trading with the British colonies was prohibited. The Quarantine rules were also t strict and this slowed down the trade. They would spend 40 days in the port of Marsamxett. Another thing was the extension of warehouses. Protection was against freedom, thus protection from Britain was against the freedom and rights because if freedom were granted it would had upset the needs of the protector. The Maltese for the protection they asked could suffer their freedom and rights. The need of the protector was to use Malta as its naval base.
Plague 1813
The plague attack of 1676, which was the one before this attack left round about 10,000 victims. In fact Malta had already a building known as the Lazaretto, (meaning isolated people) where people with plague could shelter themselves. In the years of 1810-1811, we had the plague in the Eastern Mediterranean, yet Levant trade was very important for Malta and ships went to the Middle East. Unfortunately a Maltese ship that came from the East carried two members of the crew that suffered from plague. In March 1813 till September 1814 we had the plague in Malta. In April 1813 the two-crew members died and thus the disease appeared in Malta. Few days after the daughter of a shoemaker died in Valetta although the diagnosed didn't show any plague symptoms. The doctors were afraid of saying it was plague, as in May 1813 the mother and the father of the girl died. It was now that the government declared that it was probably plague, and as a precaution the theatres and courts were closed. The Cottonera cities and Valletta were under surveillance and meanwhile the government was issuing more laws. The communication between ship and shore was interrupted and prohibited. Any susceptible goods couldn't be sold and people had to avoid contact among them selves. Besides, a law that seemed to be funny but was strictly imposed was that the cats and dogs were prohibited from roaming streets. Even though these laws were forced by the end of May the plague had increased drastically, the main reason being the fact that people kept sickness to them because they feared the Lazaretto. Another reason was that the poor people stole the clothes from the death ones thus contaminating himself. As counter measure Oakes made more laws, where the head of the family had to report sickness otherwise he was conducted to death. Anyone who hid a sick person was severely punished and a reward was given to those who gave information about sick people. Stronger measures in Valletta were preached, as it was divided into districts and also had the organisation of volunteer groups to watch secretly on others. As a precaution any material was immersed in vinegar and the people anointed the selves with oil. A list of family had to issued next the main door of every house. The situation was becoming critical and by the end of May the bishop decided to close the churches. Shops between sunrise and sunset were closed hence there was economic and financial hardship for the shop owners and famine for those that couldn't buy food. As time passed by we also had the spread of the disease into the old city of Mdina. The illness increased and started to spread, thus it was no longer limited to the harbour area. In June the plague started to spread in the countryside and Birkirkara was one of the worst hit due to the many refugees coming from Valletta. As the Lazaretto was full by the end of June, some huts were out up in order to protect the sick people. Another important thing was the organisation of the grain distribution, usually done outside Valletta to stop them from entering the city. In fact grain was pumped outside the Floriana fortifications. In June convicts were ordered to carry the dead people as the ordinary people decreased. In October 1813 Malta welcomed in a critical situation a new Governor who was Sir Thomas Maitland. The latter had experienced the plague in Corfu and so knew how to react in such situations. Immediately Maitland called the doctors, listened to them and acted by imposing and enforcing regulations about plague. Maitland tried to take the right steps to stop the epidemic. These regulations had great results as in November and December no new cases of plague were recorded. In other words the illness was under control. Following this result, in January 1814 Valletta and the harbour area were given a clean bill. The freedom of movement from one place to another was re-established. The only problem for Malta was the countryside, as plague was still present. However this problem also came to an end in March 1814, when Malta was totally free from the plague. During the plague 4,572 people died in Malta out of a population that reached 100,000 people. On the island there was disbelief towards the doctors and the medical sector as the plague took a long time to disappear. Besides, several regulations during the plague were imposed even if they were not always obeyed, thus this increased the time of ending the epidemic. The worst effected sector was the economic one. During the plague the majority of the shops were forced to close and this brought hardship for the Maltese. Besides the harbours were closed hence the Maltese trade was stagnated, the employment decreased and we had a shortage of money and funds in the country. Due to the closure of the harbours the food supply decreased, thus leading to hunger. On the island there was hardly any religious activities therefore the life style of the Maltese changed.
Sir Thomas Maitland (The Kinky Tom :))
During 1813 till 1824 Governor Sir Thomas Maitland was in charge of the civil and military affairs. With his help in 1813-1814 the plague in Malta came to an end. In order to achieve these results he had strict conflicts with the doctors.
In the sector of Justice, Maitland carried out various changes. The judges were to be paid a fixed salary and were forbidden to receive any fee, as it was agreed in the Royal commission of 1812. The judge wasn't permitted to argue and apply a right to give any opinion in his court. His duty was only to exercise the law. A judge could be suspended by the governor, however only the king had the right to suspend him. The Consolato del Mare, which date back to the Order of St. John was substituted by a new freshly organised Commercial Court. The latter consisted of the chief justice and four consuls. The cases were heard in open courts, and even though the public was allowed to listen the case, no trial by jury was taken in act. The torture of any criminals was abolished and in order to accuse and detain a prisoner the police had to have the mandate from the government. No appeal could be made to the Criminal court. A commission of piracy was set-up.
The Universita` enjoyed a monopoly in supplying the people with grain and with daily necessities. The government was the one that fed the entire population of the island. The common scene of corruption dominated the island. The Universita` was careless in its contracts and reckless in its business. The result was that the Universita`, which should have some profits, was run at a loss and was in the position of a business activity which had no capital. Maitland suspended the head Jurat who was appointed by Sir Alexander Ball. The result was that he felt that the sooner the monopoly was done away with, the better it was. However he was aware of the risk of depending upon the local merchants for the supply of corn and the insecurity for trade. Maitland decided to suppress and dismiss the Universita`. He placed the whole case under the rule of the government. High taxes and duty was made on grain. The people were not happy on these measures. Every government department was re-organised and put on strong basis. Maitland also sought to re-organise the medical and health sector. In other words he improved the services of the hospitals and of the Lazaretto.
Ball tried to better the educational system of Malta. He tried to re-open the university and the College of Jesus. The college was open to all and there was no limitation. The professors received a fixed wage that was rather poor. Maitland tried to encourage the Maltese to educate their children in England at the Government's expense. Maitland's achievement in education can be said to be very limited even though he tried to pass to the people a British type of education. Maitland pushed the Maltese to learn the English language. In fact we had the preference to people who spoke English. Only the latter could join the Administration. No top positions were given to the Maltese who didn't know English. Those few Maltese who were still occupying high positions were replaced. The English also had a qualification for the courts. It was used for all contracts and petitions to the government.
When Maitland held the governorship of Malta, Mattei was the Archbishop of Malta. It is not clear whether Maitland professed any religion or not, but it is certain that no exception can be taken to his approach towards the church with which he wished to carry on the government in harmony. As time was approaching, it was felt by the Maltese Government that the church and civil powers in Malta had to separate and make themselves free from each other. However Maitland was more interested about the problems he head about the sanctuary and the Church of St. John. He threatened to abolish the right to sanctuary if this fact over-involved the administration. He was ready to retain the church power in its authority, if the latter didn't go against the British policy. During the grandmaster de Rohan, the latter had limited the right if sanctuary considerably, but in practise, difficulties seem to have arisen, as, even after handling the criminal to the civil power, the church held a trial to re-assure whether there were sufficient reasons for the delivery of the man. The criminal always had the right to appeal to the Pope and put off his trial by the civil power. For Maitland an appeal to him was out of question and proposed that a church court should hear it. Another problem related to the church was the St. John's Church in Valletta, a problem that goes back to the Napoleonic era. The Archbishop was allowed to use the St. John as the Cathedral, even though it was considered to be the government's property. It was measured by Maitland as a favour and not as a right of the church, because the church belonged to the crown. The question of the Royal throne and the Governor's seat was also solved in a fair way. Maitland refused to seat on the throne and agreed leave it empty as a symbol of majesty and sovereignty. The governor had to seat outside the railings on the right hand side. The archbishop, seat on the left hand side. When speaking about the church, Maitland also imposed the Mortmain Laws, were all the lands and properties given to the church by the public had to be used within a year otherwise the government confiscated them.
The Order of St. Michael and St. George was set-up as a reward system. When Maitland arrived in Malta he determined to press opposition to the government. In order to this he employed some leaders. To the nobles he not only respected them but also related them with the government by appointing them Lord Lieutenant. Hence in order to reward the services of outstanding Maltese, he formed this institution of the Order of St. George and St. Michael.
When talking about trade, during Maitland's government, poverty, unemployment and unhappiness ruled on the country. The economic prosperity had finished because of the plague and as a result of the end of the continental system. Besides the quarantine regulations were damaging the trade. The merchants were unhappy because they asked for fewer taxes on import and export to increase business. However none of this took place. Maitland had more than one job and Malta was just one of the many. Special and particular needs of the Maltese were neglected to be sacrificed for the needs of Britain as the motherland of the Mediterranean.
In 1824 Sir Thomas Maitland died. The Maltese knew him as King "Tom", as he was autocratic and very despotic in his manners. He was arrogant in his attitude as he dismissed the lawyers and doctors. This can be noticed in the changes he made, were he took more care to the English demands than to those made by the Maltese.
Constitutional Aspirations
Under Governor Ponsonby who replaced Maitland in the span of 1827-1836, Malta experienced some prosperity, due to the ships that entered the ports before going to the Greek war of Independence, even if it was on a short time basis. Opposition on the island was being organised, evidence being Camillo Sciberras who set-up the Comitato Generale. It consisted of high-class people and the bourgeoisie. The comitato didn't like what Maitland had done for Malta, as these people were not treated well by the administration. Maybe the reason for their treatment was because they weren't pro-English, and this cancelled their demand of having a say in the government. On 1st April 1835 a Constitution was issued, and these consisted of a council of members, 4 of them already held an office (ex-officio) while the governor chose the other three. The ex-officio members were the senior military officer (British), the chief secretary of the state (British), the Bishop (Maltese) and the Chief Justice (Maltese). The other three members were all merchants, where two of them were Maltese and the other was British. Notice that these people were not elected but chosen by the government, and hence indirectly they weren't representing the citizens. They were there to advise and to assist and not to make laws. They could hold discussions and voting but the governor wasn't forced to accept their proposals. Yet the Bishop and the Chief Justice resigned, as the bishop didn't accept the 3rd place and objected to take an oath of loyalty to the Church of England. Besides, the Chief Justice complained because the Military Officer surpassed him. The resignation of the two most important Maltese lead to the Governor to continue to do whatever he liked and wanted. However one can say that this constitution was a step in the right direction, as the British Government had tried to come up with something for the Maltese even tough it actually failed. The Maltese realised how difficult it was to get changes. Meanwhile we had Giorgio Mitrovich who had gone to London for lobbying, with the British MPs. He tried to convince the British MPs and get some demands for the Maltese. He could speak for the Maltese cause and demands. The number of claims from the Maltese can be found in two pamphlets known as the "Indirizzo ai Maltesi da parte dei loro amici Giorgio Mitrovich attualmente". This historical justification can be said to be a proof. The pamphlets were originally written in English but as the Italian language was the one that the citizens understood, it was proposed to translate it even if the governor said no as he didn't want the Maltese people to read it. In Malta there was no freedom of expression and no freedom of press. Mitrovich used the pamphlets to show the lack of liberty in Malta. In fact the censorship of the press was very evident. On the other hand Sciberras was doing his part in Malta and set-up the Comitato di Petizione that was the only way to demand changes because no freedom of the press was permitted. The petition consisted of those liberal ideas and freedoms that the Maltese had got under the French. Sciberras wanted reforms to take place in Malta and as a result he set-up another comitato, the Comitato Generale Maltese. Malta became divided into districts. In each of the latter two representatives plus another 20 inner groups represented all Malta. The committee resembled the Consiglio Popolare, and its main aim was to show that the Maltese were able of choosing the right things and the right representatives for the running of the islands. The result of this lobbying taking place in Britain and Malta was the Royal Commission of 1836 named after the two commissioners Austin and Lewis. The commission had to meet the Comitato Generale and a few meetings were organised to discuss the situation. The first factor discussed was the Freedom of the Press, and this was considered to be vital for the Maltese. This meant that the Maltese had no press and didn't know what was happening around them. The commission was there only to make recommendation and not to make laws, the most important recommendation being the Freedom of the press. Duties of imports were discussed because certain duties made goods to expensive. The Maltese started to buy fewer things; hence traders and merchants lost their business. It was a fact that Malta needed income fro, a good source. Income could come from import duties or else from the taxes on the people. The latter was considered by the commissioners to be harsh on the people. The Austin and Lewis commission was to check the administration and the running of the islands for one and a half years. Other recommendations were the Charitable institutions, were these had to be managed in a uniform way by 1 committee and not separately. This denotes a good system of administration. More people had to lend money and each institution had to do its work properly thus leading to money wastage from the part of the government. An interesting thing was the survey on the population of the Maltese Islands. The population was that of 115,570, were 12% of it was very poor and had no means. 25% of the population worked in the agricultural force, were only 2% of the population were landowners. So note the percentage population that worked with private landowners. Weaving and spinning although carried on villages it also started to decrease and this situation lead to great poverty, as there was unemployment that lead to migration. The educational system also underwent some proposals in order to facilitate the involvement of the middle class in this sector. In the universities the number of professors was reduced but the salaries were increase. The lyceums had to be extended and improved while the commissioner proposed the building of 3 new primary schools. Catholicism was taught by the priest a child had to learn how to read Maltese and then learn Italian and English. In the judicial system many proposals where offered and when talking about finances the commission proposed the unity of the 2 banks. However the recommendation in favour of these demands (freedom of the press and Maltese representatives) were the most noteworthy development during the first fifty years of the British rule.
Until 1836 in Malta there was only 1 printing press that belonged to the British. In Malta there were n private printing presses because the British didn't permit this. Only missionary society had the permission of having their printing presses. Other material was printed as the Government printing press, however to keep the Maltese calm and loyal there was censorship. In fact no articles criticising Britain and her allies could be published. No criticism on private individuals could be made and neither religious nor politics were published in the newspapers. Printing material could be imported without any examinations. The demand for the freedom of the press was an important demand of the Maltese liberals. In 1836 the Secretary of state said that he was in favour of the withdrawal of censorship. The Maltese considered this as a blessing. The commissioners did work on this point and analysed well the advantage and disadvantage of the freedom of the press. Between 1800 and 1836 a variety of pamphlets, booklets and newspapers were published however they had nothing to do with the politics in Malta. The commissioners realised that without freedom, the Maltese would only continues to hate the British because they were denying them their freedom, hence they suggested the freedom of the press together with a law of libel. The church spoke about the possibility of the freedom of the press, as the censorship had protected it. The church was in favour of the press but in matters about religion the church believed that should remain censored, as she was afraid of being ridiculed and made fun of. After that the freedom of the press was established many were the results. Initially more newspapers were printed, the content being more varied, as there was no more censorship. The church was to be protected and the libel was permitted, i.e. criticism on private individuals was permitted. Propaganda also increased different concepts and ideas that spread out more easily and freely, i.e. served as a means of advertisement. The kingdom of two Sicilies, that was under the autocratic bourbon family still censored the press, thus the Italians and Sicilians could make use of the Maltese printing presses to punch their ideas. In the meantime the Maltese writers could also copy the style of the Italian writers in their patriotic language.
Mediterranean affairs and Malta (Greek War of Independence and Crimean War)
During the first half of the 19th century the military expenditure in Malta was very low and this lead to an economic instability throughout various years. During their first 25 years the British didn't spend a lot to fortress Malta even if they structured some sort of defences when there was some sign of threat. It is very interesting to say that the Maltese economy was mainly affected by events that took place in the Mediterranean, such as the Greek war of independence, the French seizure of Algiers, the Mehmet Ali crisis and the Crimean war.
The first episode is the Greek war of independence. Many critics had said that wars in Mediterranean boasted our instable economy. However during the Navarino Battle Malta's economy experienced a slight improvement due to unbalanced revenue. One must remember that Malta depended upon the Levant trade, however the Middle East was under the pressure of great conflicts and instability, thus the reciprocal trade revenue and income was disrupted. Besides, what effected most was that Britain depended thoroughly upon Egypt as trade from India landed at this point, but Mehmet Ali was at war against the British and this could have seriously slowed down the trade. The only positive aspect was that one of the allies, i.e. Russia had no ports in the Mediterranean, and thus its ships were re-fitted in Malta, and indirectly reviving the harbour activity and generating some income.
The other episode was the French seizure of Algiers in 1830. The French had now under control a country that was quite instable but with their efficiency it was well organised in few months time, thus threatening the British stay in Malta. In fact the British realised this fact and where quite alarmed that an empire that had already ruled Malta ruled a neighbouring country. Even if the British calmed down, this didn't long very much, until the French started to build good relations with Mehmet Ali actually allied with him. The French were now indirectly taking the control of the Mediterranean. There partnership with Egypt meant that the latter had to obey certain rules imposed by the French. This threatened the British in Malta. The strategic position of our country was being threatened. Egypt was a crucial place for Britain as the commerce in Asia (India) halted here and was than transported by Maltese ships that brought the trade to our islands. This meant a decrease in the harbour activity and in away also could affect the way the pro-French Maltese citizens looked towards the economy of the country. Some of them could have urged poor people to migrate to this place.
However these eras of financial crisis where overcome during the Crimean war, when Malta under the Governor Sir William Reid was turned to a real advance station of the battlefront and become a strategic military and naval arsenal for the British fleet. During this era Malta recruited soldiers, could hospitalised (Sacra Infermeria, Holy Spirit Rabat, Hospital at Bighi) those that were injured and served as a food and ammunition depot. In fact the training on our island was extremely intensified and the barracks were reorganized. Besides, the provision of food was made reliable and it was well organised, together with the re-organisation of the hospitals. The demand for food supply increased drastically that the producer couldn't catch up with the demand. Notice that even woman employment increased, together with the re-organisation of empty public houses and places such as the Lazzaretto and the dockyard that served as a shelter for the soldiers.
During the British empire the agricultural sector have been always very weak, but during this war, the demand increased due to the constant harbour activity, that needed to supply workers and soldiers with food and mainly due to the fact that ships that entered the port also demanded food in order to feed the troops during the voyage. Even if agriculture improved a lot it still remained the only acute problem. As a result the Maltese imported cattle from Tunis that ensured the continuous supply.
During the 1st week of March 1854 the first troops arrived in Malta and this meant that they had to be settled somewhere. The troops settled in Fort Ricasoli, the Dockyard, Fort Tigne, and Fort St. Elmo etc. The British authority in Malta encountered a small problem with the arrival of the French troops in our islands. It was planned to settle them in Valletta and Fort St. Manoel, however after some contemplation the British decided to settle the French outside one of their fortified city, as they were aware that the French could benefit indirectly. The presence of these troops in our country didn't annoy the Maltese, but satisfied the citizens, as their income was quite good. The population of soldiers on our islands numbered to approximately 14,500. This number started to decrease when the troops went to fight in Crimea. By the end of 1854 Malta assumed the role of a first class military advance station for British forces in the Mediterranean. Malta became the centre of the Mediterranean, the fulcrum fortress for the British that served as a military and naval re-enforcement and also as a recovery place for those casualties that were wounded or that come to Malta to shelter from the severe Russian climate. As war intensified the urge for the demand of more food, ammunition and re-enforcements increased. Now Malta faced a serious housing problem as the population increased by 25% and this menaced the population density of our country. Besides this amount could lead to certain diseases and also an increase in poor and unhealthy environment. Due to the inclined harbour activity we had also the improvement in the dockyard and storage facilities. At the dockyard two cranes were installed to help in the overloading of ships, while two stores and new wharfs were re-arranged and constructed, thus offering reliable and adequate storage. Together with the maritime continuous activity we had also the interesting journalism phenomena. Journalists from around Europe invaded our country in order to create a good picture of what was happening in Crimea, some of them also set their offices in Valletta. The evacuation of Turkey took longer than expected and the inflow of returning troops, a considerable number of which stopped in Malta, filled our station and barracks. During the Crimean War, the conditions of increased work in the dockyard and in the harbour satisfied our economy. Prosperity was not only due to the military and naval spending but also due to the general increase of the Mediterranean trade.
Malta as a Naval Base and the Development of the Dockyard.
In the beginning the British were against the fact of developing Malta as a naval base. One of the reasons was that Britain had already Gibraltar and now also she needed was a place in the Middle East. Besides Malta was still under economic reformation and thus the British saw the perspective as a risky choice. However it was thought again after the Treaty of Amiens, when in 1803 Nelson declared that Malta's importance was its harbours and that it had to be developed in a stable naval base. This meant that Malta had to receive British fleets on there way elsewhere. In fact Nelson was right, as the harbour activity was the only sector that saved Malta's economy in times of recessions. One could certainly refer to the first decade where Malta gained a lot from the Continental system and served as the major artery of contraband. During the 1820's and 1830' the Maltese economy was saved by the wars in the Mediterranean a situation that the harbour activity benefit from it. Last but not least the Crimean war that thoroughly left a good impact on the Maltese economy but also urged the need for a new dockyard. Worth mentioning is that before the Crimean war, the British had already started to invest in the construction sector. In 1847 and 1848 it had built a naval hospital at the mouth of the harbour and a dock respectively. In 1849 it had also built some fortifications namely the Retrenchment of St. Clement between Cottonera and Margherita lines. In fact the English always took action of building and constructing new buildings or fortification in times when any enemy threatened them, or else they never took any action. Before 1849, in Malta we had several changes however that dealt mainly with the idea of a fortress economy. In other words the situation was that Britain spent money on military and navy, and from its revenue spent money on Malta. So the development of Malta depended not upon Britain, but upon the money generated through Britain in our country. In 1869 the opening of the Suez Canal placed the islands upon the major British imperial seaway, i.e. the Mediterranean route to India. Through its opening Malta became the headquarters of the Mediterranean and secured a seaway that was considered vital by the British. In fact in the 1870s after the opening of the Suez Canal we have a political/territorial conflict between England and France on the ownership of the Suez Canal. Britain aimed for maintaining and improving her sea routes. One had also to keep in mind that Napoleon III was very ambitious and in fact had build new ships to compete with Britain. This was considered as a threat to the British navy even though the British navy was considered to be relatively the best. In fact the naval dockyard due to this fact underwent a major development programme, the harbours were improved, new defence were constructed and barracks were erected. In 1871 we had the new dock, the Somerset Dock that employed roundabout 1,000 men working day and night. This dock 3 showed the necessity to improve naval facilities at the Maltese base. At this point worth mentioning is that this era became known as the Golden Age of Malta. Meanwhile the British in 1878 took Cyprus from Turkey. In the 1880s Malta became the chief coaling system, where in the same decade Britain also took Egypt. In these years we had the high spending by Britain in Malta. In 1892 we had the building of the 3rd dock known as the Hamilton Dock (Dock 2). Before the development of this dock we had many experts that analyse the perfect site for this dock. Some said that an ideal place was Marsa, however these required a lot of dredging. Another place was in the French creek near Isla/Kordin. 7 years after we had the building of the last two docks under the British rule, dock 4 and dock 5. After this the harbour was considered as an important naval, commercial and military base, factors that contributed to a stable fortress economy. In 1905, when Europe was on the verge of WW1, as a means of security the British built the Break water that employed thousands of people.
Military Architecture
When the British came to Malta the first thing they did was to repair and improve the fortifications. They studied well their structure. The fortifications of Valletta were not seriously damaged and thus Pigot avoided any alterations. What worried the British were the Cottonera and Corradino heights vicinity. The Cottonera lines were never finished due to architecture conflicts, and due to this reason, this area was vulnerable to any attacks, being without any ravelins and ditch. However this problem was not totally solved, as the proposed directions were in order to strengthen a bit the forts. The architecture demanded to cut off some parts of the fortifications and place gunpowder. The schemes were not implemented and it was not until the early 1840s that there were further proposals to defend the Cottonera Lines. So one can say that till the 1850s few works on fortifications and defences were carried out since Malta in the beginning was not considered important, i.e. useless. In the beginning the defence of Malta was by no means the prime concern of the British government. Besides, the vast fortifications under the knights were still capable of offering good defence. Another reason was that there had been no significant technological development in warfare during this period that threatened our defensive skills. However towards the late 1830s and early 1840s her naval rival France had underwent many changes introducing new iron powered ships with steam and excellent armament. Sir Stuart warned this threatening situation. Malta like the other colonial stations had to be competent to take on her own defence. Britain had seriously to go over the programme of fortifications and the re-armament. The 1840s saw the first British major works of fortifications the first being St. Clements Retrenchment in 1849, to support the Cottonera Lines and the St. Margherita Lines. Lascaris Battery as the new fortification was called, due to the fact that it was built on the site of the Grand Master Lascaris' Garden below the Upper Barracca, works that begun in 1854. On Governor Reid's comment that the state of the defences compared to a disarmed fortress as France had better weapons, new heavier guns began to arrive, even if the outburst of the Crimean war in 1854 not only brought the re-armament programme to a sudden halt but helped further to remove the island from heavy armament which was needed for the field army.
Constitutional Development of Malta
In 1847, a new governor was elected in Malta, and this was Sir Richard More O'Ferrall, a catholic Irishman. This man was somehow crucial in his reforms, as he was the one that through his reconstruction reforms on these islands enriched the perspective of an ideal constitution for the Maltese.
However, I think that before talking about the Constitution, it is worth mentioning very briefly the situation that Malta was in it. Worth mentioning is the fact that in the 1840s Malta experienced new influences, the two most common being more books with influential material and the Italian refugees coming to Malta as Italy and Sicily lacked freedom. Something positive was the fact that the Governor believed in the Roman Catholic religion, the religion that dominated Malta not only from spiritual side but also affected our cultural activities and our mentality. The people would have certainly enjoyed this thing, as their governor was of the same belief, and couldn't impose or force actions that were against the will of Catholicism. However we had some church problems especially that about mixed marriages and the problem about the baptizing of children. He passed some months studying and analysing the situation of the Maltese Islands, and after doing this he noticed that besides some economic struggle, social problems were very common in Malta. As a result he reconstituted the criminal code. In order to equilibrate the social problems he revised the salaries of the civil workers and re-organized the educational system. These laws were quite sufficient, however other reforms were maybe too harsh on the Maltese, thus leaving a negative effect on the Maltese. This eventually didn't solve any social problems, but lead to more poverty.
The climax of all these reforms came on 11th May 1849, when the British government granted a new constitution. It was agreed that the council was to be made of 18 members, ten ex-officio and for the first time in Malta the other eight members had to be elected. These official members were the head of the departments, where 5 of them were English while the other 5 were Maltese. These were the Collector of the Land Revenue, the Crown advocate, the Quarantine Superintendent, the Head Surveyor and the Cashier of the Treasury. The other eight mentioned members had to be elected by the Maltese. Notice that for the first time in Malta we had the elective principle. Seven of these members had to be Maltese while the other member had to be elected by the Gozitans. One can say that the Maltese enjoyed the majority, however one cannot forget the fact that the 5 Maltese officials were all pro-English, and hence did every thing in favour of the governor, that in certain cases of equal votes his vote was crucial. In other words the official members outdid the elected members, and if voting was blocked, the official members were stronger. However although the British government granted the Constitution, this was quite ineffective as the council of the government could be dissolved at any time. The president of the Council was the Governor himself, and the fact that the decisions in the council were taken by the majority of the vote, the Governor's vote was crucial in many decisions that indirectly or directly were anti pro-English. The Governor was the one who made laws to guarantee peace, order and a good government, laws that were advised and accepted by the council. So no laws that went against the principle of the British government were possible to be accepted. The laws could be proposed by a member of council, however the member couldn't make any money proposals. The important fact was that only the governor decided how money was to be spent. Worth mentioning the fact that the 1849 council was the result of the effort made by Camillo Sciberras and due to the Italian exiles that were encouraging liberty and nationalism. The first elections took place on the 18th of August 1849, were the elective principle wasn't based on the educational status but on money status. All persons had to be over 21 years, who could write English or Italian. And knew the Italian and English language. The voter had to have a clean conduct and had a certain amount of money or lands. The election was very successful as nearly everybody eligible to vote went to vote. The Maltese grumbled on the fact that the franchise was based on financial qualifications. Another strange thing was that the two liberals, Mitrovich and Sciberrras, who had fought for this constitution were not elected, one reason may be that the majority of the eligible voters were pro-English or may be the Maltese were aware that Mitrovich and Sciberras were going too far with their ideologies and were menacing peace in Malta. During these elections we had the formation of two political groups that were Il Circolo Maltese and the Bonavita List.
O'Ferrall was quite disappointed by the reaction of the Maltese, as the latter realized that all that counted wasn't the Maltese majority, but the majority of those who were officials, those that were pro-English and that in many situation, even if they were Maltese, acted to please the Governor and not to satisfy their will and their country. The importance of the 1849 constitution was the fact that the Maltese were given the right to vote for their own council, even though the Maltese by now were quite angry by the fact that the British crown didn't want to trust our natives, who asked for a more liberal constitution.
After the Maltese reaction, some improvements were added to the constitution. Where money was concerned, the Secretary of the State changed this and said that no money was to be spent against the wishes of the Maltese members. At least the Maltese wishes were being considered. In other words the 8 elected members of the council could decide and discuss matters that were about money. No vote of money had to be decided against the majority of the elected members. The privileges of members were added, were an executive council was established to advice and assist the governor. Another privilege was that no proceeding in court against members of council was permitted. Finally the franchise was widened although it was still based on money qualifications, were the citizen had to possess Lm6 per annum in rent or property.
Italian Refugees in Malta
In 1821 after that the revolts in Italy had started, in Malta we experienced the first lot of refugees who came to shelter themselves. The main reason was because the uprisings in Italy failed and thus the Italians were afraid of repression. Another reason was the economic instability in the Italian states that where evenly dispersed under the guidance of the Bourbon, the Pope and the Austrians. The conditions were not so good, and this brought about Italians leaving their state. In fact many secret societies like the Carbonari, and later in 1839, the Giovine Italia, worked for political change. Meanwhile these Italians migrated to Malta, France and countries in North Africa that where under the French influence. From then onwards till late 1860s Malta was continuously bombarded by Italian exiles that distinguished themselves as liberals, moderates or else as aristocrats. Some of them were liberals and Republics demanding freedom, equality etc, while other were Constitutional monarchists, mainly because bourbon monarchy was annulled.
One can say that these refugees left quite an impact on the Maltese, and whether it was a negative or a positive one, we can note that there were different reactions towards them. The first thing was certainly that the Italian exiles influenced the Maltese with regards to liberties and freedom. In fact the emigrants influenced the Maltese to demand certain liberties such as the freedom of the press. They influenced themselves from people who played quite an important role in Italy. Evidence of this was Nicola Fabrizzi, who was one of the prime revolutionaries in Italy as he had participated in the 1820s revolts in Savoy. Besides when he arrived in 1839 he was already a member of the Giovine Italia, and he immediately set-up a printing press, after that the Freedom of the press was granted in Malta. Through his pamphlets published he made the Italian main cause become famous. This could leave a negative impact on the printing press, as new ideas were being spread. This could have been a threat for the right of press that the Maltese had. The fact that newspapers were published in Italian could also leave an effect upon the language. The Italian refuges could change the plans of the English to introduce their language. This did leave an effect on the literary side of the language. The Italians acted cunningly, as their main aim was that to create a good relation with the British, that as recompense let the exiles publish any material, even if the British were aware of the influence that certain articles were leaving on the Maltese. Malta not only became a country under the Italian influence, a culture that was liked by the Maltese, but also became the strategic point of supply for Italy, especially regarding Garibaldi's troops. The members of the Giovine Italia wanted to set-up a society that would act in the same way in Malta. As a result we had the formation of the Legione Italica in Malta.
Notice that this was quite a growing problem in our Islands, and though laws were passed against those exiles that preached inadequate facts, the Italians continued on their job, that of emphasising their point. This was the time when the Maltese, mainly Camillo Sciberras and Giorgio Mitrovich, together with the support of the Italians were fighting for a new constitution. This pressure and the number of exiles in Malta could have disrupted the relation between the British and Austria that were still allied against Russia. The Austrians could have thought that the British were organising and helping the Italians to attack them and become allies of the Italians regarding the question of the Italian unification. For the British, the Italians were now becoming too intrusive on their foreign policy.
Another problem was that in Malta we had a variety of ideas. These ideas created a mixture of liberals and rebels in our society, and were threatening Malta. A clear example was the anger of the church in Malta, of those Maltese Catholics, who said that the British, who were Protestants, were harbouring exiles that were anti-Pope, revolutionaries that were against Pope Pius IX due to the fact that the latter didn't want to surrender the Papal States, as he pretended a good part in the Italian Unification. This time we had the Maltese unrest that blamed the British behaviour regarding this point of view. Britain was putting herself in a critical and vulnerable position. Even if some of the Italians were anti-Pope, it didn't mean that the majority of them were of this belief, as many of the exiles were Catholics and it was in the interest of Britain that wanted to protestantise the people, to separate the Maltese and the British. The Italians besides preaching liberalism, also preached nationalism, i.e. urged the Maltese to create their own culture, to decide on their language. The latter was quite a big threat in our islands. The upper class already communicated in Italian, and besides creating a pro-Italian environment, the exiles could spread the Italian Language. On the contrary the British wanted their language to dominate everywhere on the island, even if Italian, from the era of the Order of St. John, was already strong on the island.
The Italians started to abuse from the Maltese strategic position, as Mazzini had set-up a committees that organised the troops of Garibaldi's expedition in Sicily. This increased the number of Maltese volunteers that their aim became that of fighting for unity. Due to these negotiations that took place between Malta and Sicily, we could also had the increase in contraband and fraud, especially regarding the artillery and mass ammunition. After the Italian Unification in October 1860 we had a clash between the Italians exiles in Malta, between the Bourbon sympathisers, who wanted a Bourbon King to rule Malta and the revolutionaries. As a result England was urged to keep an eye on these refugees as they could cause trouble and influence people. In 1861, during the feast of St. Paul we had the support of the nobility and the Maltese clergy that minimized these refuges on the island. The law of Extradition was published on the Government Gazette in 1861 were it stated that if the Italians hadn't done their military service in Italy they had to be sent back. In this case England was pleasing Vittorio Emmanuelle II in order not to allow possible infiltrations from Malta. England was getting rid of possible trouble matters. In 1864, Garibaldi visited Malta and we got a mixed greeting, partly because he helped to unite Italy, secondly because of conservative feelings from the Bourbons, and lastly because Italy was not a republic. This led the alarm from the English of anglicising Malta, in order to be sure of its loyalty towards the Kingdom. Now that Italy was one big country in the Mediterranean it could have posed a problem for her, together with the influence coming from the French territories in North Africa and also Germany that was on her way to unite.
Maltese Migration under the British
During their stay in Malta the Governors were always informed that the government of Malta was not forced to sustain the Maltese population. The idea of unconcerned (laissez-faire) towards the Maltese repeated itself very often in times when Malta passed from various kinds of situations. Every governor denied his responsibility towards the economic failures on our islands and openly rejected the protective policy that the Maltese enjoyed under the Knights. In certain eras, especially during the 1830s and 1840s the economic situation in Malta was very critical, as the Maltese farmer, labourers and spinner lived in great poverty. In the 19th century the British encountered various problems about the overpopulation that was dominating our islands. The fact was how the British could solve the problem of the remaining population. The main cause of all the internal distortion was the high rate of unemployment. The Maltese were being treated as cattle and were not respected, even if the British though that with some incentives they could solve the problem. However other British administrators thought the other way round, and said that the overpopulation had to be migrated into other British colonial countries. Even amongst the people was this difference in ideas and created great tension throughout the society in Malta. The Maltese that supported the nationalism said that the British were obliged to find and create employment for the Maltese. Others, like Giorgio Mitrovich and Vincenzo Bugeja, agreed that migration was necessary in order to solve the internal problems however insisted that the British duty was that of subsidizing the Maltese who emigrated. Few were those governors that followed the policy that those illiterate people were ensured work in our islands. The majority of the British administrators stated their main concern was the militaristic efficiency of the fortress economy. Like in every other situation migration was another thing that the Maltese had to tackle all by themselves. The British were aware that the transfer of the Maltese was too much expensive and thus was quite risky. The Maltese found them in a crucial position, were the instability in Malta and the option of migrating to country where the conditions were unknown were the only possibilities.
The destinations that pulled the Maltese were all in the Mediterranean and this explains the fact why the Maltese like these countries. The main reasons were that these destinations had almost the same Mediterranean mentality, culture and climate. Some of the Mediterranean destinations were under the British rule, like Cephalonia and Gibraltar, and finally the main reason was that they were relatively near these destinations. In 1824 we had the first group emigrating towards Cephalonia. The reason that made the Maltese to migrate in this place formed part of the Ionian Islands was that the Governor was Maitland, an ex-governor of the Maltese Islands. Maitland's encouragement towards the Maltese in order to follow him was quite influential. The Governor promised to the Maltese a reliable work on the islands. Another destination that was quite near to Malta was Algiers, a destination that in the 1840s was taken by the French. The major pull factors were that it offered a reliable commercial link and that it granted employment to the Maltese in the harbour. Worth mentioning is that the Maltese were the first to migrate towards Algiers. Besides the French were re-organising an army in Algeria, an army that needed a constant supply of food, thus assuring that agriculture sector was quite reliable for the Maltese. The most important fact was that France itself was encouraging foreigner emigrate and work in Algiers, in order to increase the European influence in the North African countries. The Maltese culture and religion was secured because of French protection. Another example was that of Tripoli and Benghazi. Even though the British refused to help the Maltese, they urged the emigrants to migrate towards this destination, in order to set-up a British influence near a country that was under the French influence and that was manipulating other Mediterranean countries. Another important destination was that of Egypt, a country where Maltese communities already lived there after that Napoleon and recruited soldiers from Malta had attacked the Egyptians at Aboukir Bay. The remaining soldiers had settled in Alexandria. The more the British increased their power in Egypt, the more Maltese emigrated towards that area. The Maltese were eager to migrate to Egypt, especially when works in 1859 started on the Suez Canal. The Maltese were quite happy and Egypt could be considered to be a successful destination. A clear example was the fact that two Maltese newspapers were issued in Cairo. Another famous destination with the Maltese was Marseilles, a place that started to decline after the WW1. The Maltese saw the port of Marseilles as an ideal place to migrate to because it had reliable commercial links with other ports throughout the Mediterranean. Finally the last destination was Gibraltar, an island even nowadays is still under the British rule and were Maltese descendants are very numerous. The main pull factor was the dockyard and harbour activity created in this Island, thus attracting the Maltese to find work refuge in this place.
Unfortunately not all migration in these destinations succeeded. In some of the destinations the Maltese failed to settle and thus had to leave for Malta once again. One of the first problems was the racial and tribal problem that the Maltese had to solve when migrated to these countries. This was mostly common in Tunisia and Benghazi, were the relations between the migrated Maltese people, and the own Tunisian citizens was quite frictional. In fact England had to intervene in many cases in order to defend those Maltese people that were never deported. The conditions were yet a drawback for the Maltese. For example in Cephalonia, the problem was that there was too much conflicts between the Maltese community and the government authority. These conflicts lead to more other serious problems, thus the migration to this destination was considered as a failure. Besides, certain diseases in Cephalonia and other destinations could lead to certain sicknesses that made the Maltese aware and thus migrating back to Malta. Even if certain destinations seemed to be ideal for the Maltese, like that of Algiers and Egypt, still problems faced the Maltese. One of them was that the Maltese at Algiers had to be loyal to the French administrations. The French government granted his dominance over the whole country, and the Maltese being under the British influence could have disagreed with certain French perspectives. Besides Algiers was an Islamic country and this could create religious conflicts. This religious problem could also face-up in Tunisia, were the Christians were only relegated to certain areas. This could lead to a threatening environment from the locals towards the Maltese, a reason that could have urged the Maltese to leave the destination. The Maltese were still considered to be poor, and thus the conditions that they lived in them were quite critical. For example in Tripoli and Benghazi the Maltese weren't able to buy their own property.
The Royal Commission of 1877-1878
Development in the Mediterranean urged a change in the British stand over. The commission new the importance of Malta after the opening of the Suez Canal and as a result the British were now fearing France and Italy. France had now settled in the North African region, with many emigrants who tend to choose this destination that is dominated by the French influence. France knowing that migration was at its climax wanted Malta, as she knew its significance in the Mediterranean. On the other hand, because of the Italian Unification, Italy could have claims on Malta; in fact the upper classes were pro-Italian. One must forget the Italian exiles that although through the Law of Extradition were exiled from our country, some of them could have remained on our islands while the others that flee from Malta left a great impact upon the Maltese citizens, especially amongst the middle class and the educated people. These countries didn't want to loose Malta at any cost, and due to their reaction England know had to anglicise Malta by force. England wanted to make the Maltese British citizens and make them Protestants. Britain had to introduce more pro-British activities, in other words introduce more British customs to make the Maltese mentality more conservative. This would lead the Maltese to become more loyal to Britain. Another thing was to encourage more Maltese to emigrate to British colonies thus preventing them from going to North African countries such as Algiers that were under the influence of the French. Thus the emigration had to more organise and planned, maybe in some cases also aided by the government.
Political Formations
Usually, political parties have there own belief and base of support through which it is spread by means of their leader or by any other means of communication, namely a newspaper. In Malta during the 1830s and 1840s we had some individuals such as Giorgio Mitrovich and the local Camillo Sciberras who worked independently for the best of Malta. It is worth saying that their hard work brought many modifications and development in Malta, however as Malta was nearing a new century the need of pressure groups was felt, thus this lead to the formation of the political groups.
During the last two decades one could find two opposing parties, the Anti-Riformisti and the Riformisti. The two of them were established for different scopes, as they believed in unlike political ideologies. The Anti-Riformisti may be called a conservative and national movement, as it resisted any reforms on the island that were not favourable for the Maltese, resistance from any imperial domination and national abuse. In fact the Anti-Riformisti believed in a prospective nation, an independent nation with middle class attitudes. They wanted Malta to be autonomous and self-determining, a country that was not dependant upon the British that interfered in our internal affairs. The feasibility and expediency point of view was conflicting to the pro-independence. The leader of this party was the famous nationalist patriot Fortunato Mizzi, father of Enrico Mizzi who later became Prime Minister of Malta. The Gozitan Fortunato Mizzi was a lawyer and few years after he became the leader of the party, he issues a newspaper known as Malta. He was the person that symbolised the successor to the establishment of the middle class ideologies. The professional class or better the educated Maltese were those that supported the Anti-riformisti. They gave importance to the Italian; in fact they made use of high-flown language, which didn't apply to the working class.
On the extreme left, were the Riformisti that were in favour of any change and were ready to accept any modern changes proposed by the English. The party tended to accept the changes proposed by the British as the Maltese indirectly benefited from them, mainly from the jobs offered. The Riformisti supported the fortress economy and naval station, identifying it as an optimum condition for Malta, especially in the employment sector. The followers of this party were sometimes considered to be biased and fickle, especially when new legal institutions were imposed on the Maltese. The leader of the Riformisti was Sigismondo Savona who had attended to the Royal Military Asylum in Chelsea. He also had experienced the British army and served as a regiment's schoolmaster. He considered himself to be a liberal patriot and the preacher of social continuous change. His ideas were expressed in the newspaper called Public Opinion. The landed aristocracy, i.e. the nobles, the business people (because of the trade in port) and the workers (port workers, fortification etc) saw the British as their employees thus preferred to support the Riformisti. Even though it can be seen as an anti-national position, the citizens did what favoured them, thus saw the English as a reliable employment promise and preferred them form the local educated people that in return didn't proof what they preached. Besides the Anti-Riformisti made use of the Italian and totally ignored the Maltese language that was considered to be useless for educational purposes. The challenge to combine the Maltese by means of making them pro-British and hence decreasing Italian influence was complicated and had several suppositions.
In 1883 we had a change in franchise, the main being the money rent on property per year. This meant that the authorization depended upon the money and not upon the level of education and academic knowledge a person had. This lead to a problem where the people in the council were not educated and the Anti-Riformisti who were the educated and didn't possess a lot of money found themselves in a critical position. As revenge Mizzi's party had urged imbeciles people to be elected and this lead to revise this franchise in the Knutsford Constitution and the parties participated in the elections that followed. In 1891 we had the unity of Savona and the followers of Mizzi under the Partito Unionista that became the government of that time. This party separated in 1893 and the Partito Nazionale under Fortunato Mizzi and the Partito Popolare under Savona were formed.
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