History of malta
[edit] Ancient civilizations
The Maltese islands were first settled in 5200 BC by stone age farmers who had arrived from the larger island of Sicily, possibly the Sicani. The extinction of the dwarf hippos and dwarf elephants has been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta.[12]
The Sicani were the only known tribe known to have inhabited the island at this time[13][14] and are generally regarded as related to the Iberians[15]. The population on Malta grew cereals, raised domestic livestock and, in common with other ancient Mediterranean cultures, worshiped a fertility figure represented in Maltese prehistoric artifacts as exhibiting the large proportions seen in similar statuettes, including the Venus of Willendorf.
Pottery from the Għar Dalam phase bares similarities with pottery found in Agrigento, Sicily. This earliest period of Maltese civilization was either supplanted by, or gave rise to, a mysterious culture of megalithic temple builders. The surviving monuments they constructed on Malta and Gozo are the oldest standing stone structures on Earth[16][17][18]. The temples were used from 4000–2500 BCE and were constructed with a distinctive architecture, typically a complex trefoil design.
There is some evidence that their rituals included animal sacrifice, however accurate information from this period is tentative. The culture appears to have disappeared from the Maltese Islands around 2500 BCe. Historians and archeologists speculate that the temple builders fell victim to famine or disease. War is discounted as a likely cause and archeological digs on Malta have yielded little or no evidence of weapons.
During 3500 BC, these people built some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world in the form of the megalithic Ġgantija temples on Gozo,[19] other early temples include those at Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra.[20] Thereafter, the Maltese Islands were depopulated for several decades until the arrival of a new influx of Bronze Age immigrants, a culture that cremated its dead and introduced smaller megalithic structures called dolmens to Malta.[21]
Around 700 BC, the Ancient Greeks settled on Malta, especially around the area now occupied by Valletta.[10] A century later, Phoenician traders,[10] who used the islands as stop on their trade routes from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to Cornwall, joined the natives on the island.[22]
After the fall of Phoenicia, in 400 BC the area came under the control of Carthage, a former Phoenician colony.[23] During this time the people on Malta mainly cultivated olives and carobs, and produced textiles.[23]
During the First Punic War of 218 BC, tensions lead the Maltese people to rebel against Carthage and turn control of their garrison over to the Roman Republic consul Sempronius.[24] Malta remained loyal to Rome during the Syracusan revolt and the Romans rewarded it with the title Foederata Civitas, a designation that meant it would enjoy some autonomy although it fell within the jurisdiction of Sicilia province.[24] The island, then known as Melita, had its capital located in the centre and this carried the same name; the city's present name is Mdina.[24]
In 117 BC, the Maltese Islands were a thriving part of the Roman Empire, being promoted to the status of Municipium under Hadrian.[24] During 60 AD, in the north of the island at Saint Paul's Bay, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ named Saint Paul was shipwrecked on the shores.[24] Tradition holds he stayed in Malta for three months, introducing Christianity and performing various miracles.[24] This is documented in the Bible in the Acts of the Apostles.[24]
When the Roman Empire split into Eastern and Western divisions in the 4th century, Malta fell under the control of the Greek speaking Byzantine Empire which was ruled from Constantinople.[25] Although Malta was under Byzantine rule for four centuries, not much is known from this period. There is evidence that Germanic tribes, including the Goths and Vandals, briefly took control of the islands before the Byzantines launched a counter attack and retook Malta.[25]
[edit] Middle Ages
Malta was involved in the Byzantine-Arab Wars, and the conquest of Malta is closely linked with that of Sicily due to admiral Euphemius betraying his fellow Byzantines and requesting that the Aghlabid dynasty invade the area.[26] As part of the Emirate of Sicily rule switched to the Fatimids in 909.[27] The Arabs introduced new irrigation, some fruits and cotton and the Siculo-Arabic language was adopted on the island from Sicily and Southern Italy: it would eventually evolve into the Maltese language.[28] The native Christians were allowed freedom of religion but had to pay an extra tax to the occupying power.[27] The Normans from the Duchy of Normandy relieved Sicily and the Maltese Islands in 1091[24] and Roger I of Sicily was warmly welcomed by the native Christians.[24] The Maltese offered to fight for him and in response Roger reportedly tore off a portion of his flag, half-red half-white, presenting it to the Maltese; this formed the basis of the flag of Malta.[24]
The Norman period was productive; Malta became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Sicily which also covered the island of Sicily and the southern half of the Italian Peninsula.[24] The Catholic Church was re-instated as the state religion with Malta under the See of Palermo and much Norman architecture sprung up around Malta especially in its ancient capital Mdina.[24] Tancred of Sicily, the last Norman monarch, made Malta and Gozo a feudal lordship or fief within the kingdom and a Count of Malta instated. As the islands were much desired due to their strategic importance, it was during this time the men of Malta were militarised to fend off capture attempts; the early counts were skilled Genoese corsairs.[24] The kingdom passed on to the House of Hohenstaufen from 1194 until 1266. It was under Frederick I that all remaining Muslims were expelled from Malta (in 1224[29]) and the entire Christian male population of Celano in Abruzzo was exported to Malta.[24]
For a brief period the kingdom passed to the Capetian House of Anjou, however high taxes made the dynasty unpopular in Malta, due in part to Charles of Anjou's war against the Republic of Genoa and the island of Gozo was sacked in 1275.[24] A large revolt on Sicily known as the Sicilian Vespers followed these attacks, that saw the Peninsula separating into the Kingdom of Naples; the Kingdom of Sicily, including Malta, then fell under the rule of the Aragonese.[30] Relatives of the kings of Aragon ruled the island until 1409, when it passed to the Crown of Aragon.[30] Early on in the Aragonese reign the sons of the monarchy received the title, "Count of Malta". It was also during this time that much of the Maltese nobility sprang up. However by 1397 the bearing of the title "Count of Malta" reverted to a feudal basis with two families fighting over the distinction, which caused much distress. This led the king to abolish the title. Dispute over the title returned when the title was reinstated a few years later and the Maltese, led by the local nobility, rose up against Count Gonsalvo Monroy.[24] Although they opposed the Count, the Maltese voiced their loyalty to the Sicilian Crown, which so impressed Alfonso IV that he did not punish the people for their rebellion but promised never to grant the title to a third party, instead incorporating it back into the crown. The city of Mdina was nicknamed Città Notabile as a result of this sequence of events.[24]
[edit] Knights of Malta and Napoleon
In 1530 Charles I of Spain gave the islands to the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in perpetual lease. These knights, a military religious order now known as the Knights of Malta, had been driven out of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire in 1522. They withstood a full-blown siege by the Ottoman Turks in 1565, at the time the greatest naval power in the Mediterranean. The knights, fighting alongside the Maltese, were victorious and speaking of the battle Voltaire said, "Nothing is more well known than the siege of Malta".[31]
After this they decided to increase Malta's fortifications, particularly in the inner-harbour area, where the new city of Valletta, named in honour of Grand Master Jean de la Valette, was built. They also built watchtowers along the coasts - the Wignacourt, Lascaris, and de Redin towers - named after the Grand Masters who ordered the work. The Knights' presence on the island saw the completion of many architectural and cultural projects, including the embellishment of Città Vittoriosa, the construction of new cities including Città Rohan and Città Hompesch and the introduction of new academic and social resources.
The Knights' reign ended when Napoleon captured Malta on the way to Egypt during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1798. As a ruse, Napoleon asked for safe harbour to resupply his ships and then turned his guns against his hosts once safely inside Valletta. Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim capitulated and Napoleon stayed in Malta for a few days, during which time he systematically looted the movable assets of the island and established an administration controlled by his nominees. He then sailed for Egypt, leaving a substantial garrison in Malta.
The occupying French forces were deeply unpopular with the Maltese, due particularly to their negative attitude towards religion. Their financial and religious reforms did not go down well with the citizens and the Maltese rebelled, forcing the French to take cover behind the city fortifications. Great Britain, along with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, sent ammunition and aid to the Maltese and Britain also sent her navy, which blockaded the islands.
The isolated French forces, under General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois, surrendered in 1800 and the island became a British Dominion, presented by several Maltese leaders to Sir Alexander Ball. The Maltese people created a Declaration of Rights in which they demanded to come "under the protection and sovereignty of the King of the free people, His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland". The Declaration also stated that "his Majesty has no right to cede these Islands to any power...if he chooses to withdraw his protection, and abandon his sovereignty, the right of electing another sovereign, or of the governing of these Islands, belongs to us, the inhabitants and aborigines alone, and without control."[32]
[edit] British rule and World War II
In 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris, Malta officially became a part of the British Empire and was used as a shipping way-station and fleet headquarters. Malta's position half-way between Gibraltar and the Suez Canal proved to be its main asset during these years and it was considered an important stop on the way to India. In 1919 British troops fired on a rally protesting new taxes, killing four Maltese men. This lead to increased resistance and support for the pro-Italian parties that had challenged the English presence on the island. The event, known as Sette Giugno (Italian for 7 June), is commemorated every year.
In the early 1930s the British Mediterranean Fleet, which was at that time the main contributor to commerce on the island, moved to Alexandria as an economic measure.
During World War II, Malta played an important role owing to its proximity to Axis shipping lanes. The bravery of the Maltese people during the second Seige of Malta moved HM King George VI to award the George Cross to Malta on a collective basis on April 15, 1942 "to bear witness to a heroism and devotion that will long be famous in history". Some historians argue that the award caused Britain to incur disproportionate losses in defending Malta, as British credibility would have suffered if Malta surrendered, as Singapore had.[33] A replica of the George Cross now appears in the upper hoist corner of the Flag of Malta. The collective award remained unique until April 1999, when the Royal Ulster Constabulary became the second – and, to date, the only other – recipient of a collective George Cross.
[edit] Independence
Following the war, the Labour Party's made an unsuccessful attempt at integration with Britain. Eventually, Malta received its independence on September 21, 1964 (Independence Day). Under its 1964 constitution, Malta initially retained Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta, with a Governor-General exercising executive authority on her behalf. On December 13, 1974 (Republic Day) Malta became a republic within the British Commonwealth, with the President as head of state. A defense agreement signed soon after independence (and re-negotiated in 1972) expired on March 31, 1979 (Freedom Day). On that day British military forces departed and Admiral Sir John Hamilton GBE, Commander in Chief of the Eastern Mediterranean fleet, lowered the Union Flag for the last time. Malta adopted an official policy of neutrality in 1980 and was a member of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries until 2004. In 1989 Malta was the venue of an important summit between US President George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, their first face-to-face encounter, which signaled the end of the Cold War.
Malta joined the European Union on May 1, 2004.[34] Following the European Council of 21 June to 22 June 2007 it joined the Eurozone on January 1, 2008.[35]
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