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MALTA , the largest of the Maltese Islands, situated between See also:Europe and See also:Africa, in the central channel which connects the eastern and western basins of the Mediterranean See also:Sea. The See also:group belongs to the See also:British See also:Empire. It extends over 29 m., and consists of Malta, 91 sq. in., See also:Gozo (q.v.) 20 sq. m., Comino (set apart as a See also:quarantine station) 1 sq. in., and the uninhabited rocks called Cominotto and Filfla. Malta (See also:lat. of See also:Valletta See also:Observatory 35° 53' 55" N., See also:long. 14° 30' 45" W.) is about 6o m. from the nearest point of See also:Sicily, 140 M. from the mainland of Europe and 18o from Africa; it has a magnificent natural See also:harbour. From the See also:dawn of maritime See also:trade its See also:possession has been important to the strongest nations on the sea for the See also:time being. Malta is about 171 M. long by 84 broad; Gozo is 84 by 41 M. This See also:chain of islands stretches from N.E. to S.E. On the S.W. the declivities towards the sea are steep, and in places rise abruptly some 400 ft. from deep See also:water. The See also:general slope of these ridges is towards the N.W., facing Sicily and See also:snow-capped See also:Etna, the source of cool evening breezes. The Bingemma range, rising 726 ft., is nearly at right angles to the See also:axis of the See also:main See also:island. The See also:geological " See also:Great See also:Fault " stretches from sea to sea at the See also:foot of these hills. There are See also:good anchorages in the channels between Gozo and Comino, and between Comino and Malta. In addition to the harbours of Valletta, there are in Malta, facing N.W.; the bays called Mellieha and St See also:Paul's, the inlets of the See also:Salina, of Madalena, of St See also:Julian and St See also: The Maltese Islands consist largely of See also:Tertiary See also:Limestone, with somewhat variable beds of Crystalline See also:Sandstone, See also:Greensand and See also:Marl or See also:Blue See also:Clay. The series appears to be in See also:line with See also:Geology similar formations at See also:Tripoli in Africa, Cagliari in and water See also:Sardinia, and to the See also:east of See also:Marseilles. To the See also:south- See also:Supply. east of the Great Fault (already mentioned) the beds
are more See also:regular, comprising, in descending See also:order, (a) Upper Coralline Limestone; (b) Yellow, See also:Black or Greensand; (c) Marl or Blue Clay ; (d) See also: Crystallaria, Nodosaria, Brissus,Nucleolites, Pecten burdigallensis, Scalaria, Scutella subrotunda, Spatangus, Nautilus, Ostrea navicularis and Pecten cristatus (see See also:Captain See also:Spratt's See also:work and papers by See also:Lord Ducie and Dr See also: The north-west " Gregale " (See also:Euroclydon of Acts 'cavil. 14) blows about the See also:equinox, and occasionally, in the See also:winter months, with almost See also:hurricane force for three days together; it is recorded to have caused the drowning of 600 persons in the harbour in 1555. This See also:wind has been a See also:constant menace to shipping at See also:anchor; the new breakwater on the Monarch Shoal was designed to resist its ravages. The regular tides are hardly perceptible, but, under the See also:influence of barometric pressure and wind, the sea-level occasionally varies as much as 2 ft. The average rainfall is 21 in.; it is, however, uncertain; periods of drought have extended over three years. Snow is seen once or twice in a See also:generation; violent hailstorms occtfr. On the 19th of See also:October 1898, exceptionally large hailstones See also:fell—one, over 4 in. in length, being brought to the See also:governor, See also:Sir See also:Arthur See also:Fremantle, for inspection. Mediterranean (sometimes called " Malta ") See also:fever has been traced by See also:Colonel See also:David See also:Bruce to a Micrococcus melitensis. The supply of water under pressure is widely distributed and excellent. There is a modern system of drainage for the towns, and all See also:sewerage has been intercepted from the Grand Harbour. There are efficient hospitals and asylums, a system of sanitary inspection, and modernized quarantine stations. It is hardly possible to differentiate between imported and indigenous See also:plants. Among the marine See also:flora may be mentioned Fora. Porphyra laciniata, the edible laver; Codium tomentosum, a coarse species; Padina pavonia, See also:common in shallow water; Ulva latissima; Haliseris polypodioides; Sargassum bacciferum; the well-known gulf See also:weed, probably transported from the See also:Atlantic; Zostera See also:manna, forming dense beds in muddy bays; the roots are See also:cast up by storms and are valuable to See also:dress the See also:fields. Among the See also:land plants may be noted the blue See also:anemone; the See also:ranunculus along the road-sides, with a strong perfume of violets; the Malta See also:heath, which See also:flowers at all seasons; Cynomorium coccineum, the curious " Malta fungus," formerly so valued for medicinal purposes that a guard was set for its preservation under the See also:rule of the Knights; the See also:pheasant's-See also:eye; three species of See also:mallow and See also:geranium; See also:Oxalis cernua, a very troublesome imported weed; See also:Lotus edulis; Scorpiurus subvillosa, See also:wild and cultivated as See also:forage; two species of the horseshoe-See also:vetch; the See also:opium See also:poppy; the yellow and See also:claret-coloured poppy; wild See also:rose; Crataegus azarolus, of which the See also:fruit is delicious preserved; the See also:ice-plant; squirting See also:cucumber; many species of See also:Umbelliferae; See also:Labiatae, to which the spicy flavour of the See also:honey (equal- to that of Mt See also:Hymettus) is ascribed; snap-dragons; See also:broom-See also:rape; See also:glass-wort; Salsola soda, which produces when burnt a considerable amount of See also:alkali; there are fifteen species of See also:orchids; the See also:gladiolus and See also:iris are also found; Urginia scilla, the medicinal See also:squill, abounds with its large bulbous roots near the sea; seventeen species of sedges and seventy-seven See also:grasses have been recorded. There are four species of See also:lizard and three See also:snakes, none of which is venomous; a land See also:tortoise, a turtle and a See also:frog. Of birds very See also:Fauna. few are indigenous; the See also:jackdaw, blue solitary See also:thrush, spectacled See also:warbler, the See also:robin, See also:kestrel and the See also:herring-See also:gull. A See also:bird known locally as Hangi, not met elsewhere in Europe, nests at Filfla. Flights of See also:quail and turtle doves, as well as See also:teal and ducks, stay long enough to afford See also:sport. Of migratory birds over two See also:hundred species have been enumerated. The only wild See also:mammalia in the island are the hedgehogs, two species of See also:weasel, the See also:Norway See also:rat, and the domestic See also:mouse. The Maltese See also:dog was never wild and has ceased to exist as a breed. Malta has several species of zoophytes, See also:sponges, See also:mollusca and See also:crustacea. See also:Insect See also:life is represented by plant-bugs, locusts, crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, See also:dragon-flies, butterflies, numerous varieties of moths, bees and mosquitoes. Among the See also:fish may be mentioned the See also:tunny, See also:dolphin, See also:mackerel, sardine, sea-See also:bream, dentice and pagnell; See also:wrasse, of exquisite rain-See also:bow See also:hue and good for See also:food ; members of the herring See also:family, sardines, anchovies, flying-fish, sea-See also:pike; a few representatives of the See also:cod family, and some See also:flat fish ; soles (very rare) ; Cernus which grows to large size; several species of grey and red See also:mullet; eleven species of Triglidae, including the beautiful flying See also:gurnard whose See also:colours See also:rival the See also:angel-fish of the West Indies; and eighteen species of mackerel, all migratory. The real See also:population of Malta, viz. of the See also:country districts, is to be differentiated from the See also:cosmopolitan fringe of the cities. There is continuous See also:historical See also:evidence that Malta population remains to-See also:day what Diodorus Siculus described it in and the 1st century , " a See also:colony of the Phoenicians "; See also:Language. this See also:branch of the Caucasian See also:race came down the great See also:rivers to the See also:Persian Gulf and thence to See also:Palestine. It carried the See also:art a.cryWaMer of See also:navigation through the Mediterranean, along the Atlantic seaboard as far as Great See also:Britain, leaving colonies along its path. In prehistoric times one of these colonies displaced previous inhabitants of Libyan origin. The similarity of the megalithic temples of Malta and of See also:Stonehenge connect along the shores of western Europe the earliest evidence of Phoenician See also:civilization. See also:Philology proves that, though called " Canaanites " from having sojourned in that land, the Phoenicians have no racial connexion with the See also:African descendants of See also:Ham. No subsequent invader of Malta attempted to displace the Phoenician race in the country districts. The Carthaginians governed settlements of kindred races with a See also:light See also:hand; the See also:Romans took over the Maltese as " dedititii," not as a conquered race. Their See also:conversion by St Paul added difference of See also:religion to the causes which prevented mixture of race. The See also:Arabs from Sicily came to eject the See also:Byzantine See also:garrison; they treated the Maltese as See also:friends, and were not sufficiently numerous to colonize. The See also:Normans came as See also:fellow-Christians and deliverers; they found very few Arabs in Malta. The See also:fallacy that Maltese is a See also:dialect of See also:Arabia has been luminously disproved by A. E. Caruana, Sull' origine della lingua Maltese.
The upper classes heve See also:Norman, See also:Spanish and See also:Italian origin. The knights of St See also: [4 25 00,, B ~g ag or recognized,.. by the Grand Masters, and descending by See also:primogeniture. These " privileges " were guaranteed, together with the rights and religion of the islanders, when they became British subjects, but no See also:government has ever recognized papal titles in Malta. High and See also:low, all speak among themselves the Phoenician Maltese, altogether different from the Italian language; Italian was only spoken by 13.24 % in 1901. Such Italian as is spoken by the lingering minority has marked divergences of See also:pronunciation and See also:inflexion from the language of See also:Rome and See also:Florence. In 1901, in addition to visitors and the See also:naval and military forces, 18,922 Maltese spoke See also:English, and the number has been rapidly increasing. In See also:appearance the Maltese are a handsome, well-formed race, about the See also:middle height, and well set up; they have escaped the See also:negroid contamination noticeable in Sicily, and their features are less dark than the See also:southern Italians. The See also:women are generally smaller than the men, with black eyes, See also:fine See also:hair and graceful See also:carriage. They are a thrifty and industrious See also:people, prolific and devoted to their offspring, good-humoured, See also:quick-tempered and impressionable. The food of the working classes is principally See also:bread, with oil, See also:olives, See also:cheese and fruit, sometimes fish, but seldom See also:meat; common See also:wine is largely imported from southern Europe. The Maltese are strict adherents to the See also:Roman Catholic religion, and enthusiastic observers of festivals, fasts and ceremonials. In 1906 the See also:birth-See also:rate was 40.68 per thousand, and the excess of births over deaths 2637. In See also:April 1907 the estimated population was 206,690 of whom 21,911 were in Gozo. This phenomenal congestion of population gives interest to records of its growth; in the loth century there were 16,767 inhabitants in Malta and 4514 in Gozo; the See also:total population in 1514 was 22,000. Estimates made at the arrival of the knights (1530) varied from 15,000 to 25,000: it was then necessary to import annually ro,000 quarters of See also:grain from Sicily. The population in 1551 was, Malta 24,000, Gozo 7000. In 1582, 20,000 quarters of imported grain were required to avert See also:famine. A See also:census of 1J90 makes the population 30,500; in that year 3000 died of want. The See also:numbers rose in 16or to 33,000; in 1614 to 41,084; in 1632 to 50,113; in 1667 to 55,155; :1.1 1667 11,000 are said to have died of See also:plague out of the total population. At the end of the rule of the knights (1798) the population was estimated at See also:Ioo,000; sickness, famine and See also:emigration during the See also:blockade of the See also:French in Valletta probably reduced the inhabitants to-80,000. In 1829 the population was 114,236; in 1836, 119,878 (inclusive of the garrison); in 1873, 145,605; at the census in Igor the civil population was 184,742. Sanitation decreases the See also:death-rate, religion keeps up the birth-rate. Nothing is done to promote emigration or to introduce manufactures. Towns and Villages.—The See also:capital is named after its founder, the Grand See also:Master de la Valette, but from its See also:foundation it has been called Valletta (pop. 1901, 24,685); it contains the See also:palace of the Grand Masters, the magnificent Auberges of the several " Langues " of the Order, the unique See also:cathedral of St John with the tombs of the Knights and magnificent tapestries and See also:marble work; a fine See also:opera See also:house and See also:hospital are conspicuous. Between the inner fortifications of Valletta and the See also:outer works, across the See also:neck of the See also:peninsula, is the suburb of Floriana (pop. 7278). To the south-east of Valletta, at the other See also:side of the Grand Harbour, are the cities of Senglea (pop. 8093), Vittoriosa (pop. 8993) ; and Cospicua (pop. 12,184) ; this group is often spoken of as " The Three Cities." The old capital, near the centre of the island is variously called Notabile, Citta Vecchia (q.v.), and See also:Medina, with its suburb See also:Rabat, its population in 1901 was 7515; here are the catacombs and the See also:ancient cathedral of Malta. Across the Marsamuscetto Harbour of Valletta is a considerable modern See also:town called Sliema. The villages of Malta are Mellieha, StPaul's Bay, Musta, Birchircara, Lia, Atterd, Balzan, Naxaro, Gargur, Misida, S. Julian's, S. Giuseppe, Dingli. Zebbug, Siggieui, Curmi, Luca, Tarxein, Zurrico, Crendi, Micabbiba, Circop, Zabbar, Asciak, Zeitun, Gudia and Marsa Scirocco. The See also:chief town of Gozo is called See also:Victoria, and there are several small villages. See also:Industry and Trade.—The area under cultivation in 1906 was 41,534 acres. As a rule the tillers of the See also:soil live away from their lands, in some neighbouring See also:village. The fields are small and composed of terraces by which the soil has been walled up along the contours of the hills, with enormous labour, to See also:save it frombeing washed away. Viewed from the sea, the See also:top of one See also:wall just appearing above the next produces a barren effect; but the aspect of the land from a See also: The presence of See also:phosphates accounts for the fertility of a shallow soil. There is a considerable area under vines, but it is generally more profitable to sell the fruit as grapes than to convert it into wine. Some of the best oranges in the See also:world are grown, and exported; but sufficient care is not taken to keep down insect pests, and to replace old trees. See also:Figs, apricots, nectarines and peaches grow to perfection. Some See also:cotton is raised as a rotation See also:crop, but no care is taken to improve the quality. The caroub See also:tree and the prickly See also:pear are extensively cultivated. There are exceptionally fine breeds of See also:cattle, asses and goats; cows of a large and very powerful build are used for ploughing. The supply of butchers' meat has to be kept up by constant importations. More than two-thirds of the wheat comes from abroad; fish, vegetables and fruit are also imported from Sicily in considerable quantities. Excellent honey is produced in Malta; at certain seasons tunny-fish and See also:young dolphin (lampuca) are abundant; other varieties of fish are caught all the year See also:round. About 5000 women and See also:children are engaged in producing Maltese See also:lace. The See also:weaving of cotton by hand-looms survives as a languishing industry. Pottery is manufactured on a small See also:scale; ornamental carvings are made in Maltese See also: A long See also:absence of the Mediterranean fleet, and withdrawals of imperial forces, produce immediate See also:distress. See also:Finance.—The See also:financial position in 1906–19o7 is indicated by the following: Public See also:revenue £513,594 (including £51,039 carried to revenue from capital); See also:expenditure £446,849; imports (actual), £1,219,819; imports in transit, £5,876,981; exports (actual), £123,510; exports in transit £6,127,277; imports from the See also:United See also:Kingdom (actual), £218,461. In March 1907 there were 8159 depositors in the government savings See also:bank, with £569,731 to their See also:credit. Government.—Malta is a See also:crown colony, within the See also:jurisdiction of a high See also:commissioner and a See also:commander-in-chief, to whom important questions of policy are reserved; in other matters the administration is under a military governor (3000), assisted by a civil See also:lieutenant-governor or chief secretary. There is an executive See also:council, now comprising eleven members with the governor as See also:president. The legislative council, under letters patent of the 3rd of June 1903, is composed of the governor (president), ten See also:official members, and eight elected members. There are eight electoral districts with a total of about ro,000 See also:electors. A voter is qualified on an income from See also:property of 06, or by paying rent to the same amount, or having the qualifications required to serve as a common juror. There are no municipal institutions. Letters patent, orders in council, and local ordinances have the force of See also:law. The See also:laws of Justinian are still the basis of the common law, the See also:Code of See also:Rohan is not altogether abrogated, and considerable weight is still given to the Roman See also:Canon Law. The principal provisions of the Napoleonic Code and some English enactments have been copied in a series of ordinances forming the See also:Statute Law. Latin was the language of the courts till 1784, and was not completely supplanted by Italian till 1815. The partial use of English (with illogical limitations to the detriment of the Maltese-See also:born British subjects who speak English) was introduced by local ordinances and orders in council at the end of the 19th century. The Maltese, of whom 86% cannot understand Italian, are still liable to be tried, even for their lives, in Italian, to them a See also:foreign language. The endeavour to restrict juries to those who understand Italian reveals glaring incongruities. See also:Education.—There were, in 1906, 98 elementary day See also:schools, and 33 See also:night schools. The attendance on the 1st of September 1905 was 16,530, the percentage on those enrolled 84.6; the total enrolment was 18,719. The average cost per See also:pupil in these schools was 35s. lid. a year on daily attendance. There is a secondary school for girls in Valletta, and one for boys in Gozo. A See also:lyceum in Malta had an average attendance of 464. The number of students at the university was about 150. The average cost per student in the lyceum was 08, os. 1Id.; in the university X26, ios. id. The fees in these institutions are almost nominal, the middle-classes are thus educated at the expense of the masses. In the 18th century the government of the Knights and of the See also:Inquisition did not favour the education of the people, after 1800 British See also:governors were slow to make any substantial See also:change. About the middle of the 19th century it began to be recognized that the education of the people was more conducive to the safety of the fortress than to leave in See also:ignorance congested masses of southern race liable to be swayed spasmodically by See also:prejudice. At first an See also:attempt was made to make Maltese a See also:literary language by adapting the Arabic characters to See also:record it in See also:print. This failed for several reasons, the foremost being that the language was not Arabic but Phoenician, and because professors and teachers, whose See also:personal ascendancy was based on the official prominence of Italian, did not realize that educational institutions existed for the rising generation rather than to provide salaries for See also:alien teachers and men behind the times. Various educational schemes were proposed, but they were easier to propose than to carry into effect: no one, except Mr See also:Savona, had the ability to urge English as the basis of instruction, and he agitated and was installed as director of education and made a member of the Executive. The obstruction which he encountered alarmed him, and he compromised by adopting a mixed system of both English and Italian, pari passu, as the basis of Maltese education; he resigned after a brief effort. Mr Savona's attempt to See also:teach the Maltese children simultaneously two foreign language's (of which they were quite ignorant, and their teachers only partially conversant) without first teaching how to read and write the native Maltese systematically was continued for some years under an eminent archaeologist, Dr A. A. Caruana, who became Director of Education. He began to give some preference to English indirectly. On his resignation Sir G. See also:Strickland established a new system of education based on the principle of beginning from the bottom, by teaching to read and write in Maltese as the See also:medium for assimilating, at a further stage, either English or Italian, one at a time, and aiming at imparting general knowledge in colloquial English. A series of school books, in the Maltese language printed in Roman characters, with See also:translations in English interlined in different type, was produced at the government See also:printing See also:office and sold at cost See also:price. The parents and guardians were called upon to select whether each See also:child should learn English or Italian next after learning See also:reading, See also:writing and See also:arithmetic in Maltese. About 89% recorded their preference in favour of English at the outset; then, as a result of violent See also:political agitation, this percentage was considerably lowered, but soon crept up again. Teachers and professors who were weak in English,lawyers, newspaper men and others, combined to deprive these reforms of their legitimate consequence, viz. that after a number of years English should be the language of the courts as well as of education, and to protect those belonging to the old order of know-ledge from the competition of young Maltese better educated than themselves, whose rapid rise everywhere would be assured by knowing English thoroughly. An order in council was enacted in 1899 providing that no Maltese (except students of See also:theology) should thenceforth suffer any detriment through inability to pass See also:examinations in Italian, in either the schools or university, but the fraction of the Maltese who claim to speak Italian (13.24 %) still command sufficient influence to hamper the full enjoyment of this emancipation by the See also:majority. In the university most of the textbooks used are English, nevertheless many of the lectures are still delivered in Italian—for the convenience of some professors or to please the politicians, rather than for the benefit of the students. The number of students who enter the university without passing any examination in Italian is rapidly increasing; the longer the See also:period of transition, the greater the detriment to the rising generation. See also:History and Antiquities.—The earliest inhabitants of Malta (Melita) and Gozo (Gaulos) belonged to a culture-circle which included the whole of the western Mediterranean, and to a race which perhaps originated from North Africa; and it is they, and not the Phoenicians, who were the builders of the remarkable megalithic monuments which these islands contain, the Gigantia in Gozo, Hagiar Kim and Mnaidra near Crendi, the rock-cut hypogeum of Halsaflieni,l and the megalithic buildings. on the hill of Corradino in Malta, being the most noteworthy. The contemporaneity of these structures has been demonstrated by the identity of the pottery and other See also:objects discovered in them, including some remarkable steatopygic figures in stone, and it is clear that they belong to the See also:neolithic period, numerous flints, but no See also:metal, having been found. Those that have been mentioned seem to have been sanctuaries (some of them in part dwelling-places), but Halsaflieni was an enormous ossuary, of which others may have existed in other parts of the island; for the numerous rock-cut tombs which are everywhere to be seen belong to the Phoenician and Roman periods. In these buildings there is a great preference for apsidal terminations to the internal See also:chambers, and the facades are as a rule slightly curved. The numerous niches, generally containing sacrificial (?) tables,2 are often approached by window-like openings hewn out of one of the flat slabs by which they are enclosed. The See also:surface of the stones in the interior is often pitted, as a form of ornamentation. Even the barren islet of Comino, between Malta and Gozo, was inhabited in prehistoric times. To the Phoenician period, besides the tombs already mentioned, belong some remains of houses and cisterns, and (probably) a few round towers which are scattered about the island, while the important Roman house at Cittavecchia is the finest See also:monument of this period in the islands. The Carthaginians came to Malta in the 6th century B.C., not as conquerors, but as friends of a See also:sister Phoenician colony (See also:Freeman, Hist. Sicily, i.: 255): See also:Carthage in her struggle with Rome was at last driven to See also:levy oppressive See also:tribute, where-upon the Maltese gave up the Punic garrison to See also:Titus Sempronius under circumstances described by See also:Livy (xxi. 51). The Romans did not treat the Maltese as conquered enemies, and at once gave them the privileges of amunicipium; See also:Cicero (in Verrem) refers to the Maltese as " Socii." Nothing was to be gained by displacing the Phoenician inhabitants in a country from which any race less thrifty would find life impossible by See also:agriculture. On the strength of a monument bearing his name, it has been surmised that See also:Hannibal was born in Malta, while his See also:father was governor-general of Sicily; he certainly did not See also:die in Malta. There is evidence from Cicero (in Verrem) that a very high stage of manufacturing and commercial prosperity, attained in 1 See T. Zammit, The Halsaflieni prehistoric hypogeum at Casal Paula, Malta (Malta, 1910). 2 Sometimes the See also:pillar which represents the See also:baetylus, which seems to have been the See also:object of See also:worship (see A. J. See also:Evans in See also:Journal of Hellenic Studies, xxi., 1901) stands See also:free sometimes it serves as support to the table stone which covers the See also:niche, and sometimes again monolithic tables occur. Conical stones (possibly themselves baetyli) are also found. Carthaginian times, continued in Malta under the Romans. The Phoenician See also:temple of See also:Juno, which stood on the site of Fort St Angelo, is also mentioned by See also:Valerius See also:Maximus. An inscription records the restoration of the temple of See also:Proserpine by Cheriston, a freed-See also:man of See also:Augustus and See also:procurator of Malta. Diodorus Siculus (L. V., c. 4) speaks of the importance and ornamentation of Maltese dwellings, and to this day remains of palaces and dwellings of the Roman period indicate a high degree of civilization and See also:wealth. When forced to select a See also:place of See also:exile, Cicero was at first (ad Att. III. 4, X. i. 8, 9) attracted to Malta, over which he had ruled as See also:quaestor 75 B.C. Among his Maltese friends were Aulus See also:Licinius and Diodorus. See also:Lucius Castricius is mentioned as a Roman governor under Augustus. Publius was " chief of the island " when St Paul was shipwrecked (Acts See also:xxvii. 7); and is said to have become the first See also:Christian See also:bishop of Malta. The site where the cathedral at Notabile now stands is reputed to have been the See also:residence of Publius and to have been converted by him into the first Christian place of worship, which was rebuilt in 1090 by See also:Count See also:Roger, the Norman conqueror of Malta. The Maltese catacombs are strikingly similar to those of Rome, and were likewise used as places of See also:burial and of refuge in time of persecution. They contain clear indication of the interment of martyrs. St Paul's Bay was the site of shipwreck of the apostle in A.D. 58; the " topon diathalasson " referred to in Acts is the strait between Malta and the islet of Selmun. The claim that St Paul was shipwrecked at See also:Meleda off the Dalmatian coast, and not at Malta, has been clearly set at See also:rest, on nautical grounds, by Mr See also: 54) the stay of the apostle resulted in the conversion of the Maltese to See also:Christianity. The description of the islanders in Acts as " barbaroi " confirms the testimony of Diodorus Siculus that they were Phoenicians, neither hellenized nor romanized. The bishopric of Malta is referred to by Rocco Pirro (Sicilia sacra), and by See also:Gregory the Great (Epist. 2, 44; 9, 63; 10, r). It appears that Malta was not materially affected by the See also:Greek See also:schism, and remained subject to Rome. On the final See also:division of the Roman dominions in A. D. 395 Malta was assigned to the empire of See also:Constantinople. On the third Arab invasion, A. n. 870, the Maltese joined forces against the Byzantine garrison, and 3000 Greeks were massacred. Unable to garrison the island with a large force, the Arabs cleared a See also:zone between the central stronghold, Medina, and the suburb called Rabat, to restrict the fortified area. Many Arab coins, some Kufic See also:inscriptions and several burial-places were See also:left by the Arabs; but they did not establish their religion or leave a permanent impression on the Phoenician inhabitants, or deprive the Maltese language of the characteristics which differentiate it from Arabic. There is no historical evidence that the domination of the Goths and See also:Vandals in the Mediterranean ever ex-tended to Malta: there are fine See also:Gothic See also:arches in two old palaces at Notabile, but these were built after the Norman See also:conquest of Malta. In 1090 Count Roger the Norman (son of See also:Tancred de Hauteville), then master of Sicily, came to Malta with a small See also:retinue; the Arab garrison was unable to offer effective opposition, and the Maltese were willing and able to welcome the Normans as deliverers and to hold the island after the immediate withdrawal of Count Roger. A bishop of Malta was See also:witness to a document in 1090. The Phoenician population had continued Christian during the mild Arab rule. Under the Normans the See also:power of the Roman See also: Under the will of Corradino a representative of the See also:blood of Roger the Norman, See also:Peter of See also:Aragon claimed the See also:succession, and it came to him by the revolution known as " the Sicilian See also:Vespers " when 28,000 French were exterminated in Sicily. Charles held Malta for two years longer, when the Aragonese fleet met the French off Malta, and finally crushed them in the Grand Harbour. In 1427 the See also:Turks raided Malta and Gozo, they carried many of the inhabitants into captivity, but gained no foothold. The Maltese joined the Spaniards in a disastrous See also:raid against Gerbi on the African coast in 1432. In 1492 the Aragonese expelled the See also:Jews. Dissatisfaction arose under Aragonese rule from the periodical grants of Malta, as a marquisate or countship, to great See also:officers of See also:state or illegitimate descendants of the See also:sovereign. Exemption was obtained from these incidences of See also:feudalism by large payments to the Crown in return for charters covenanting that Malta should for ever be administered under the royal See also:exchequer without the intervention of intermediary feudal lords. This compact was twice broken, and in 1428 the Maltese paid See also: The Grand Master de l'Isle See also:Adam, on entering the ancient capital of Notabile, swore for himself and his successors to maintain the rights and liberties of the Maltese. The Order of St John took up its See also:abode on the promontory guarded by the See also:castle of St Angelo on the southern See also:shore of the Grand Harbour, and, in expectation of attacks from the Turks, commenced to fortify the neighbouring town called the Borgo. The knights lived apart from the Maltese, and derived their principal revenues from estates of the Order in the richest countries of Europe. They accumulated wealth by war, or by privateering against the Turks and their See also:allies. The African Arabs under See also:Selim See also:Pasha in 1551 ravaged Gozo, after an unsuccessful attempt on Malta, repulsed by See also:cavalry under Upton, an English See also:knight. The Order of St John and the Christian Maltese now realized that an attempt to exterminate them would soon be made by Soliman II., and careful preparations were made to meet the attack.
The great See also:siege of Malta which made the island and its knights famous, and checked the advance of See also:Mahommedan power in southern and western Europe, began in May 1565. The fighting men of the defenders are variously recorded between 6roo and 9121; the See also:roll comprises one English knight, See also:Oliver Starkey. The Mahommedan forces were estimated from 29,000 to 38,500. Jehan Parisot de la Valette had participated in the See also:defence of Rhodes, and in many naval engagements. He had been taken prisoner by Dragut, who made him See also:row for a year as a See also:galley slave till ransomed. This Grand Master had gained the confidence of See also: The See also:Sultan placed his troops under the See also:veteran Mustapha, and his galleys under his youthful relative Piali, he hesitated to make either supreme and ordered them to await the arrival of Dragut with his Algerian allies, before deciding on their final plans. Mean-while, against Mustapha's better See also:judgment, Piali induced the council of war to attack St Elmo, in order to open the way for his fleet to an anchorage, safe in all weathers, in Marsamuscetto harbour. This strategical blunder was turned to the best See also:advantage by La Valette, who so prolonged the most heroic defence of St Elmo that the Turks lost 7000 killed and as many wounded before exterminating the 1200 defenders, who fell at their See also:post. In the See also:interval Dragut was mortally wounded, the attack on Notabile was neglected, valuable time lost, and the main See also:objective (the Borgo) and St Angelo left intact. The subsequent siege of St Angelo, and its supporting fortifications, was marked by the greatest bravery on both sides. The knights and their Maltese troops fought for death or victory, without asking or giving quarter. The Grand Master proved as See also:wise a See also:leader as he was brave. By September food and See also:ammunition were getting scarce, a large, relieving force was expected from Sicily, and Piali became restive, on the approach of the equinox, for the safety of his galleys. At last the viceroy of Sicily, who had the Spanish and allied fleets at his disposal, was spurred to action by his council. He timidly landed about 6000 or 8000 troops at the north-west of Malta and withdrew. The Turks began a hurried embarcation and allowed the Christians to join forces at Notabile; then, See also:hearing less alarming particulars of the relieving force, Mustapha relanded his reluctant troops, faced his enemies in the open, and was driven in confusion to his See also:ships on the 8th of September. The Order thus reached the highest See also:pinnacle of its fame, and new knights flocked to be enrolled therein from the See also:flower of the nobility of Europe; La Valette refused a See also:cardinal's See also:hat, deter-See also:mined not to impair his See also:independence. He made his name immortal by See also:founding on Mt Sceberras " a See also:city built by See also:gentle-
for gentlemen " and making Valletta a magnificent example of fortification, unrivalled in the world. The pope and other sovereigns donated vast sums for this new See also:bulwark of Christianity, but, as its ramparts See also:grew in strength, the knights were slow to seek the enemy in his own waters, and became false to their traditional See also:strategy as a naval power. Nevertheless, they harassed See also:Turkish See also:commerce and made See also:booty in See also:minor engagements throughout the 16th and 18th centuries, and they took part as an allied Christian power in the great victory of See also:Lepanto. With the growth of wealth and See also:security the See also:martial spirit of the Order began to wane, and so also did its friendly relations with the Maltese. The See also: In 1722 the Turkish prisoners and slaves, then very numerous, formed a See also:conspiracy to rise and seize the island. Premature See also:discovery was followed by prompt suppression. Castle St Angelo and the fort of St See also: An attempt to seize church valuables .at Notabile was forcibly resisted by the Maltese, and general discontent See also:broke out into open rebellion on the and of September 1798. The French soon discovered to their dismay that, from behind the See also:rubble walls of every field, the agile Maltese were unassailable. The prospect of an English blockade of Malta encouraged the revolt, of which Canon Caruana became the leader. See also:Nelson was appealed to, and with the aid of Portuguese allies he established a blockade and deputed Captain See also:Ball, R. N. (afterwards the first governor) to assume, on the 9th of February 1799, the provisional administration of Malta and to superintend operations on land. Nelson recognized the See also:movement in Malta as a successful revolution against the French, and upheld the contention that the king of Sicily (as successor to Charles V. in that part of the former kingdom of Aragon) was the legitimate sovereign of Malta. British troops were landed to assist in the siege; few lives were lost in actual combat, nevertheless famine and sickness killed thousands of the inhabitants, and finally forced the French to surrender to the allies. Canon Caruana and other leaders of the Maltese aspired to obtain for Malta the freedom of the Roman Catholic religion guaranteed by England in See also:Canada and other dependencies, and promoted a See also:petition in order that Malta should come under the strong power of England rather than revert to the kingdom of the two Sicilies. The Treaty of See also:Amiens (1802) provided for the restoration of the island to the Order of St John; against this the Maltese strongly protested, realizing that it would be followed by the re-See also:establishment of French influence. The English See also:flag was flown side by side with the Neapolitan, and England actually renewed war with France sooner than give up Malta. The Treaty of See also:Paris (x814), with the acclamations of the Maltese, confirmed Great Britain in the See also:aggregation of Malta to the empire. A period elapsed before the government of Malta again became self-supporting, during which over £600,000 was contributed by the British exchequer in aid of revenue, and for the importation of food-stuffs. The restoration of Church property, the re-establishment of law and administration on lines to which the people were accustomed before the French invasion, and the claiming for the Crown of the vast landed property of the knights, were the first cares of British civil rule. As successor to the Order, the Crown claimed and eventually established (by the negotiations in Rome of Sir See also:Frederick Hankey, Sir Gerald Strickland and Sir Lintorn See also:Simmons) with regard to the presentation of the bishopric (worth about X4000 a year) the right to See also:veto the See also:appointment of distasteful candidates. This right was exercised to secure the nomination of Canon Caruana and later of See also:Monsignor See also:Pace. When the See also:pledge, given by the Treaty of Amiens, to restore the Order of St John with a See also:national Maltese " langue," could not be fulfilled, political leaders began demanding instead the re-establishment of the " Consiglio Popolare " of Norman times (without reflecting that it never had legislative power); but by degrees popular aspirations See also:developed in favour of a free constitution on English lines. The British authorities steadily maintained that, at least until the mass of the people became educated, representative institutions would merely See also:screen irresponsible oligarchies. After the Treaty of Paris stability of government developed, and many important reforms were introduced under the strong government of the masterful Sir Thomas See also:Maitland; he acted promptly, without seeking popularity or fearing the See also:reverse, and he ultimately gained more real respect than any other governor, not excepting the See also:marquess of See also:Hastings, who was a brilliant and sympathetic See also:administrator. Trial by See also:jury for criminal cases was established in 1829. A council of government, of which the members were nominated, was constituted by letters patent in 1835, but this measure only increased the agitation for a representative legislature. Freedom of the See also:press and many salutary innovations were brought about on a See also:report of John See also:Austin and G. C. See also:Lewis, royal commissioners, appointed in 1836. The basis of See also:taxation was widened, sinecures abolished, schools opened in the country districts, legal See also:procedure simplified, and See also:Police established on an English footing. See also:Queen See also:Adelaide vistied Malta in 1838 and founded the See also:Anglican collegiate church of St Paul. Sir F. Hankey as chief secretary was for many years the principal official of the civil administration. In 1847 Mr R. See also:Moore O'Ferrall was appointed civil governor. In June 1849 the constitution of the council was altered to comprise ten nominated and eight elected members. The revolutions in See also:Italy caused about this time many, including See also:Crispi and some of the most intellectual Italians, to take refuge in Malta. These foreigners introduced new life into politics and the press, and made it fashionable for educated Maltese to delude themselves with the See also:idea that the Maltese were Italians, because a few of them could speak the language of the peninsula. A clerical reaction followed against new progressive ideas And English methods of development. After much unreasoning vituperation the Irish Catholic civil governor, who had arrived amidst the acclamations of all, left his post in disgust. His successor as civil governor was Sir W. See also:Reid, who had formerly held military command. His determined attempts to promote education met with intense opposition and little success. At this period the Crimean War brought great wealth and commercial prosperity to Malta. Under Sir G. Le Marchant, in 1858, the nominal rule of military governors was re-established, but the civil administration was largely confided to Sir See also:Victor Houlton as chief secretary, whilst the real power began to be concentrated in the hands of Sir A. Dingli, the Crown See also:advocate, who was the interpreter of the law, and largely its maker, as well as the principal depository of local knowledge, able to prevent the preferment of rivals, and to countenance the barrier which difference of language created between governors and governed. The civil service gravitated into the hands of a clique. At this period much See also:money was spent on the Marsa See also:extension of the Grand Harbour, but the rapid increase in the size of steamships made the See also:scheme inadequate, and limited its value prematurely. The military defences were entirely remodelled under Sir G. Le Marchant, and considerable municipal improvements and embellishments were completed. But this governor was obstructed and misrepresented by local politicians as vehemently as his predecessors and his successors. Ministers at home have often appeared to be inclined to the policy of pleasing by avoiding the reforming of what might be left as it was found. Sir A. Dingli adapted a considerable portion of the Napoleonic Code in a series of Malta Ordinances, but stopped See also:short at points likely to cause agitation. Sir P. Julyan was appointed royal commis- Vu. 17sioner on the civil establishments, and Sir P. Keenan on education; their work revived the reform movement in 1881. Mr Savona led an agitation for a more sincere system of education on English lines: Fierce opposition ensued, and the See also:Nei passu See also:compromise was adopted to which reference is made in the See also:section on Education above; Mr Savona was an able organizer, and began the real emancipation of the Maltese masses from educational ignorance; but he succumbed to agitation before accomplishing substantial results. An executive council was established in 1881, and the See also:franchise was extended in 1883. A quarter of a century of Sir Victor Houlton's policy of laissez-faire was changed in 1883 by the appointment of Sir See also:Walter Hely-See also:Hutchinson as chief secretary. An attempt was made to utilize fully the abilities of this eminent administrator by creating him civil lieutenant-governor, in whom to concentrate both the real and the nominal power of detailed administration; but the military authorities objected to his corresponding directly with the Colonial Office; and a political deadlock began to develop. Sir A. Dingli was transferred from an administrative office to that of chief See also:justice. With the continuance of military power over details, the public could not understand where responsibility really rested. The elected members under the leadership of Dr Mizzi clamoured for more power, opposed reforms and protested against the carrying of government measures by the casting See also:vote of a military governor as president of the council. To force a crisis, abstention of elected members from the council was resorted to, together with the election of notoriously unfit candidates. Under these circumstances a constitution of a more severe type was recommended by those responsible for the government of Malta and was about to be adopted, as the only alternative to a deadlock, by the imperial authorities. A regulation excluding Maltese from the See also:navy (because of their speaking on See also:board a language that their officers did not under-stand) provoked from Trinity See also:College, See also:Cambridge, the Strickland See also:correspondence in The Times on the constitutional rights of the Maltese, and a leading See also:article induced the Colonial Office to try an experiment known as the Strickland-Mizzi Constitution of 1887. This constitution (abolished in 1903) ended a period of government by presidential casting votes and official ascendancy. For the first time the elected members were placed in a majority; they were given three seats in the executive council; in local questions the government had to make every effort to carry the majority by persuasion. When persuasion failed and imperial interests, or the rights of unrepresented minorities, were involved the power of the Crown to legislate by order in council could be (and was) freely used. This system had the merit of See also:counter-acting any abuse of power by the bureaucracy. It brought to See also:bear on officials effective See also:criticism, which made them alert and hard-working. Governor Simmons eventually gave his support to the new constitution, which was received with See also:acclamation. Strickland, who had been elected while an undergraduate on the cry of equality of rights for Maltese and English, and Mizzi, the leader of the See also:anti-English agitation, were, as soon as elected, given seats in the executive council to co-operate with the government; but their aims were irreconcilable. Mizzi wanted to undo the educational forms of Mr Savona, to ensure the pre-dominance of the Italian language and to work the council as a See also:caucus. Strickland desired to replace bureaucratic government by a system more in See also:touch with the See also:independent gentlemen of the country, and to introduce English ideas and precedents. See also:Friction soon arose. Mizzi cared little for a constitution that did not make him See also:complete master of the situation, and resigned his post in the government. Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson left Malta in March 1889, and was succeeded by Sir Gerald Strickland (Count Della Catena), who lost no time in pushing, and carrying with a rapidity that was considered hasty, reforms that had been retarded for years. The majorities behind the government began to dwindle and agitation to grow. Meanwhile the Royal Malta See also:Militia was established as a See also:link between the Maltese and the garrison. The police were reorganized with proper pay, criminal laws were rigorously II, enforced. A naval officer was placed over the police to diminish from the council. Persistence in this course led to the See also:repeal by letters-patent of 1903 of the Strickland-Mizzi Constitution of 1887. In place of occasional orders in council for important matters in urgent cases, bureaucratic government with an official majority was again, with its drawbacks, fully re-established for all local affairs great and small. The representatives of the people were repeatedly re-elected, only to resign again and again as a protest against a restricted constitution. difficulties with the naval authorities and sailors. A marine force was raised to stop See also:smuggling; and the subtraction of See also:coal during coaling operations was stopped by drastic legislation. The civil service was reorganized so as to See also:reward merit and work by promotion. Tenders were strictly enforced in letting government property and contracts; a largely increased revenue was applied on water supply, drainage and other works. Lepers were segregated by law. The Malta See also:marriage question evoked widespread agitation; Sir A. Dingli had refrained from making any See also:provision in his code as to marrying. The Maltese relied on the Roman Canon Law, the English on the common law of England, Scots or Irish had nothing but the English law to fall back upon. Maltese authorities were ignorant of the disabilities of British Nonconformists at common law, and they had not perceived that persons with a British See also:domicile could not evade their own laws by marrying in Malta, e.g. that an English girl up to the See also:age of 21 required the father's or See also:guardian's consent from which a Maltese was legally exempt at 18. Sir G. Strickland preferred legislation to the covering up of difficulties by governors' licences and appeals to incongruous precedents. Sir Lintorn Simmons was appointed See also:envoy to the See also:Holy See, to ascertain how far legislation might be pushed in the direction of civil marriage without justifying clerical agitation and obstruction in the council. He succeeded in coming to an agreement with Rome. Nevertheless Sir A. Dingli and ecclesiastics of all denominations, for conflicting reasons, swelled the opposition against the liberal concessions obtained from See also:Leo XIII. The legal See also:necessity for legislation in accordance with the agreement was, nevertheless, on a See also:special reference, submitted to the privy council, whose decision affirmed the advisibility of legislation and the need for validating retrospectively marriages not supported by either Maltese or English common law. Agitation in the imperial See also:parliament stopped government action, but the publicity of the finding of the privy council warned all concerned against the See also:risk of neglecting the common law of the empire whenever they were not prepared to follow the lex loci contractus. Since the British occupation it was disputed whether the military authorities had the right to alienate for the benefit of the imperial exchequer fortress sites no longer required for defence. The reversion of such property was claimed for the local civil government, and the principles governing these rights were ultimately laid down by an order in council, which also determined military rights to restrict buildings within the range of forts. The co-operation of naval and military authorities was obtained for the construction, at imperial expense, of the breakwater designed to save Malta from being abandoned by long and deep draft modern vessels. British-born subjects were given the right to be tried in English. The new system of education (already described) was set up, and many new schools were built with funds provided by order in council against the wishes of the elected majority. An order in council (1899) making English the language of the courts after fifteen years (by which the Maltese would have obtained the right to be tried in English) was promulgated at a time when the system of taxation was also being revised; hence-forth agitation in favour of Italian and against taxation attained proportions unpleasant for those who preferred popularity to reform and progress. The elected members demanded the recall of Sir G. Strickland on his refusing to change his policy. The military governor gave way, as regards making English the language of the courts on a fixed date, but educational reforms and the See also:imposition of new taxes (those in Malta being 27s. 6d. per See also:head, against 93S. in England) were enacted by an order in council notwithstanding the agitation. Mr Mereweather was appointed chief secretary and civil lieutenant-governor in 1902, and Sir Gerald Strickland became governor and commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands. Governor Sir F. 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