Crown Colony of Malta
Crown Colony of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies | |||||||||
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1813–1964 | |||||||||
Anthem: George III | |||||||||
• 1952–1964 (last) | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
Governor | |||||||||
• 1813–1824 (first) | Sir Thomas Maitland | ||||||||
• 1962–1964 (last) | Sir Maurice H. Dorman | ||||||||
Giorgio Borġ Olivier | |||||||||
Legislature | Parliament | ||||||||
Senate (to 1933) | |||||||||
Legislative Assembly | |||||||||
History | |||||||||
• Established | 23 July 1813 | ||||||||
30 May 1814 | |||||||||
• Independence | 21 September 1964 | ||||||||
Population | |||||||||
• 1821 | 119,000[1] | ||||||||
Currency | Maltese scudo and various other currencies (1813–1825) Pound sterling (1825–1964) | ||||||||
ISO 3166 code | MT | ||||||||
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The Crown Colony of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies (commonly known as the Crown Colony of Malta or simply Malta) was the British colony in the Maltese islands, today the modern
Establishment and early years (1813–1824)
From 1530 to 1798, Malta had been
Malta became a Crown Colony on 23 July 1813, when
The
After the eradication of the plague, Maitland made several reforms. He was autocratic since he refused to form an advisory council made up of Maltese representatives, and so he was informally known as "King Tom". He formed the
19th and early 20th centuries (1824–1914)
In 1825, the Maltese scudo and the other circulating currencies at the time were officially replaced by the pound sterling, with the lowest-valued coin being a one-third farthing coin minted at irregular intervals, the last such issue occurring in 1913, keeping alive the tradition of the Maltese "grano", equal to one-twelfth of a penny. Despite this, scudi and other foreign coinage continued to circulate in limited amounts, and the last scudi were withdrawn over 60 years later in October and November 1886.[3]
During the Greek War of Independence, Malta became an important base for British, French and Russian naval forces, especially after the Battle of Navarino of 1827. The local economy improved and there was a boom in business, but shortly after the war ended in 1832 there was an economic decline.
The year 1828 saw the revocation of the right of sanctuary, following the Vatican Church-State proclamation. Three years later, the See of Malta was made independent of the See of Palermo. In 1839, press censorship was abolished, and the construction of the Anglican
Following the 1846 Carnival riots, in 1849 a Council of Government with elected members under British rule was set up. In 1870 a referendum was held on ecclesiastics serving on Council of Government, and in 1881 an Executive Council under British rule was created; in 1887, the Council of Government was entrusted with "dual control" under British rule. In 1878 a Royal Commission (the Rowsell-Julyan-Keenan Commission) recommended in its report the Anglicisation of the educational and judicial systems. A backlash came in 1903, with the Return to the 1849 form of Council of Government under British rule.
Despite this, home rule was refused to the Maltese until 1921, and the locals sometimes suffered considerable poverty.[4] This was due to the island being overpopulated and largely dependent on British military expenditure which varied with the demands of war. Throughout the 19th century, the British administration instituted several liberal constitutional reforms[5] which were generally resisted by the Church and the Maltese elite who preferred to cling to their feudal privileges.[4][5] Political organisations, like the Nationalist Party, were created to protect the Italian language in Malta.
The last quarter of the century saw technical and financial progress in line with the
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A pro-Italian demonstration in front of the Main Guard, 1883
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Protests against the bread tax, 1880s
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Anti-tax demonstrations in the 1880s
World War I and the Interwar period (1914–1940)
During World War I, Malta became known as the Nurse of the Mediterranean due to the number of wounded soldiers who came to be treated.
In 1919, the
The 1930s saw a period of instability in the relations between the Maltese political elite, the Maltese church, and the British rulers; the 1921 Constitution was suspended twice. First in 1930–32, following a clash between the governing Constitutional Party and Church and the latter's subsequent imposition of mortal sin on voters of the party and its allies, thus making a free and fair election impossible. Again, in 1933 the Constitution was withdrawn over the Government's budgetary vote for the teaching of Italian in elementary schools.[6] Malta thus reverted to the Crown Colony status it held in 1813.
Before the arrival of the British, the official language for hundreds of years, and one of the educated elite had been Italian, but this was downgraded by the increased use of English. In 1934, English and Maltese were declared the sole official languages. That year only about 15% of the population could speak Italian fluently.[5] This meant that out of 58,000 males qualified by age to be jurors, only 767 could qualify by language, as only Italian had until then been used in the courts.[5]
In 1936 the Constitution was revised to provide for the nomination of members to Executive Council under British rule, and in 1939 to provide again for an elected Council of Government under British rule.
World War II and aftermath (1940–1947)
Before World War II, Valletta was the location of the
Being a British colony, situated close to Sicily and the
The first air raids against Malta occurred on 11 June 1940; there were six attacks that day. The island's biplanes were unable to defend due to the Luqa Airfield being unfinished; however, the airfield was ready by the seventh attack. Initially, the Italians would fly at about 5,500 m, then they dropped down to three thousand metres (to improve the accuracy of their bombs). Major Paine stated, "[After they dropped down], we bagged one or two every other day, so they started coming in at [six thousand metres]. Their bombing was never very accurate. As they flew higher it became quite indiscriminate." Mabel Strickland would state, "The Italians decided they didn't like [the Gladiators and AA guns], so they dropped their bombs twenty miles off Malta and went back."
By the end of August, the Gladiators were reinforced by twelve
On Malta, 330 people had been killed and 297 were seriously wounded from the war's inception until December 1941. In January 1941, the German
On 15 April 1942,
In 1942, the
During the
The
The 1946 National Assembly resulted in the 1947 constitution, with the restoration of self-government, and Paul Boffa became the fifth Prime Minister of Malta.
Home rule to Independence (1947–1964)
After the Second World War, the islands achieved self-government, with the
After the 1952 accession of Queen
A
There were also concerns expressed by British MPs that the representation of Malta at Westminster would set a precedent for other colonies, and influence the outcome of general elections.[17]
In addition, the decreasing strategic importance of Malta to the Royal Navy meant that the British government was increasingly reluctant to maintain the naval dockyards. Following a decision by the Admiralty to dismiss 40 workers at the dockyard, Mintoff declared that "representatives of the Maltese people in Parliament declare that they are no longer bound by agreements and obligations toward the British government" (the 1958 Caravaggio incident)[18] In response, the Colonial Secretary sent a cable to Mintoff, stating that he had "recklessly hazarded" the whole integration plan.[18]
Under protest, Mintoff resigned as Prime Minister, while Borġ Olivier declined to form an alternative government. This led to the islands being placed under direct colonial administration from London for the second time, with the MLP abandoning support for integration and now advocating independence. In 1959, an Interim Constitution provided for an Executive Council under British rule.
While France had implemented a similar policy in its colonies, some of which became
In 1961, the Blood Commission provided for a new constitution allowing for a measure of self-government. Giorgio Borġ Olivier became Prime Minister the following year when the Stolper report was delivered. Malta became independent on 21 September 1964.
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Flag of Malta in the 19th century
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Flag (1875–1898)
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Flag (1898–1923)
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Flag (1923–1943)
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Flag (1943–1964)
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Unofficial flag prior to 1943
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Unofficial flag (1943–1964)
Notes
- ^ Until 1934
References
- ISBN 9781341377952. Archivedfrom the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ Sciberras, Sandro. "Maltese History – G. The First Years of British Rule 1800 – 1824" (PDF). St Benedict College. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ "British Era, 1800–1964". The Coinage of Malta. Central Bank of Malta. Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ a b Attard, Joseph (1988). Britain and Malta. Malta: PEG Ltd.
- ^ a b c d Luke, Sir Harry (1949). Malta – An Account and an Appreciation. Great Britain: Harrap.
- ^ "Le iniziative culturali italiane negli anni '30 per Malta e per le comunità maltesi all'estero". Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-670-03040-8.
- ISBN 978-0-7146-5179-8.
- ISBN 978-0-87021-926-9.
- ISBN 978-0-345-30069-0.
- ^ Shankland, Peter; Anthony Hunter (1961). Malta Convoy. I. Washburn. p. 60.
- ^ "Mr. Roosevelt Gives Scroll To People on Isle of Malta". The Gettysburg Times. Associated Press. 10 December 1943. pp. 1, 4.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-5317-1.
- ^ Dangerous Game Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Spectator, 10 February 1956
- ^ Malta Archived 3 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Simon C. Smith, University of London, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, The Stationery Office, 2006, page 133
- ^ Zarb Dimech, Anthony (29 May 2011). "Maltese Referenda past and present". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 11 September 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ "Malta (Round Table Conference) – HC Deb vol 550 cc1778-931". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 26 March 1956. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Penny-Wise". Time. 13 January 1958. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2014.
- ^ "Hansard Written Answers (House of Commons) → Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 3 August 1976. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2013.