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Scope: Malta
has been conquered, collonised and governed by numerous civilisations:
the history of the island has been moulded by the Phoenicians,
Carthaginians, Romans, Byzanites, Normans, Aragones, Knights, Frence
and finally the British. All have left their cultural mark and made
this island a unique nation.
During
the Roman Empire era, the Maltese islands enjoyed economic prosperity.
Notwithstanding Malta’s strategic geographical position at the centre
of the trade routes between northern Africa as well as joining the east
and the west of the Meditteranean, Malta does not seem to have had any
particular importance, politically, commercially or militarily till the
beginning of the 16th century. After the Great Siege of 1565, Malta
became Europe’s southernmost bastions against the Muslim invasion.
French interest in the fortunes of the Maltese islands gained momentum
in the 18th century. The British recognized that Malta was essential
for the British fleet in the Mediterranean and thus they ruled Malta
for almost two centuries. The island suffered greatly from WWII attacks
to the service of the British Empire as a naval base. The latter four
leadership episodes left a lasting mark on Malta and this is revealed
hereunder…
| Malta in World War II At the
outbreak of World War II, Malta was Britain’s most important Mediterranean
naval base. During World War II, Malta became the most bombed place on earth –
6,700 tons of bombs fell in just six weeks.
As such, it was to protect east-west supply lines while blocking the
passage between Italy and North Africa. When Mussolini plunged Italy into the war on June 10, 1940, Malta knew for sure that it was destined to play a frontline role. Malta, being a British colony and geographically close to Italy, was one of the first countries to suffer causalities from Italian attacks.
Europe was nine months into the conflict when, the first attacks over Malta took place on Tuesday 11th June 1940, only a day after the Italian leader Benito Mussolini declared war against Great Britain and its allies. The first air-raid, occurring some time before seven in the morning, horrified the Maltese and tremendous chaos ensued. From Fort Saint Elmo the first war-victims were announced. The Harbour areas were immediately evacuated. The three mostly hitted cities in Malta in World War II were Cospicua, Vittoriosa and Senglea. In December 1940, the German air force moved into Sicily to support the Italians and with two hundred and fifty aircraft the combined Axis forces greatly outnumbered Malta’s aerial strike force. Meanwhile, German and Italian submarines maintained a relentless assault on the supply convoys.At that point, Malta’s entire anti-aircraft resources were forty-two guns, two dozen searchlights and three Gloster Gladiator biplanes which had been discovered in crates and hurriedly assembled. The Gladiators, christened Faith, Hope and Charity, were matched against two hundred Italian aircraft based 60 miles (100km) north in Sicily. |
| Knights of Malta For centuries the Order of St.John later to be later known as the Knights of Malta had been the indomitable protectors of Christianity. When the Crusaders took the city of Jerusalem in July 1099, within the confines of the Holy Shrine they took the duties of Hospitallers. The hostility of the Muslims and need to safeguard the Holy Land entitled the order to endorse also into a Military role. More fighting and conflicts ensued. The superiority of Muslim army was so large that it was impossible to make any attempt at resistance.
When the Muslims regained control of the Holy Land, the Knights relocated to Rhodes. As the Hospitallers could no longer fight the Muslims on dry land, the sea became the theatre of the military action of the "Religion", as the Order came to be called. Rhodes was the best operative base as it was the meeting point of the routes from the East and the West. Very soon, Rhodes became a landmark that belongs to the Order.
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| Malta under the French The French revolution, encouraged by the Enlightenment gained popularity also in Malta. On the 11th day of June, 1798, the French army led by the formidable General Napoleon Bonaparte took hold of the Maltese Islands. In a few hours, the French troops had swept over Malta.
The Knights of Saint John, who in the preceding century had defeated their Turkish enemy, were now spiritless, exhausted, overwhelmed, and offered no resistance to the French force. For this and other reasons, the Knights surrendered immediately and on the 17th of June Grandmaster Hompesch was compelled to leave the island. Napoleon Bonaparte, conqueror of the Knights, entered the City of Valletta with triumphant pomp, arriving at the Banca Giuratale in the Grandmaster’s own carriage. He thereupon embarked |
| Roman Empire Classical Roman authors have written how in the year 217 BC the Roman army raided Malta and laid the island to waste. However, the great Roman historian Livy asserts that in the year 218 BC the Carthaginian army under Hamilcar was defeated and the Roman consul Titus established Roman rule in Malta.
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