Malta s national holidays as a reß ection of history and identity of the Maltese people

Transcription

1 Agnieszka Syliwoniuk Malta s national holidays as a reß ection of history and identity of the Maltese people National days play key role in the life of every society. Those holidays celebrated by a nation as a whole not only reß ect the history of the people of a country but also are the expression of their identity. On the one hand they are a visible representation of social memory and on the other hand they show clearly the divisions that are present in the society today. The national holidays have the power to unite the society but they can separate the people as well. Both the cases can be found in Malta. The main goal of the article is to highlight crucial events in the history of Malta and the impact their consequences showed to have on the Maltese society. Those events Þ nd their vivid reß ection in the Þ ve Maltese national days. According to the calendar, the order of Malta s national days is as follows: 1. Jum il- elsien (Freedom Day) 31 March 2. Sette Giugno (the Seventh of June) 7 June 3. Il-Vittorja (Feast of Our Lady of Victories) 8 September 4. L-Indipendenza (Independence Day) 21 September 5. Jum ir-repubblika (Republic Day) 13 December In the paper, however, it was decided that different order should be adopted that is chronological or historical one (although, as it will be seen later, there is one exception to the mentioned rule). The reason behind this logic is that seeing the events in wider perspective that is in the perspective of the history of Malta 267

2 Agnieszka Syliwoniuk treated as an indivisible whole gives a possibility of tracing the process of formation of the Maltese identity. Il-Vittorja Il-Vittorja known as well as Otto Settembre (the Eighth of September) was established to commemorate the victory of the Maltese in two Great Sieges: the Þ rst one in 1565, during the rule of the Order of St John, and the second one in 1943, during the Second World War. Otto Settembre was celebrated for the Þ rst time in 1885 in Valletta in nationalist circles. Until 1964 it was Malta s national day 1. The Order of St John was ofþ cially founded in Jerusalem in 1113 and since the very beginning it was one of the biggest knightly orders in the Palestine of that time. Originally, its main aim was to help pilgrims to the Holy Land, providing them with shelter and medical services. However, during the crusades the Knights of St John gained military experience by Þ ghting the enemies of Christianity. In 1291, after the fall of Acre, they were forced to leave the Palestine and stay in Cyprus (until ). Soon they left the island and moved to another one Rhodes where the Order resided for over two hundred years ( ), living a life of prosperity. Those years of glory ended with the capture of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire. Again, the Knights were made seek a residence this time they were looking for a place somewhere in Mediterranean from where they could take actions against the Turks and, consequently, recover Rhodes. In the Emperor Charles V had offered the islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino as well as the fortress of Tripoli 5 to the Order. Hoping for something better, the Grand Master Philippe Villiers de L Isle Adam had not accepted the offer at once and kept on his diplomatic actions aiming at getting a more suitable base. Comparing to rich and prosperous Rhodes, Malta seemed to be nothing but stone. The report of the commission sent to Malta by the Order to examine the local conditions did not show the islands as an attractive place. Stony, infertile grounds with almost no trees or plants, no running water with the exception of a few springs, H. Frendo, National Identity, in: Malta. Culture and Identity, ed. H. Frendo, O. Friggieri, 1994, p T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty, Warszawa 1980, p The dates according to the works of Carmel Cassar. Tomasz Wituch gives two dates of beginning of the stay of the Order in Rhodes 1308 (p. 60) and 1306 (p. 66). See C. Cassar, A Concise History of Malta, Msida 2002, p. 83; C. Cassar, Society, Culture and Identity in Early Modern Malta, Msida 2000, p.11; T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p. 60, In the opinion of Carmel Cassar, in However, Tomasz Wituch says the event happened a year later. See: C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p. 84; T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p Tripoli was one of the main bases of pirates in the Mediterranean. In 1510 the Spanish had set out on an expedition in order to capture the city. They achieved their goal and took over the fortress of Tripoli. Apart from practical and military aspects, the event was also perceived in moral terms as a victory of Christianity over Islam. It is worth noticing that the Maltese, who were very successful in Þ ghting the pirates which posed a serious threat to the Maltese islands, played an important role in the expedition and in later maintenance of the fortress. See: T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p

3 not many towns (in fact only Mdina and Birgù) and old, destroyed fortiþ cations were not appealing at all. Furthermore, the troops of Muslim pirates were often ransacking Maltese villages. Another problem was that the islands were offered in a package together with the fortress of Tripoli which was a source of troubles surrounded by the lands of Islam, it demanded a great effort to defend it in case of an attack. Furthermore, the Order started to suffer from the lack of money and to show Þ rst signs of disintegration. Soon it became clear there was no choice but Malta, therefore the Grand Master had to accept the offer. Finally, in the Emperor Charles V granted the Maltese islands to the Order as a Þ ef. In formal terms Malta remained a part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The symbol of Malta s vassalage was a yearly gift of a falcon given to the Viceroy of Sicily on All Saints Day 7. In the context of the arrival of the Knights to Malta, there is one more thing of great importance that needs to be mentioned the attitude of the people of Malta towards new rulers of their land. During the negotiations no one asked the Maltese about their opinion on the idea of giving the islands to the Order. Their opinion did not matter at all, even though in 1428 the people of Malta paid King Alphonse V of Aragon a considerable sum of money in exchange for his declaration that the Maltese islands would be submitted directly to Aragon and would never be given to anyone as a Þ ef. In consequence, when the Maltese sent their delegation to Viceroy of Sicily to protest, they were informed that it had already been too late. In October 1530 the Knights moved in to their new residence 8. Coming to Malta, the Knights of St John did not think of staying there any longer than necessary that is until they would be able to regain Rhodes or Þ nd a better place to live. They did not treat Malta as their home. During the Þ rst years of their stay the Knights were not willing to make any serious investments and almost nothing new was built at that time. Nevertheless, some investments had to be made as the threat of Ottoman attack was equally dangerous for the inhabitants of the islands and for the Order. Having this on their mind, the Knights decided to put some necessary effort in fortiþ cation of Malta. As the Knights of St John thought their stay in Malta would rather be a short one, they only reconstructed Fort St Angel and reinforced the facilities of Birgù. Soon it showed not to be enough in 1547 and 1551 the Turks, supported by the African pirates, attacked Malta. As the main goal of the Turkish raids was to check the island s defensive ability, the troops left it quite soon. However, in 1551 while the Ottoman soldiers were retreating from Malta, they attacked Gozo. The citadel in Gozo was poorly equipped and its garrison not numerous. These were the two main reasons of its Þ nal fall. As a result, Malta s national holidays as a reß ection of history and identity 6 Carmel Cassar writes the Order decided to accept Malta in Tomasz Wituch says the islands were given to the Order by the Emperor s act on 24 March See C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p. 84; T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p Mariusz Misztal says it could be an animal or according to tradition a Þ gure made of gold and precious stones. M. Misztal, Historia Malty, in: Historia ma ych krajów Europy, ed. J. aptos, Pozna 2007, p See also: J. Attard, Malta. A History of Two Millennia, Valletta 2002, p J. Attard, Malta. A History, p. 64; M. Misztal, Historia Malty..., in: Historia ma ych..., ed. J. aptos, p

4 Agnieszka Syliwoniuk the Turks took all (or almost all) the inhabitants of Gozo into slavery. In the same year the Order lost the fortress of Tripoli. All this showed the weakness of Malta s defence system and a strong need to improve it 9. In reply to this urgent necessity new strategic plans were made. It was decided that two new forts should be constructed one of them, in the shape of a star, on Sceberras peninsula and the other one on Isola point. The Þ rst one was later called St Elmo and the second one St Michael. Fort St Elmo was built to guard the peninsula and to deny entrance to Grand Harbour and Marsamxett. The main objective of Fort St Michael was to provide military support for Fort St Angel. Under the new plans defence facilities of Mdina and Birgù were improved 10. A couple of years later a new town was built near fort St Michael. In honour of the Grand Master Claude de La Sengle it was named Senglea. Malta was being transformed into a fortress. The arrival of the Knights of St John had a great and long-lasting impact on the Maltese society. When they came to the island, Maltese elites did not give them a warm welcome Þ rst of all because it meant imposing a limitation on the inß u- ence of local authorities on the political life of Malta. The powers of Università which was probably the best known local institution and had its roots in Medieval times 11 with the passing of time had been downgraded by the Grand Masters until it became an instrument in their hands. Università lost almost all of its competences and its real signiþ cance. Ancient privileges of the Maltese and their rights were not given much attention. It also has to be said that in terms of membership of the Order the Maltese noblemen were treated disrespectfully. They were denied high ranks in the Order, therefore could not become full members of the organization. The reason behind this was that sons of the Maltese aristocratic families did not fulþ ll formal criteria of admission. They could not present the set of documents demanded by the Order from all the applicants conþ rming their rights to titles, despite the fact that those titles were true and some families were of ancient lineage. In this case, the Maltese could only apply for lower ranks because there was no need to present a long lineage and besides the documents presented by the candidates were not under such a thorough scrutiny. Nevertheless, it did not solve the problem. This kind of solution could not be taken into account by most of the Maltese noblemen as it did not go along with their social position and their pride J. Attard, Malta. A History, p ; C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p ; M. Misztal, Historia Malty..., in: Historia ma ych..., ed. J. aptos, p C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p Università was one of the institutions of the Maltese local government. It fulþ lled administrative function and had its seat in Mdina. Members of Università were elective but with the passing of time the institution became dominated by the main Maltese aristocratic families. 12 M. Misztal, Historia Malty..., in: Historia ma ych..., ed. J. aptos, p Tomasz Wituch does not seem to share this point of view. The author claims it was a very effective means of winning over the Maltese elites to the purposes of the Order, even though the Maltese could have only limited possibility of promotion within the structure of the institution. T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p

5 Since the beginning of the second half of the 16 th century the rise of tension over a possibility of Turkish attack could be seen clearly. For the Grand Master Jean Parisot de La Valette it was certain that the Ottoman Empire would invade Malta 13. It was only a question of time. In his (sober) judgment backed up with an analysis of international situation of the time it was certain that the Order would not get any better residence than the Maltese islands. Having this on his mind, he decided to reinforce the power of the Order in Malta as well as to strengthen the fortiþ cations of the island. One of the decisions of great signiþ cance he made concerned the construction of a new city on the Sceberras peninsula that is the present capital of Malta, Valletta. The darkest predictions of La Valette came true in In 1564 the resident of Venice in Istanbul as well as the Order s envoys warned the Grand Master that the Sultan had been preparing a military expedition against Malta. La Valette had not ignored the warning and started to get ready for the Ottoman attack. On the one hand he asked the Pope and Catholic monarchs of Europe for help and on the other hand he did everything in his power to make good use of the entire local potential. In May 1565, when the Ottoman ß eet appeared, Malta was prepared for a battle as well as it was within the possibilities of a relatively small island. However, great number of Turkish soldiers in comparison to rather small united forces of the Order and the Maltese 14 created a serious problem. The Turks began their military operations with launching an attack on Fort St Elmo. The garrison of the fort was taking every action to defend the post but Þ nally it turned out to be impossible. When Fort St Elmo fell in June, the Turks turned their actions to Fort St Angel and Fort St Michael as well as the towns of Birgù and Senglea. The Knights of St John together with the Maltese people were very brave and fought the enemy effectively. Nevertheless, the Ottoman soldiers had outnumbered them so much that it became evident that Malta was in need for military support. The problem was that the help which was expected to come was not coming. It was no sooner than September that the relief force from Sicily arrived Þ rst to Gozo and then to Malta. By the evening of 8 September the siege of Malta was over and the Turks defeated. Finally, the Ottoman soldiers were sailing back home 15. The siege brought a lot of damages to Malta. Its results were exceptionally traumatic for the villages. The walls of Birgù and Senglea as well as the buildings inside them were in the state of widespread destruction. But there were also some phenomena of social and political nature that arose in those difþ cult months of the siege. First of all, the dramatic experience of the siege was shared by all of the Malta s national holidays as a reß ection of history and identity 13 For instance, in the years the pirates launched a plenty of attacks on Malta. Of course, the Knights took revenge on them for their hostile actions. T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p Carmel Cassar writes that the proportion of the Knights and the Maltese to the Turks was three to one. Tomasz Wituch is of the opinion that La Valette had at his disposal people while the Ottoman forces consisted of well-trained soldiers. C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p. 117; T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p

6 Agnieszka Syliwoniuk Maltese people and the Knights together. Everyone lost some of his relatives, was wounded and / or lost his property as a direct consequence of the battle. Secondly, the Maltese and the Knights were Þ ghting shoulder to shoulder, both groups supporting each other in the struggle. An experience of common danger and loss, and the feeling of solidarity against the enemy united the Maltese with the Order and were fundamental in terms of forming of the community. The Knights shed blood for Malta and this created among them a feeling of attachment to the Maltese land. Malta was no longer seen as a place of temporary stay of the Order. The Knights started to see it as their home of which they wanted to be proud. A considerable rise in investments in Malta after the siege may be perceived as a practical expression of the Knights changed attitude. It should be stated that the siege had an essential impact on the formation of the Maltese identity. Religious component of the identiþ cation (Christianity which also meant afþ liation to the European cultural circle) was highlighted due to negative identity that is the creation of the image of us by opposing it to the image of them. The Ottoman (Muslim) invasion showed the Maltese the features they shared with the rest of Europe. In the face of danger common characteristics of the Maltese were strengthened. In political terms, the siege strengthened the position of the Order both internationally and locally. Internationally, the event was portrayed as a triumph of Christianity over Islam. For Europe it was indeed a battle of great importance, although not a decisive one. For Malta the value of this experience was different (as it can be easily deduced from its name) the Great Siege constitutes one of the turning points in the Maltese history and remains an essential element of social memory. The bravery of the Maltese people in the battle is beyond a shadow of doubt. However, thanks to political propaganda (only) the Knights of St John and in particular the Grand Master were depicted as main heroes of the event. La Valette gained much respect from the part of European monarchs of the time and received expensive gifts from them. His local power was extended as well. Nevertheless, as a political Þ gure, La Valette was the subject of much controversy, mainly because of his tough policy with regard to the Maltese people and the Knights 16. Even today opinions about the Grand Master are conß icting. It is worth noticing that until 2012 there was not a single monument to La Valette in Malta. Almost four centuries later Malta came under siege once again. This time it happened during the Second World War. With reference to Malta s role during the war, Tomasz Wituch writes that at the beginning of the Second World War the island s military value was underestimated by the United Kingdom 17. As the British 16 La Valette was known for criticizing immoral conduct of some of the Knights. 17 In 1798 France took over Malta. As the French rule turned out to be unbearable for the Maltese people, they started the Þ ght against it. But it was difþ cult for them to expel the French from the islands, so they asked Britain for help. The British not only did their work well but also appreciated the values of the Maltese islands and so they decided to stay. In consequence British rule was imposed on Malta. The Maltese people who wanted to have an independent state once again fell under the rule of a foreign country. 272

7 assumed that the bases situated within the dominions of France in the Mediterranean would be more convenient to use and of greater strategic value (mainly for air force), they did not want to involve themselves in the matters of the small Maltese islands. Another argument against Malta was that it appeared potentially possible that the Italians would attack the islands from Sicily and in such case it would be too difþ cult to defend the archipelago. The British turned their attention to Malta only when it became clear that there had been no question of using any other Mediterranean base after the fall of France in Again as in the case of the Order of St John Malta seemed to be the only possible choice, therefore the best one. However, there is one more thing that is worth noticing in terms of the United Kingdom s attitude towards Malta during the Second World War: at the time the British Empire did not have at its disposal enough means to defend all of its parts equally and to Þ ght on all the fronts of the war. Therefore the difþ cult choice which part of the Empire to save Þ rst had to be made. In June 1940 Italy attacked the Maltese islands. The archipelago was not really prepared for any type of military actions against it. It was just as well that Italy was not planning to invade the islands, focusing all its efforts on the North African front (mainly Libya and Egypt). In February 1941 Italy was defeated in Africa and lost Cyrenaica which suddenly came into British possession. Having bases in Cyrenaica and Malta, it was easier for the British to defend Egypt. Knowing that Italy needed military support, the Germans started the bombing of Malta. The course of later events made the United Kingdom change its position from offensive to defensive one. Malta came under siege 19. In spring of 1941 the Axis Powers gained more control over the Mediterranean. Rommel s Afrika Korps took over Cyrenaica and later the Germans invaded Crete as well. Adding to this Italian attacks from the air, the situation of the Maltese islands became dramatic. In July 1941 Italian aircrafts bombed the Grand Harbour 20 which caused a lot of damage, not only to the Maltese people but also to the army of the United Kingdom. The defence of Malta became vital for the British and the reason behind this was that it played an essential role in the defence of Egypt 21. In 1941 main objective of the forces operating from Malta was to cut off supplies and military support for the armies of Axis Powers in Africa. Doing so, the Allies were able to create confusion in the actions of Rommel s Afrika Korps. Another point was that the British ß eet and planes could reach Tripoli, Sicily and Sardinia 22. The value of Malta as a military base became obvious. The Þ rst half of 1942 was difþ cult for the Maltese because the Germans kept on their offensive from the air and were constantly bombing the archipelago 23. The Malta s national holidays as a reß ection of history and identity 18 T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p Ibidem, p See also M. Misztal, Historia Malty..., in: Historia ma ych..., ed. J. aptos, p T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p M. Misztal, Historia Malty..., in: Historia ma ych..., ed. J. aptos, p According to Mariusz Misztal, between June 1940 and August 1943 the Axis Powers bombed Malta at least times. Ibidem, p

8 Agnieszka Syliwoniuk Germans had planned to invade Malta in June 1942 but Þ nally they gave up this idea 24. In the meantime the British were strengthening their forces on the islands so that they would be able to keep Egypt in their hands 25. The problem was that most of the supplies for Malta did not reach the islands due to the bombings. On August 1942 a convoy Þ ve out of fourteen ships sent from Britain Þ nally reached Malta. As it took place on the Assumption Day, it is known as the Santa Maria convoy. The supplies did not last for long but even so it enabled the British to continue their military actions 26. In the summer of 1943 Malta played key role in the invasion of Sicily by the Allies. The success of this action and the fall of the fascist regime in Italy in July 1943 brought Malta the end of the war. In the years of the siege strategic value of Malta became clearly visible. The Axis Powers got their calculations wrong: underestimation of the potential of the archipelago was a serious mistake. The location of the Maltese islands in the central part of the Mediterranean was a fact of great signiþ cance. Using Malta as a base, the British were able to cut off the supplies for the German and Italian armies in Africa. Furthermore, the base was of use in supporting the Allies in Africa and attacking Italy. Malta was devastated after the siege. Due to dense population of the cities the losses caused by the bombings reached high level. Luckily, as the buildings were made of stone, the attacks did not set them on Þ re. Shortage of food was a grave problem as the supplies which reached the islands consisted mainly of fuel and ammunition for the army. In 1942 in the consequence of lack of food supplies people suffered from hunger. There is one more aspect of the siege that should be noticed: the events that took place during the war caused serious changes in political preferences as well as in the cultural identity of some groups of the Maltese society. Before the war many of the Maltese identiþ ed themselves with Italy. They spoke Italian and had strong ties with the Italian culture italianità constituted an essential element of their identity 27. This tendency was reß ected in daily life of the Maltese but also in the politics. One of the two most important political parties in the Maltese politics the Nationalist Party underlined in its programme its ties with Italy. More radical members of the party propagated anti-british slogans and even showed inclinations towards fascist ideology. However, the situation changed dramatically when Italian planes started to bomb Malta. It was a great shock for the Maltese who were convinced that Italy would never take any hostile steps against them. But as they saw they had been mistaken, they turned their sympathies to Great Britain and were more eager to help British soldiers. 24 It was due to German offensive in the USRR which demanded more well-trained soldiers. 25 T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p M. Misztal, Historia Malty..., in: Historia ma ych..., ed. J. aptos, p According to Henry Frendo, Maltese settlers in Louisiana were perceived as the Italians from Malta. H. Frendo, Language and Nationhood in the Maltese Experience: Some Comparative and Theoretical Approaches, in: Collegium Melitense Quatercentenary Celebrations, , ed. R. Ellul Micallef, S. Fiorini, Valletta 1992, p

9 On 15 April 1943 Malta was awarded the Cross of St George and King George VI thanked the Maltese for their loyalty, courage and sacriþ ce. As Mariusz Misztal says, it was the Þ rst and only time when a nation as a whole was honoured by this distinction 28. Sette Giugno Sette Giugno (the Seventh of June) is celebrated in order to commemorate the events of 7 June Because of its socio-political dimension, that day is sometimes regarded as the day when the Maltese nationalism was born a mythical moment when the Maltese statehood was achieved. In 1814 Malta became a colony of the United Kingdom. The way the British ruled the islands caused social discontent and tensions in political circles. At the beginning of the 20th century Malta was affected by high unemployment. Accompanied by rapid expansion of population, it created a serious problem for the British administration. At this time many of the Maltese decided to leave their home and travel abroad in search for a better life for themselves and their families. High inß ation which had appeared together with the First World War worsened the situation. Economic revival which came after the First World War improved living conditions of the Maltese. Nevertheless, it was only a short-time change. The situation worsened soon severe food shortages and fast rise in prices combined with high level of unemployment plagued the society. Maltese political leaders protested against this course of events and demanded Home Rule. Pursuing this goal, they convoked the National Assembly 29. It was a body that comprised representatives of all the classes and strata of the society and its main goal was to represent the interests of the Maltese people and therefore to conduct negotiations with the United Kingdom concerning self-government 30. Due to the reasons of socio-economic and political nature the situation in the country was tense. On 7 June 1919 riots broke out in Valletta. On that day the National Assembly was working on matters concerning negotiations with the British which were aimed at obtaining political and administrative autonomy in local affairs. The Maltese were protesting in order to express their support for the initiative as well as their anger and discontent with food shortages. British soldiers were called with the aim of taking control over the protests. However, they Þ red into the Malta s national holidays as a reß ection of history and identity 28 M. Misztal, Historia Malty..., in: Historia ma ych..., ed. J. aptos, p C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p Dominic Fenech writes that some 250 delegates met on 25 February 1919 on the Þ rst session of the National Assembly. The author also mentions that the institution comprised such a wide range of bodies as: the elected members of the Council of Government, 10 bodies representing the clergy, 1body representing the nobility, 6 bodies representing the professional classes, 3 bodies representing the commercial class, 6 bodies representing the working class, 2 bodies representing the press, 6 cultural or political societies, 3 religious educational institutes, 42 centres or circles, 26 band clubs, 4 dramatic societies. D. Fenech, Endemic Democracy ( ). Responsibility and Power in Inter-war Malta, San Gwann 2005, p

10 Agnieszka Syliwoniuk people and worsened the matter. Demonstrations gained more power and became rough. In consequence of the riots several Maltese were killed or died due to injuries. As it is evident that the economic situation of the islands was very difþ cult at the time and there were many reasons of different nature for people s dissatisfaction (unemployment, high costs of living, bread shortage which created a danger of starvation but also demands for at least autonomy), it is hard to assess to what extent the riots were anti-british. In order to calm the situation, a bread subsidy was introduced as well as a programme of public works 31. The main political result of the tragedy was the constitution of London partly accepted demands of the Maltese and for the Þ rst time they were treated as a nation. According to the act, the diarchy system 32 was introduced the Maltese Imperial Government coexisted with the Maltese Government. The Þ rst one worked in conformity with the instructions from London and controlled the matters of defence, immigration and foreign policy. Local issues remained within the competence of the autonomous Maltese Government 33. The events that took place in 1919 united the Maltese people as a nation. There is also one more signiþ cant aspect of the Maltese national identity: negative identity which was once again present in the process of formation of the identiþ cation of the Maltese people. The distinction between the Maltese ( us ) and the British ( them ) showed not only the difference between the two nationalities but also highlighted common features of the Maltese as a national community. What was common for the people of Malta became clearly visible. L-Indipendenza After the Second World War socio-political and economical context changed a lot. The British Empire was much weaker than before the war and had serious problems with managing its colonial affairs. Furthermore, the division of power took a bipolar shape (the USA the USSR and their respective allies). It turned out that many costs had to be reduced in order to let the United Kingdom function well. Somehow that was the case of Malta. From the dawn of 19th century until the late 1950s the United Kingdom was interested in Malta almost only in terms of strategic value of the archipelago. Lying in the centre of the Mediterranean, Malta played key role as a fortress colony on the way to India. 31 J. Attard, Malta. A History, p The diarchy system can be seen as a model of devolution. The main feature of this system was the division of power between the metropolis and a dependent territory. The division was asymmetric by its nature the Government of the United Kingdom controlled all the questions of vital and strategic meaning whereas local government of a colony had only limited inß uence over daily life matters or strictly local issues. It has to be noticed that the diarchy was also a useful tool in the hands of those who governed the British Empire. It was a clever solution to win the loyalty of local elites and to rule in a peaceful and at the same time effective way. It was characteristic for India but due to its effectiveness it was introduced in Malta as well. 33 C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p. 204; T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p

11 As for the Maltese domestic affairs, things could go their own way. Religious and social institutions were not forced to oblige any instructions given by the British administration and had a free hand in fulþ lling their functions. However, during the colonial period the Maltese people were denied access to high ranks (for instance in the army and in the dockyards) and excluded from some Þ elds of political and economical life of their country. Political pattern of patronage and clientpatron relations were of great use at that time 34. According to the words of Carmel Cassar: Malta was essentially reduced to a client-state which was economically and politically dependent upon the «mother country» 35. After the Second World War, Britain was not able to play a role of a world power anymore. Its economical resources decreased and military requirements could not stay on the same level as before the war. The United Kingdom had to change its policy towards its overseas possessions radically. Malta was affected by those changes as well. With the passing of time the number of British soldiers who served in Malta was reduced and the Royal Navy did not visit the island as frequently as usually. Furthermore, it was decided that the Naval Dockyard should be converted into a commercial shipyard. The Government in London planned to cut expenditure in Malta and the Maltese Government was not able to change it 36. A plenty of people became unemployed and so alternative workplaces had to be created. The economy of the country was in need to undergo diversiþ cation and its employment structure had to be transformed radically 37. It seems as if each of the Maltese Governments of the time felt that Britain was somehow responsible for the course of events and therefore morally obliged to help Malta to undergo transition. Nevertheless, there were diverse ideas concerning Malta s future relations with the United Kingdom. This division of opinions and conceptions could be seen on the Maltese political scene. One of those possible scenarios presumed that Malta should be integrated with the United Kingdom. In 1943 an idea of this kind was expressed by Mable Strickland 38 who took a stance that integration would ensure Malta stability 39. Several years later (in 1954) Dom Mintoff also postulated that integration would be the right solution, therefore it should be applied. In 1955 the Malta Labour Party won the parliamentary elections and Mintoff took up a post of Prime Minister. He presented integration with Britain as a remedy for most of Malta s problems of the Malta s national holidays as a reß ection of history and identity 34 C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p Ibidem, p E. Mizzi, Malta in the Making An Eyewitness Account, 1995, p C. Cassar, A Concise History..., p Mable Strickland was the leader of the Progressive Constitutional Party. 39 Joseph Attard says this kind of idea was mentioned as well by the British Secretary of State for Colonies, Mr. L.S. Amery who said that in order to strengthen Britain s position in the Mediterranean Malta and Gibraltar should be integrated with the United Kingdom. J. Attard, Malta. A History, p

12 Agnieszka Syliwoniuk time 40. In accordance with Mintoff s conception, Malta would have its representatives in the House of Commons at Westminster (at least three members who would be elected according to the British electoral law). When it comes to domestic affairs, Malta would retain local autonomy and the Maltese Parliament would have competences in the Þ eld of legislation concerning all matters with the exceptions of foreign policy and defence. The Catholic Church in Malta was not in favour of this postulate as its hierarchy was afraid of lowering the status of the Catholic religion. Nevertheless, Britain s attitude towards the proposal was rather positive. The postulated integration was seen as reasonable and in formal terms it could be accepted by the British Government and the Parliament, providing that the Maltese people would Þ rst accept it. On February 1956 a referendum concerning integration was held in Malta. The majority of the votes were for the integration. However, as it was not a substantial majority, the British Government decided not to follow with the integration 41 and to give the people of Malta an opportunity of rethinking their stand and pronouncing it once again at the time of next parliamentary elections. Dom Mintoff had not abandoned this idea and continued the negotiations concerning Þ ve-years plan that would help in modernization of Malta s economy 42. But with the passing of time the situation of the archipelago became worse, especially when the British announced their decision of changing the policy towards the dockyard and discharging many of its employees. Mintoff could not reach a satisfying agreement in his negotiations with the Government of the United Kingdom. The negotiations reached deadlock. It was at that time that Dom Mintoff changed his mind radically and he put forward a proposal that Malta should be an independent state. In April 1958 Mintoff and his government resigned. In January 1959 the British Government announced the suspension of the 1947 constitution which can be perceived as the return to colonial rule 43. In 1961 Malta was given a new constitution and in 1962 parliamentary elections took place. The elections were won by the Nationalist Party and Giorgio Borg Olivier was designated as a Prime Minister. Borg Olivier was one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the idea of independence and when a possibility of get- 40 Henry Frendo expresses the view that: Not unlike Enrico (Nerik) Mizzi who, in 1912, had proposed federation with Italy, Mintoff saw the need for dependence and association under certain conditions, but he expressed it differently desiring to deepen rather than to dampen the British connection. H. Frendo, The legacy of colonialism. The experience of Malta and Cyprus, in: The Development Process in Small Island States, ed. D.G. Lockhart, D. Drakakis-Smith, J. Schembri, London 1993, p Tomasz Wituch takes the view that Great Britain did not really want integration with Malta. First of all, because the British Government was not willing to take responsibility for the Maltese economy which was seen as unstable and which demanded considerable Þ nancial outlays to work properly. The author says as well that the integration would not grant the Maltese people a number of rights. For instance as indicated in the work they would not have the right to elect the members of British Parliament. T. Wituch, Dzieje Malty..., p J. Attard, Malta. A History, p Ibidem, p

13 ting it came his way he could not miss the chance. According to his arguments, if Britain was not willing to fulþ ll its responsibilities towards Malta, it should not be entitled to decide about such vital issues as defence and foreign affairs of the islands. Therefore Malta should have the right to be independent. The response of the Government of the United Kingdom was positive mostly because from its assessment of the situation it came out that the price Britain would have to pay in exchange for retaining Malta would be much too high. Furthermore as Edgar Mizzi puts this the British Government felt they could make a deal with him [that is with Borg Olivier A.S.] 44. As Borg Olivier knew it well, he made a good use of this knowledge 45. Between 16 July and 1 August 1963 the Independence Conference was held in London. During the meeting two main questions were to be solved Þ rst of them was whether Malta should become independent now and the second one concerned the type of constitution which should be adopted by the newly independent state. The opinions expressed were conß icting. Two main parties the Nationalist Party and the Labour Party agreed that Malta should become a sovereign state now whereas three smaller parties 46 wanted the matter to be subject to referendum. The question of constitution, however, was much more complicated. There was much controversy over a couple of matters such as the choice between a monarchy and a republic, electoral system, membership of Commonwealth, status of the Catholic Church and fresh elections before independence 47. This time the Labour Party disagreed with the draft constitution submitted by the Nationalist Party. Furthermore, Dom Mintoff presented six proposals to be included in the constitution. Those postulates known as Mintoff s six points concerned: the position of the Church in relation to human rights, prohibiting the Archbishop from declaring it to be a mortal sin to vote for a particular party or person, introduction of civil marriage and divorce for non-catholics, freedom to receive or not the Catholic religion instruction in school, right to burial at state owned cemeteries not to be refused for religious or political reasons and freedom of all denominations 48. It has to be said that Dom Mintoff formed his proposals in response to the Maltese reality of the time in which the Catholic Church enjoyed a very strong position and indeed inß uenced the Maltese politics in a considerable way 49. Malta s national holidays as a reß ection of history and identity 44 E. Mizzi, Malta in the Making, p Ibidem, p One of the most detailed descriptions of the independence negotiations can be found in the work of Edgar Mizzi. A good account is also given by Henry Frendo. See E. Mizzi, Malta in the Making, p ; H. Frendo, The Origins of Maltese Statehood. A Case Study of Decolonization in the Mediterranean, 2000, p Edgar Mizzi mentions six questions. Five of them are the same as listed above and he adds one more to the list: The extent to which certain provisions of the Constitution were to be entrenched. E. Mizzi, Malta in the Making, p Ibidem, p For instance, in 1961 top Malta Labour Party ofþ cials were excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Voting for this party was considered a mortal sin and therefore those who voted in favour of 279

14 Agnieszka Syliwoniuk Giorgio Borg Olivier did not accept the postulates of the leader of the Labour Party and was against the endorsement of such provisions in the constitution. He also knew that Mintoff would not change his stand therefore he would not agree to leave the postulates out. In this case the Prime Minister decided to submit the draft of the constitution proposed by the Government to a referendum. The event took place on 2 4 May 1964 and the Maltese people were in favour of the act 50. Later on the new constitution of Malta together with the Financial Agreement and the Defence Agreement were presented to the British Parliament. Finally the Parliament approved the Malta Independence Act 51. On the night 20/21 September 1964 the people of Malta celebrated independence of their country as a Comonwealth Realm. The main celebrations took place in Floriana. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh delivered Giorgio Borg Olivier the Instruments of Independence on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen. The Maltese ß ag was run up against the national song of Malta, Lil Din l-art elwa. Many of the Maltese people took part in ofþ cial celebrations but even though from 16 to 24 September public meetings or demonstrations except those which formed part of the ofþ cial celebrations were prohibited 52, some incidents did occur. Guido de Marco writes that at some distance from Floriana a group of the Labour Party supporters demonstrated against the celebrations 53. Jum il- elsien 280 In 1971 the Labour Party won the parliamentary elections and Dom Mintoff took up the responsibilities of Prime Minister. Malta was an independent country yet it still remained under foreign inß uences. At that time the greatest challenge to the Maltese Government was to carry out a reform programme which would end the country s dependence on other countries. Malta s economy had to be modernized and for this purpose not only money was needed but also it was vital to go out of the frameworks outlined by the two agreements signed with the United Kingdom in 1964 the Financial Agreement and the Defence Agreement. Mintoff decided to break this economic dependence by revising those acts 54. The Financial Agreement aimed at helping Malta with the transformation of its economy. In order to function properly as a fully sovereign state, Malta s economy had to undergo a process of transition from military economy to civil econothe party were denies holy sacraments. Furthermore, they could not be buried in consecrated ground. See: G. Baldacchino, A Nationless State? Malta, National Identity and the EU, West European Politics 2002, vol. 25, no. 4, p J. Attard, Malta. A History, p E. Mizzi, Malta in the Making, p Ibidem, p G. de Marco, The Politics of Persuasion. An Autobiography, Valletta 2007, p As it was outlined in the Labour Party s electoral programme: The defence treaty will be revised and it will clearly provide that Þ nancial aid by the British Government is not given in charity but in payment for the facilities that Malta is giving Britain. Keesing s Contemporary Archives, 1971, p

15 my. Malta was not a fortress colony any longer and so it was essential to change its economic reality. The Defence Agreement deþ ned the conditions under which the British could use the military base in Malta. The presence of the British soldiers on the island was vital for its economy not only because of the Þ nancial incomes which were of great importance for the budget of the state but also because of workplaces. The provisions included in the document were to come to an end in 1974 and in 1971 Malta s economy was not really prepared for it. In this case the Prime Minister made his mind to negotiate higher fees for the use of the military facilities, longer stay of the British soldiers on the island and more restrict conditions of their functioning there. All this was to be made in such a way which would curb the dependence on Britain 55. In order to achieve his goal, Dom Mintoff had to show that the relations Malta had with the West were not the only line of its foreign policy and that there were more partners on international scene than just the Western European countries. Such an example was Libya which was one of Malta s important partners in the 1970s and 1980s. Mintoff took over premiership on 16 June A few days later, on 25 June, he came to a decision that admiral Gino Birindelli (who was then the navy commander, NATO Alllied Naval Forces Southern Europe) would have to leave Malta as he was declared persona non grata. At the same time he announced that Malta and the United Kingdom were considering the revision of the 1964 Defence Agreement. Two days later, Mintoff asked the United States to stop sending their vessels to the ports Malta. As Christine Coleiro puts it: In two weeks from his election, Mintoff had launched his Þ rst attack on Malta s three Western commitments, Britain, NATO, and the US 56. It was not difþ cult to predict the course of events as those actions had been announced before the elections when the leader of the Labour Party stated that an important aim of his policy would be to keep the island free of American, Soviet or Italian bases 57. Furthermore, Malta was denied the NATO membership or even the observer status 58 and the Government felt that the United Kingdom was treating Malta disrespectfully 59. In those circumstances Mintoff wanted to show the international community that despite its small size and recent colonial dependency Malta should be respected, just as every independent state should be. The negotiations were indeed very stormy and complicated. In the view of the United Kingdom and NATO, which was also making use of the military facilities, Mintoff wanted too much. But the Maltese Prime Minister thought otherwise. Having reached the level of perfection in bargaining, Dom Mintoff Malta s national holidays as a reß ection of history and identity 55 C. Coleiro, A Propitious Partner, San Gwann 1997, p Ibidem, p Keesing s Contemporary Archives, 1971, p C. Coleiro, A Propitious Partner, p Christine Coleiro takes the view that the Maltese Government was of the opinion that Great Britain had been failing to fulþ ll the commitments which were included in the two agreements of Ibidem, p

16 Agnieszka Syliwoniuk was using every possible technique to achieve his goal. In his opinion Great Britain underestimated the value of the base and British proposals were unacceptable for him. Setting about to negotiations with the United Kingdom, as Christine Coleiro says, Mintoff immediately embarked on a series of bargaining tactics which completely shocked the Maltese people and utterly bafß ed Britain and her NATO partners 60. However, later events proved it had been a good strategy 61. It showed to be very difþ cult to Þ nd a solution. However, both sides Þ nally agreed to a compromise. The agreement was signed in London on 26 March John Dowdall expresses the view that Mintoff was very successful in the negotiations. As the author writes, the Prime Minister managed to get an annual rent of 14 mln GDP for the use of the military facilities. In addition, Italy offered Malta a payment of 2,5 mln GDP 63 and the United States provided a loan of 5 mln USD 64. Edgar Mizzi concludes that: For the next seven years Malta was assured of substantial Þ nancial and economic beneþ ts which, if wisely utilised, could lead to a much more balanced and less dependent economy, and a higher standard of living for the entire population 65. It is worth noticing that according to the agreement Malta was entitled to make the military facilities available not only to the United Kingdom but also to any other country, providing that this country was not a member of the Warsaw Pact. It is important to say that in the act it was stated that the base in Malta could not be used as a base in a military attack against any Arab country 66. This provision was included mainly because of the fact that in 1956 during the Suez war Great Britain attacked Egypt from Malta 67 and this decision was taken somehow beyond the competence of the Maltese Government. The 1972 Defence Agreement was to expire in FulÞ lling the terms of the act, British soldiers left Malta on March 31, Malta ceased to be a military base which was serving a foreign country. This new situation entailed not only economical consequences but also demanded changes in the political Þ eld. Malta s position had to be redeþ ned. That was the reason behind the switch in the Maltese foreign policy of the 1970s and 1980s, when the Government decided that Malta should adopt the policy of neutrality and non-alignment. 60 Ibidem, p A detailed account of the event can be found in the book of Edgar Mizzi. See E. Mizzi, Malta in the Making, p J. Attard, Malta. A History, p In the literature there is a contradiction between the authors in terms of origin of this sum of money. Joseph Attard writes that 2,5 mln GBP was paid jointly by Italy and the United States whereas John Dowdall mentions only Italy. J. Attard, Malta. A History, p. 385; J. Dowdall, The Political Economy of Malta. The Economics of Mr. Mintoff s Independence, Round Table, vol. 248, p J. Dowdall, The Political Economy, p E. Mizzi, Malta in the Making, p J. Attard, Malta. A History, p C. Coleiro, A Propitious Partner, p