We were attracted to visiting Malta due to its interesting history spanning from pre-history through to the more recent second World War. Some people, we understand, visit or retire to Malta for its climate but as a beach holiday resort its has a lack of beaches and, notwithstanding the good weather, if asked I would say it is not the best option for that type of holiday. That said, the history is very interesting.
When we flew into Malta we were surprised to see how much of the island had been built up. Our local guide told us that the population of Malta had nearly doubled in his lifetime from 300,000 to nearly 600,000 at the last census. An estimated 25% of the increase, we understand, is made up of the legal migrants and their children who had come to Malta to work in the hospitality and other industries related mainly to tourism.
We stayed at St Paul’s Bay rather than in the capital, Valetta, but with Malta only being 17 miles long and 9 miles wide we were never too far from the historic sites we visited throughout the week.
During the Ice Ages of the past 2 million years, sea levels changes have sometimes isolated Malta and at other times connected Malta to Sicily with a land bridge. When sea levels were low animals, plants and people were more easily able to colonise Malta and during periods of high sea levels the population would become isolated. Cave deposits in Malta have uncovered the bones of many animals dating back to the Ice Ages such as dwarf elephants and hippos, giant swans and dormice, which developed due to the isolation resulting from the rising seas.
Fossilised dwarf elephant skeleton Ghar Dalam Museum
The earliest evidence that humans were in Malta is from the Neolithic Age from around 5000 BC where pottery and animal bones indicate that farming communities existed. The early Neolithic period in Malta (5200 to 4100BC) is subdivided by pottery styles into Ghar Dalam, Grey Skorba and Red Skorba phases. Around 3600 BC during the later Neolithic period (4200 to 2500 BC), the early farmers of Malta began building extraordinary megalithic monuments which can be divided into the Tarxien and Ggantija phases.
There are six main monument clusters across Malta and Gozo of which Tarxien, Hagar Qim and Ggantija are the best preserved. Some of their stones weight 20 tonnes and their walls typically enclose chambers with carved doorways.
Tarxien Temple, the legs of one of the fat ladies of Malta statues
About 2500 BC the temple culture of the Neolithic Age collapsed and the sites were left to crumble away. This collapse coincided with the appearance of the first metal objects on the islands heralding the Bronze Age.
The first millennium BC is marked by the arrival of the Phoenicians (800 to 218 BC) who bring knowledge of iron working with them. The Phoenicians originated from the Levant and it is thought they may have been trading in the western Mediterranean by the 9th and 10th centuries BC. They stayed for many centuries and had a considerable impact on Maltese society. The Maltese language today still holds Phoenician elements with the name of Malta possibility being derived from the Phoenicians word for “refuge”.
By the 3rd century BC a new power had entered the Mediterranean, the Romans. Rome’s interest in Malta was connected to its wars with Carthage whose commercial interest clashed with the ambitions of Rome. This led to the Punic wars during which Punic-dominated Malta surrendered to the Romans.
Rome declined in the 5th century AD and by 535 AD the islands were captured by the Byzantines. Byzantine rule from Constantinople lasted for 250 years and has left little surviving evidence in Malta other than the catacombs. The Byzantine fleet successfully defended the islands from Muslim Arab attacks until 870 AD.
The Arab period (870 to 1091 AD) brought advances in science and philosophy and new crops such as orange, lemon, date palms and sugar. They left a undoubted cultural legacy including influencing the Maltese language with many place names and surnames being a kind of Tunisian Arabic.
During the early medieval period (1091 to 1530 AD), Southern Italy was fast becoming a favourite Norman haunt. The Normans hired themselves out to Italian barons as mercenaries and, encouraged by the Pope, agreed to drive the Arabs out of Sicily and Malta. There is little trace of Norman art and architecture left in Malta although their influence is apparent in subsequent medieval buildings.
The rule of Malta passed through a succession of royal houses until in 1283 it passed to the Spanish Aragonese who enjoyed the longest rule (1283 to 1530 AD). By the early 16th century Malta found itself on the front line of conflict between the western Spanish Empire and the eastern Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans attacked on a number of occasions and the Spanish defensive solution in 1530 was to grant the islands in fief to the Order of the Knights of St John (1530 to 1798 AD). The Knights were renown for their bravery and chivalry and were in search of a new home since being ousted from Rhodes by the Ottomans. The Knights brought prosperity and stability to Malta but their status waned when the threat from the Ottomans declined. Their wealth attracted the European powers, particularly the French, who confiscated the Order’s possessions. The Knights surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798 with barely a shot fired.
Armour from the Knights period
During the Colonial period (1798 to 1964 AD) after rebellion broke out against the French, a British detachment of Nelson’s fleet arrived to help the Maltese blockade the French. After two years the French garrison capitulated and the British found themselves de facto rulers of Malta by right of conquest in 1814.
Malta became the headquarters of the British Mediterranean fleet and during the Second World War it became clear how vital Malta was to the allied war effort.
Malta was granted a constitution with a form of self government in 1947 and after a referendum in 1964, Malta gained complete independence from Britain. The last British military left Malta in 1979 and Malta joined the European Union in 2005.
Words and photos: Copyright John Cruse 2024