Malta

Country located in the central Mediterranean Sea. It is a small archipelago but a strategically important group of islands. Throughout a long and turbulent history, the archipelago has played a vital role in the struggles of a succession of powers for domination of the Mediterranean and in the interplay between emerging Europe and the older cultures of Africa and the Middle East. As a result, Maltese society was molded by centuries of foreign rule, with influences ranging from Arab to Norman to English.

There are five islands—Malta (the largest), Gozo, Comino, and uninhabited Kemmunett (Comminotto) and Filfla—lying some 58 miles (93 kilometres) south of Sicily, 180 miles (290 kilometres) north of Libya, and about 180 miles east of Tunisia, at the eastern end of that constricted portion of the Mediterranean Sea separating Italy from the African coast. Valletta is the capital, although Birkirkara is the largest city.

The land

Relief

Malta Island measures about 17 miles at its longest distance from southeast to northwest and about 9 miles at its widest distance from east to west. The main physical characteristic of Malta is a well-defined escarpment that bisects it along the Victoria Lines Fault running along the whole breadth of the island from Point ir-Raℏeb (west of Nadur Tower) to the coast northeast of Gℏargℏur. The highest areas are coralline limestone uplands that constitute a triangular plateau, Ta' Żuta (829 feet [253 metres]), to the west. The uplands are separated from the surrounding areas by blue clay slopes, while undercliff areas are found where the coralline plateau has fallen and forms a subordinate surface between the sea and the original shore. The total shoreline is 85 miles.

To the north the escarpment is occasionally abrupt and broken by deep embayments. To the south, however, the plateaus gradually descend from about 600–800 feet into undulating areas of globigerina (derived from marine protozoa) limestone less than 400 feet high. On the west are deeply incised valleys and undercliff areas, while on the east are several valleys that descend to the central plains.

The Dockyard complex in Grand Harbour, Malta, showing (from foreground) French Creek, Senglea, &elipsis; [Credit: Financial Times, London—Robert Harding Picture Library]

The west coast of Malta presents a high, bold, and generally harbourless face. On the east, however, a tongue of high ground known as Mount Sceberras separates the bays of Marsamxett and Grand Harbour. These deepwater harbours contribute to the strategic importance of Malta. They are associated with nine seasonal creeks that include those of Sliema, Lazzaretto, Msida, and Newport. The northern shore is again bare and craggy, characterized by its coves and hills, which are separated by fertile lowlands.

Coastline of Gozo island, Malta. [Credit: © Goodshoot/Jupiterimages]

In Gozo the landscape is characterized by a broken coralline plateau to the north and by low-lying globigerina limestone plains and hills to the south. The highest point, in the west, is 578 feet. The total shoreline is 27 miles.

Drainage and soils

Malta possesses favourable conditions for the percolation and underground storage of water. The impermeable blue clays provide two distinct water tables between the limestone formations. The principal source for the public supply of water has been the main sea-level water table. The absence of permanent streams or lakes and a considerable loss of rainfall, however, have made water supply a problem. This problem has been combated with an intensive reverse-osmosis desalination program. About 70 percent of Malta's daily water needs are supplied by desalination plants throughout the islands.

Maltese soils are mainly young or immature and thin. By law, when soils are removed from construction sites, they must be taken to agricultural areas, and level stretches in quarries are often covered with carted soil. Organic refuse from the towns is also used. Consequently, the soils are unusual and are partly a manufactured medium.

Climate

The climate is typically Mediterranean, with hot, dry summers, warm and sporadically wet autumns, and short, cool winters with adequate rainfall. Nearly three-fourths of the total annual rainfall of about 20 inches (508 millimetres) falls between October and March; June, July, and August are normally quite dry.

The temperature is very stable, the annual mean being 64° F (18° C) and the monthly averages ranging from 54° F (12° C) to 88° F (31° C). Winds are strong and frequent; the most common are the cool northwesterly (the majjistral), the dry northeasterly (the grigal, or gregale), and the hot humid southeasterly (the xlokk, or sirocco). The relative humidity is consistently high and rarely falls below 40 percent.

Plant and animal life

While wild vegetation is sparse, there is an abundance of cultivated potatoes, sulla (a leguminous fodder crop), onions, tomatoes, and vines. The forest cover, though poor, features a wide variety of trees, including the carob, fig, and chaste. The Maltese government has initiated a major tree-planting program to improve forestation on the islands. The developed seashore vegetation includes golden and rock samphires, sea campion, spurge, saltwort, and marram grass.

Typical of the few native mammals are the hedgehog, the least weasel, the water and white-toothed shrews, and the pipistrelle and other bats. Rats, mice, and some rabbits also are found. Resident birds include the spectacled and Sardinian warblers, the Manx and Cory's shearwaters, and the blue rock thrush. Linnets, tree and Spanish sparrows, buntings, rock doves, and several species of owl also form breeding populations, while birds of passage include ospreys, rollers, swallows, cuckoos, bee-eaters, and vultures. Common insects are beetles, grasshoppers, flies, mosquitoes, moths, bees, wasps, cockroaches, ants, and several species of butterflies. Ladybirds migrate from Sicily.

Settlement patterns

Boats at harbour, Malta. [Credit: © Goodshoot/Jupiterimages]

Until the mid-19th century, the Maltese lived mainly in the relative seclusion of clustered villages and hamlets; the fragmentation of farmholdings accentuated the individuality of the farming community. The zuntier, or church square, was the traditional focus of village life. With the growth of the Dockyard complex in the latter part of the 1800s, new settlements appeared around Grand Harbour, and the Sliema metropolitan region developed in the 20th century into the most fashionable part of Malta. The advent of industrial estates near major villages somewhat stemmed the exodus from the rural areas. Higher living standards have given rise to residential developments all over the island; its central and northwest areas are now densely populated. Overbuilding has been a cause for serious concern, spawning legislation meant to contain the ecological threats thus posed.

Gozo conserves its own rural character. The architecture of the development at Ta' Ċenċ successfully blends with the island's natural beauty and is aesthetically stimulating. Comino is more rural still, with only a handful of residents, no cars, and two hotels.

The people

The islands' ethnic and linguistic composition reflects the heritage of many rulers. A European atmosphere predominates as a result of close association particularly with southern Europe. About 95 percent of the islanders are Maltese-born, and the remainder includes mostly persons of English and Italian descent. During the 20th century, the increasing rate of Anglo-Maltese marriages added a new dimension to the ethnic structure of the population.

Maltese—the medium of daily conversation—is a distinct language that resulted from the interaction and fusion of North African Arabic and a Sicilian form of Italian. It is the only Semitic language that is officially written in Latin script; it became an official language of Malta in 1934. English, the other official language, is the medium of instruction in the schools. Italian was the language of church and government until 1934 and is still understood by a sizable sector of the population.

Although Roman Catholicism is the state religion, there is full freedom for all religious beliefs. The islands are an independent province of the church, with two dioceses at Malta and Gozo and two bishops serving the cathedrals at Valletta and Rabat (Victoria). There are two Roman Catholic cathedrals, at Mdina and Valletta, and an Anglican cathedral, at Valletta. There is a mosque at Corradino Heights.

Malta has one of the highest population densities in the world. The population has somewhat stabilized, however, with a considerable decline in the birthrate since the 1950s. The death rate has remained fairly stable, having fallen only slightly, while the infant mortality rate has dropped significantly. Emigration, formerly encouraged and even financed by the government, has also tapered off; the primary destination of emigration is Australia. The majority of the country's immigrants are repatriates. The age structure of the population is fairly evenly distributed, and the life expectancy is about 74 years.

The economy

Malta's only exploited mineral resource is the globigerina limestone that is used as building stone, although the country has offshore reserves of petroleum. Its other assets are its deep harbours, an adaptable, skilled labour force, and a strategic position as both a fueling centre and, until March 1979, a military and naval base. The economy, therefore, has been somewhat artificial and until 1979 determined by the vicissitudes of war and peace in the Mediterranean. In the 1950s Britain began the retrenchment of its naval and military forces on Malta, a move that necessitated a drastic diversification of the economy. A series of five- and seven-year plans were supported by government grants, loans, and other fiscal incentives to encourage private investment.

Industry and tourism

Aerial view of seaport in Valletta, Malta. [Credit: © Goodshoot/Jupiterimages]

Economic plans professed to build on a tripod basis of industry, agriculture, and tourism. In fact, however, industrial growth lagged behind these plans, resulting in the successful establishment of only a few multinational corporations (mainly producing textiles). From 1971 the government increasingly took over weak enterprises, sometimes closing them. Since 1987 new development has concentrated on manufacture of industrial components, including computer parts, instruments, and other high-tech goods, as well as a large variety of consumer products (toys, cosmetics, detergents, processed foods) and more traditional goods such as lace, silver filigree, pottery, glassware, and canework. Foreign investment in manufacturing is encouraged and facilitated by the Malta Development Corporation.

Tourism is a major source of income. The influx of tourists and some immigration spurred the building of hotels and housing, but there are questions about the islands' capacity to cater to an annual total of tourists greater than the country's population. Besides shipbuilding and transshipment services, the establishment of backup facilities for oil companies and of other outlets for traditional Maltese skills in cross-cultural dealings produced jobs and foreign currency earnings that boosted the domestic economy.

Agriculture and fishing

Agricultural development is hampered by infertile soils and the lack of adequate water supplies, and large amounts of food and beverages are imported. Most farming is carried out on small terraced strips of land that preclude the introduction of large-scale mechanization. Consequently, agriculture continues to decline in terms of cultivated land. The farming labour force has grown increasingly older, female, and part-time, but agricultural production has risen gradually because of improved techniques in the cultivation of some crops, especially horticultural ones. The major crops are grains, vegetables, fruit (especially citrus), and fodder for domestic consumption and early potatoes and onions for export. Flowers, seeds, plants, and cuttings are exported as well. Cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry, and goats are also raised.

Fishing is seasonal and not fully developed. The fishing boats are small, and the catch is affected by weather conditions. The fish population off the island is quite sparse and in the late 1980s began to be supplemented by agriculture. During the summer months, small lamps are used by fishermen (lampara fishing) to attract the fish, mainly the very popular lampuka, or dolphin (Coryphaena hippuras).

Finance

The Central Bank and the Malta Development Corporation were both founded in 1968. Also in that year, Malta joined the International Monetary Fund. The Malta Export Trade Corporation was founded in 1989. In 1971 the island entered into a special trade relationship with the European Communities (EC), a relationship that was subsequently revised with the aim of rendering it more favourable to Malta in its delicate stage of economic development. In 2008 Malta adopted the euro as its official currency.

Transportation

The road system connects all towns and villages and includes a coast road, a panoramic road, and a regional road, which connects Msida to the coast road via St. Andrews. Bus services radiating from Valletta provide inexpensive and frequent internal transportation. Taxis are abundant, and most families have a private automobile. There is no railway. Several daily sailings connect Malta and Gozo, and, in addition to a regular ferry and car-ferry service, Malta and Sicily are connected by fast commercial catamarans. Scheduled airlines, including the national airline (Air Malta, based at Luqa Airport), connect Malta with most European capitals as well as with Africa, especially North Africa, and the Middle East.

Government and social conditions

Government

The 1964 Independence Constitution, under which Malta was a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary state, was amended in 1974 to make Malta a republic within the Commonwealth. Its head of state is a president appointed by the Maltese Parliament, which is elected by universal adult suffrage for a term of five years and is basically derived from the British model. Local features include a single chamber with 69 members, while election is by proportional representation from 13 electoral divisions. An amendment adopted in 1987 guarantees a majority of seats to a party receiving more than 50 percent of the total votes in the general election. The two major parties are the Nationalist Party and the Malta Labour Party. The president acts on the advice of the Cabinet, which consists of the prime minister and other ministers (some assisted by parliamentary secretaries) and is collectively responsible to Parliament. There is no municipal government in the islands.

Maltese law, which was codified mainly during the period from 1854 to 1873, is largely based on the Napoleonic Code and Napoleonic law. Procedural common law and some commercial and maritime affairs are regulated by English principles, but judiciary precedent is not binding. Maltese is the language of the courts. Civil and criminal jurisdiction is almost exclusively vested in the Superior Court and the Court of Magistrates. The chief justice and judges of the Superior Court are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister, and their duties are apportioned throughout the court system. The magistrates, who are appointed in the same way, sit in the lower courts.

Between 1964 and 1972, Malta's main defense dispositions were those contained in a 1964 Anglo-Maltese defense agreement, with the United Kingdom guaranteeing mutual assistance. Since then, through a constitutional amendment, Malta has followed a policy of neutrality and nonalignment and maintains its own regular armed forces.

Education

The Labour government radically altered the education system, which was previously structured on British models and strongly influenced by the Roman Catholic church. Compulsory education was extended to include all children from the ages of 6 to 16. An attempt at establishing an extreme form of the “comprehensive” system was abandoned; streaming (the grouping of students by age and intellectual ability) and examinations were at first discarded but later reintroduced; purely technical institutes were not compelled to follow the program. At the tertiary level, a student-worker scheme was introduced in 1978, students working for six months and studying for six months, thereby linking admission to institutions of higher learning to the availability of employment. This system was largely revoked by the Education Act of 1987, and admission to institutions of higher learning is now based completely on competence.

The University of Malta, founded as a Jesuit college in 1592 and established as a state institution in 1769, was refounded in 1988. It offers courses in most disciplines and has a prestigious medical school. Its modern campus at Tal-Qroqq also houses the International Maritime Law Institute and the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies. The historic Old University building in Valletta is now the seat of the university-linked Foundation for International Studies and its associated bodies, the International Environment Institute, the Mediterranean Institute, and the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Marine Contamination Hazards (created by the Council of Europe). Malta is also the site of the Regional Marine Pollution Emergency Response Centre for the Mediterranean Sea, operated jointly by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Health and welfare

A scheme to integrate health services, essentially consisting of free hospital care and some domestic assistance, was introduced after 1971. Certain measures deemed to be necessary preliminaries to a wider-ranging national health scheme gave rise to conflict with the local medical association, and heavy reliance was then placed on foreign doctors. Since 1988 Malta has been the seat of the United Nations International Institute on Aging, and thus special attention is given to geriatrics.

In 1956 social insurance was introduced to cover employees more than 14 years of age and self-employed or unemployed persons between 19 years and pension age. A comprehensive contributory insurance scheme was introduced in 1971, integrating a variety of earlier legislation. The plan included a pension amounting to two-thirds of an individual's salary at the time of retirement. The first step toward comprehensive national health insurance was taken in 1979 with the introduction of free hospitalization.

Cultural life

Malta's cultural influences stem largely from its history of foreign domination and the predominance of the Roman Catholic church. Folk traditions have evolved mainly around the festa to celebrate the patron saint of a village, marked by processions and fireworks. Good Friday also is celebrated with colourful processions in several villages. Imnarja, the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, which takes place on June 29, is the principal folk festival; it is highlighted by folksinging (gℏana) contests and fried-rabbit picnics at Buskett. The annual Carnival is celebrated at Valletta with vigorous dancing displays that include the Parata, a sword dance commemorating the Maltese victory over the Turks in 1565, and Il-Maltija, the Maltese national dance. Football (soccer) is the most popular sport in Malta, and Ta' Qali National Stadium is the site of important local and international matches.

Apart from its unique Neolithic ruins near Raℏal Ġdid (Paola, Paula, or Pawla) and Tarxien, Malta contains important examples of its flourishing architectural school of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was essentially Classical with a balanced overlay of Baroque decorations. The Italian artists Caravaggio and Mattia Preti spent several years in Malta, the latter's most important paintings embellishing many of Malta's churches.

In the 20th century, a vernacular architecture was developed by Richard England and others. The composer Charles Camilleri introduced folk themes into his works, while Maltese literature was enriched by the poetry of the national bard, Dun Karm. An interesting theatrical upsurge led by John Schranz paralleled the emergence of Francis Ebejer as a brilliant playwright. Alfred Chircop and Luciano Micallef have gained prominence with their abstract paintings, while Gabriel Caruana has excelled in ceramics.

Valletta is the centre of many of Malta's cultural institutions: the National Museum of Archaeology, the National Museum of Fine Arts, the War Museum, the Manoel Theatre (one of Europe's oldest theatres still in operation), and the Foundation for International Studies. The National Library of Malta dates from the late 18th century and houses a large collection as well as the archives of the Knights Hospitalers. The Folk Museum and the Museum of Political History are located at Vittoriosa. Until the early 1990s, Maltese radio and television stations had been operated exclusively by the Malta Broadcasting Authority, but a change in legislation has opened the way for privately operated broadcasting stations. There are two daily newspapers in Maltese and one in English.

History

The earliest archaeological remains date from about 3800 &BC;. Neolithic farmers lived in caves like those at Dalam (near Birżebbuġa) or villages like Skorba (near Nadur Tower) and produced pottery that seems related to that of contemporary eastern Sicily. An elaborate cult of the dead of Stone Age or Copper Age culture evolved about 2400 &BC;. Initially centring around rock-cut collective tombs such as those at Ġgantija (near Xagℏra) and Haġar Qim (near Żurrieq), it culminated—probably through contacts with the cultures of the Cyclades islands and Mycenae, in the Peloponnese—in the unique underground burial chamber (hypogeum) at Hal Saflieni (near Paola, formerly Raℏal Ġdid). This culture came to a sudden end about 2000 &BC;, possibly as a result of invasions. The culture that replaced it, of southern Italian flavour, is evidenced today only by fragmentary remains. Bronze Age tools and weapons have been found at Borġ in-Nadur (near Birżebbuġa) and Tarxien Cemetery (near Paola), while Iron Age relics from about 1200 to 800 &BC; include cart ruts at Binġemma (near Nadur Tower).

Between the 8th and 6th centuries &BC;, contact was made with Semitic cultures. Evidence is scanty, however, and a few inscriptions found on Malta constitute the only indication of a Phoenician presence. There is more substantial proof of the Carthaginian presence in the 6th century &BC;; coins, inscriptions, and several rock tombs of the Punic (i.e., Phoenician) type have been found. (&See; Phoenicia; Carthage.) It is certain that in 218 &BC; Malta came under Roman political control, when it first was part of the praetorship of Sicily. The islands were subsequently given the status of Roman municipium and were thus allowed to coin their own money, send ambassadors to Rome, and control domestic affairs. According to tradition, St. Paul, the Apostle, was shipwrecked in Malta in &AD; 60 and began to convert the inhabitants. The Maltese have been Christians uninterruptedly since that time.

With the division of the Roman Empire, in &AD; 395, Malta was given to the eastern portion ruled from Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey). Until the 15th century, it followed the more immediate fortunes of nearby Sicily, being ruled successively by Arabs (who left a strong effect on the language), Normans (who advanced the legal and governmental structures), and a succession of feudal lords. In 1530, however, the Holy Roman emperor Charles V ceded it to the homeless Order of the Knights of Rhodes (subsequently the Sovereign and Military Order of the Knights of Malta; &see; Hospitallers), a religious and military order of the Roman Catholic church. Malta became a fortress and, under the Knights' grand master, Jean de la Valette, successfully withstood the Ottoman siege of 1565. The new capital city of Valletta became a town of splendid palaces and unparalleled fortifications. Growing in power and wealth—owing mainly to their maritime adventures against the Ottomans—the Knights left the island an architectural and artistic legacy. Although there was little economic and social contact between them and the Maltese, they managed to imprint their cosmopolitan character on Malta and its inhabitants.

In 1798 French officer Napoleon Bonaparte (later Napoleon I) captured the island, but the French presence was short-lived, and the Treaty of Amiens returned the island to the Knights in 1802. The Maltese protested and acknowledged Great Britain's sovereignty, subject to certain conditions incorporated in a Declaration of Rights. The constitutional change was ratified by the Treaties of Paris (1814–15).

Malta's political status under Britain underwent a series of vicissitudes in which constitutions were successively granted, suspended, and revoked. British demands for Malta's military facilities dominated the economy, and the dockyard became the colony's economic mainstay.

The island flourished during the Crimean War (1853–56) and was favourably affected by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Self-government was granted in 1921 on a dyarchical basis whereby Britain shared power and responsibility with Maltese ministers who were elected by the legislature. But the battle over the relative roles of the English, Italian, and Maltese languages took its toll, and in 1936 the islands reverted to a strictly colonial regime in which full power rested in the hands of the governor. During World War II (1939–45), the islands repelled the Axis powers against severe odds, having been one of the most heavily bombed targets of that conflict. As a result, the island was awarded the George Cross, Britain's highest civilian decoration. Self-government was granted in 1947, revoked in 1959, and then restored in 1962. Malta finally achieved independence within the Commonwealth on September 21, 1964. It became a republic on December 13, 1974.

Salvino Busuttil

The withdrawal of British military and naval personnel from its famous dockyard—associated with the achievement of independence from the United Kingdom in 1964—created economic and political problems for Malta. From 1964 to 1971, Malta was governed by the Nationalist Party, whose attitude was firm alignment with the West. In 1971, however, when the Malta Labour Party came to power, its policy was nonalignment and special friendship with China and Libya. In 1979 the total closure of the British base and the end of the British alliance were celebrated by the Maltese government as the arrival of “real” independence; however, the existence of serious problems, especially with regard to the guarantee of full and productive employment and the deepening division between local political parties, was acknowledged. The Nationalists were returned to power in 1987 with a policy of seeking full membership in the European Community (now embedded in the European Union [EU]) and transforming the economy into a modern, technologically oriented structure. After considerable political wrangling between the Labour and Nationalist parties, Maltese voters in a 2003 referendum chose to join the EU. Malta became a member on May 1, 2004.

Salvino Busuttil

Ed.

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