Community Life at the Central Mediterranean,
A Socio-Demographic History of the Maltese Harbour Towns, Bormla 1587-1815
On 12 January 2002, at the Sorbonne - Paris IV University, Simon Mercieca,
Acting Director of the Mediterranean Institute and Project Officer in Historical
Demography successfully defended his massive Ph.D thesis, entitled Community
Life at the Central Mediterranean, A Socio-Demographic History of the Maltese
Harbour Towns, Bormla 1587-1815. The Board of examiners was made up of
Professor Jean-Pierre Poussou (Paris IV), Professor Jean-Pierre Bardet
(Paris IV), Professor Oliver Faron (Lyon II), Professor P. Serracino Inglott
(Malta), Professor Victor Mallia-Milanes (Malta) and Professor Dominic
Fenech (Malta). The viva took four hours, during which all major aspects
of the thesis were examined and discussed. The Board was unanimous in its
deliberation and awarded Mr Mercieca, the highest grade that could be attained
in the French Doctoral system, the Très bien avec les félicitations
du Jury. The chairman of the examining Board, Professor Poussou, concluded
the session by congratulating Mr Mercieca for his highly original work
and invited him to continue his post-doctoral studies at the same Sorbonne
University.
12 January, 2002