https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/105408 2026-03-16T02:10:26Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/107016 Title: The British Mediterranean fleet and Malta c. 1900- 1914 Abstract: So gorgeous was the spectacle on the May morning of 1910 when nine kings rode in the funeral of Edward VII of England that the crowd, waiting in hushed and blackclad awe, could not keep back gasps of admiration. In scarlet and blue and green and purple, three by three the sovereigns rode through the palace gates, with plumed helmets, gold braid, crimson sashes, and jewelled orders flashing in the sun. After them came five heirs apparent, forty more imperial or royal highnesses, seven queens - four dowager and three regnant - and a scattering of special ambassadors from uncrowned countries. Together they represented seventy nations in the greatest assemblage of royalty and rank ever gathered in one place and, of its kind, the last. The muffled tongue of Big Ben tolled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history's clock it was sunset, and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendour never to be seen again. – Barbara Tuchman – The Guns of August, Chapter 1, page 1. The aim of this dissertation is to examine the history of Malta and the British Mediterranean Fleet from the turn of the twentieth century up until the outbreak of the First World War. In this examination, this dissertation will look at the reasons behind the sudden reduction of Royal Navy presence in the Mediterranean and how this would impact her island headquarters of Malta. This work will examine the revolutionary ideas, the giant men, and the confused plans that would dictate the manner by which Britain would attempt to secure her Mediterranean position, as well as how those same men, ideas, and plans would have a lasting impact on Malta. The relationship between Malta and the British Mediterranean Fleet is a deep one. It is a relationship that bore many fruits, however also produced equivalent ills. It is a relationship that was birthed during the Napoleonic wars and made famous during the Second World War. This relationship will be at the forefront of this study as it underwent drastic change. In terms of local history, this dissertation will attempt to provide a concise understanding on the impact the reduction of the British Mediterranean Fleet had on Malta’s economy. This dissertation will also provide insight into the defence of the island at the turn of the century and light political context. In terms of naval history, this dissertation will attempt to add to already established literature on the Royal Navy leading up to the First World War, however from a Mediterranean perspective. Whilst, of course, the Anglo-German naval arms race was the defining factor of British policy in the early twentieth century, this dissertation will examine how this arms race in British Home Waters would directly impact the British Mediterranean Fleet. The first chapter of this dissertation will act as an introduction to the study, providing the reader with the historical backdrop within which the main ideas of this dissertation will unfold. This introductory chapter will look at the rise of the German naval threat and the main personalities that would have a huge impact on British naval policy in the years to come. The first chapter will also provide a literature review of sources used to compile this work. The second chapter will examine Malta and the British Mediterranean Fleet at the turn of the century, focussing on how the Fleet operated at its numerical height in order to protect British interests within the region. In connection with British interests, this chapter will examine how heavily linked the defence of Malta was with the activities of the Fleet. Chapter 2 will also examine Malta’s economic and political standing at the turn of the century. Chapter 3 will look at the momentous and revolutionary events that would severely impact the British Mediterranean Fleet, and subsequently Malta. These revolutionary events were primarily the Entete with France and the launching of H.M.S. Dreadnought. In terms of the Anglo-French Entete, Chapter 3 will examine military conversations between Britain and France and highlight how, especially in terms of joint naval cooperation, the Admiralty was very cautious on how much she could depend on France for Mediterranean security, and if she did, what moral obligations would Britain then incur to come to the aid of France in the event of war. Chapter 4 examines Churchill’s time at the Admiralty and the direct consequences of the themes discussed in Chapter 3. This Chapter will examine Admiralty correspondence and meetings of the Committee of Imperial Defence (C.I.D.) in order to establish how the British Mediterranean Fleet would operate in the face of the ever-growing Anglo-German naval arms race. Ultimately, this chapter will examine the findings of the Royal Commission that was sent to Malta in 1911 to investigate the tremendous economic recession the island found herself in. Finally, this dissertation will end with the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, briefly examining the events from a Mediterranean perspective. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/107014 Title: Agriculture and peasant politics in wartime Malta, 1939-1945 Abstract: Following a dogfight sometime in April 1942, Acting Squadron Leader Laddie Lucas’s Spitfire had developed problems of its own. He had been hit and his aircraft motor seized completely. Realising he could not have reached any of the airfields on Malta, a tiny cultivated piece of land on the outskirts of Siġġiewi had to do. He forced a crash landing in the field, landing between 80 to 100 yards away from a rubble wall. Jumping down quickly from the cockpit, he noticed three old Maltese women in long black dresses, almost touching the ground, and black scarves covering their heads, approaching him stumbling over the rough ground, as fast as they could towards him. Each was carrying some scooping implement and a hessian sack in their hands. As they came near, they stopped and, breathlessly, started shovelling earth into the sacks, intent upon getting up onto the wing and emptying the contents on the smouldering engine. Although incapable of understanding English, they turned away after having made sense of his gestures urging caution. The oldest and most senior of the three then walked back slowly to the Spitfire and touched the wing lightly with her hand. Returning to him, she rested her hand gently on his forearm. Lucas went on to describe the exchange: As she did so she looked up into my eyes. A smile of benign serenity spread across that heavily lined, endearing face. Making the Sign of the Cross deliberately across her chest, she touched my arm again. With that, she turned with the others and went back to tending the land. After his close brush with death, Lucas could have been forgiven for indulging in some romantic platitude about two specific types of people coming together as one in the midst of a war. This scene is all too common in texts written by predominantly British authors – mostly military men – about wartime Malta. The ‘natives’ largely entered the scene either when the storyteller had viewed them from afar as a distinct species or when the raconteur had come into contact with the communities living out in the margins of the Colonial State. There is no limit to the amount of works dealing with the military aspect of the War. The dogfights, the bombings and the artillerymen have overwhelmingly taken centre stage in memoirs and publications and there is no sign of this approach ever being exhausted. Going back to Lucas, in painting this somewhat serene picture during a period of great disorder, he had burst upon a social dimension – the rural areas – to which so much attention was devoted by the colonial government during the War itself, yet, which ironically has simultaneously escaped the observation of scholars in mainstream academia. The field in which Lucas landed and others like it, small and insignificant as they may have been to the observer, had a part in dictating the Fortress’s wartime colonial politics vis-à-vis the wider war in the Mediterranean. The food situation had constantly plagued the upper echelons of Government in the late inter-war period, up till and including the harsh blockade imposed by Axis forces at the height of the siege. This dissertation seeks to understand and scrutinize the role agriculture in Malta had played at the heart of the conflict and the changes it underwent as a result of this unwelcome intrusion. The focus on this industry is not intended to exclude other interpretations but rather to add a much overlooked feature to our understanding of a civil aspect of the Second World War. Teodor Shanin declared, ‘It is a commonplace to say that agrarian history as such is neglected – the fact is too obvious to be denied.’ The rural areas and the country folk had never been high on the agenda of the colonial authorities, situated in their palaces and the urban belt around Grand Harbour. Poverty and sickness were all too common, illiteracy was rampant and deaths at childbirth were a normal occurrence. Government’s attention shifted to the country districts seemingly over a few months when logistics, supplies and food became the be-all and end-all of their war. By tackling the war through this prism, the objective is to devote a substantial study of an industry and a way of life which were to change irrevocably between the discharge of the first bomb and the capitulation of the Axis powers. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/107012 Title: Dun Filippo Borg and Birkirkara : culture and politics in early seventeenth-century Malta Abstract: Dun Filippo Borg is an important figure in seventeenth-century Malta. The aim of this dissertation is to place the person in context and analyse the different roles – political and ecclesiastical – Dun Filippo Borg played especially when the parish church of Birkirkara was elevated to the status of a Collegiate Church by Pope Urban VIII with the promulgation of the Papal Bull Sacri Apostolatus Ministerio on 5 Dec. 1630. In this dissertation, I attempt to reconstruct in detail the personal life of Dun Filippo Borg, no mean feat as even his exact date of birth and the place where he was baptised are still shrouded in mystery. Therefore, through my research, I tried to answer with certainty the issues about his origins. Dun Filippo Borg lived during a highly significant period for the Maltese Islands in terms of culture, politics, religion, society, and art. I have tried to analyse his relevance in these contexts by attempting to answer questions such as: Who was this man? What were his goals? What did he achieve? What did he stand for? I attempted to answer these questions especially in relation to the parochial level (Birkirkara) and the national one within the wider contexts of the social, political, and ecclesiastical spheres in Dun Filippo’s time. Dun Filippo Borg’s participation in ecclesiastical and political affairs, his significance and importance, relates to the European context, as Malta was being affected by the Council of Trent Reforms. This as revealed in several manuscripts and consulted the writings of several historians. Chapter 1 introduces the subject of this dissertation. It gives the background and context to Dun Filippo Borg and his actions. It outlines the historiography and the available sources. Chapter 2 reconstructs Dun Filippo Borg’s life, his rise in the Maltese church, and his determined use of authority when necessary. Chapter 3 adopts a chronological approach to study the transition of the parish church of Birkirkara into a collegiate church. Among other things, the roles of the provost and canons are analysed. Chapter 4 studies the role of priests in Maltese seventeenth century society, as well as the relationship between the church and politics, particularly from the perspective of Dun Filippo Borg and his Relazione. The work and legacy of Dun Filippo Borg to the people of Birkirkara is significant. It is still actual and present today in the day-to-day life of the Collegiate Chapter and the Basilica entrusted to them. Of course, tensions were present at that time and surfaced from time to time. A modern episode was the foundation of the Veneranda Società Don Filippo Borgia in 1936. This foundation was formed because of the decisions taken with reference to all the Collegiate Chapters of the Maltese islands by the Regional Council of 1935, including that of Birkirkara, in connection with the rights the Chapters used to enjoy over centuries. The Regional Council was presided by his excellency Cardinal Alexis Henri Marie Lepicier. The society is still active to this day assisting the Chapter and ensuring that the legacy of Borg for Birkirkara is kept intact. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who have helped me throughout these three years. Special thanks go to my family and to my tutor, Mr. Charles Dalli, for their helpful advice and support. I would also like to thank Rev. Canon Leonard Mintoff, Rev. Canon Ryan Lee Pace, Rev. Canon Dr NicholasJ. Doublet, Rev. Canon Ivan Aquilina, Dr Evelyn Pullicino, Samuel Azzopardi, Rodney Buhagiar, Marcio Ghigo, Michael Buhagiar, Philip Xuereb and Silvio Azzopardi. I would like to thank all those persons who work in the following facilities: Lanfranco Genealogy Service (Msida), Notarial Archives in Mikiel Anton Vassalli Street (Valletta), the parochial offices of Birkirkara and Vittoriosa, University Archives, National Library (Valletta), the Cathedral Archives (Mdina), the Diocesan Archives (Floriana) and the Collegiate Chapters of Vittoriosa and Birkirkara. My work as archivist of the Collegiate Chapter of Birkirkara and Assistant to the Diocesan Archives at the Archbishop’s Curia in Floriana has helped no end to facilitate this research even though the pandemic placed considerable restrictions. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/106986 Title: Puellæ et pueri : aspects of the lives of children and young people in eighteenth-century Malta (c.1740s-1790s) Abstract: This dissertation focuses on five main aspects in relation to the study of young people in eighteenth-century Malta: historiography, the dynamic of the court room, the street, abandonment, and guardianship. While it ranges chronologically, across the century, the core of the dissertation focuses on the years c.1740 to 1790. The first chapter is an analysis of the historiography on children and adolescents, which serves as a basis from which this dissertation will seek to provide a more holistic understanding of this particular section of eighteenth-century society in Malta. The second chapter, the dynamic of the court room, seeks to place the child within the legal system and the relevance of studying the way young people have been described and perceived by their adult counterparts in criminal records. It also seeks to discover how they were viewed within the social reality they lived in via witness accounts, and how young people’s voices were heard and portrayed in criminal records. The third chapter, the street, is an analysis of space not through a geographical and architectural lens, but as a stage where young people’s stories to unfold. It aims to provide a glimpse of young people’s activities, movements and behaviour, including acts of violence and criminality on the street. It discusses the public and private, as well as night and day, aspects of the street in relation to what happened among young people, and their interactions with adults. Finally, this chapter explores the motivation behind crime and violence and the neighbourhood’s and family’s contribution in discipline and care for young people in moulding them into future adults. The fourth chapter, child abandonment and guardianship, explores the idea of abandonment in eighteenth-century society, the process of abandonment and rescuing, the care and upbringing by the state, charitable institutions and families to provide for an abandoned child. This is done within an explanation and analysis of the legal framework of the time. Additionally, this chapter explores the idea of care, love, and obligation towards helping the unfortunate, and provides an overview of how typically an abandoned child’s life unfolded, their work, education, payment and change of households. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z