https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/105413 2026-04-14T17:03:11Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/107275 Title: Redefining borders in a pandemic : a study of the impact of COVID-19 measures on the Maltese economy and society Abstract: In March 2020, government officials announced the closure of Malta’s airports and seaports as a measure to prevent further cases of imported COVID-19 into Malta. Shortly thereafter, additional measures were implemented that included lockdowns and consequent closure of hotels and restaurants followed by schools and universities, and restrictions on intermingling including with family members outside one’s immediate family. All measures were aimed at protecting the health system from total collapse and avoiding numerous deaths as had happened in neighbouring Italy. The images of long lines of military heavy vehicles carrying the dead – viticms of COVID-19 – to their graves was a stark warning that governments, including the Maltese, took note of and heeded. The measures implemented as a response to the outbreak of COVID-19 albeit successful in saving thousands of lives, have come at a great cost to the Maltese economy and society in general. Within the economic sphere, prosperity was replaced with austerity, in some industries overnight. Tourism ground to a halt and remained frozen at peak season. Knock-on effects were widespread and affected transportation, catering, hoteliers, retail outlets, and agricultural producers, among others. Manufacturing and trade too suffered significant contractions. Overall, businesses were required to adapt their models, some years in the making, to an unexpected new reality that was quite different to the previous. That ability to adapt for many meant the difference between bankruptcy and survival. The consequences of the COVID-19 measures and the consequence of the same on local businesses had further consequences. Among society, there have been three broad shifts in perspective as a result that have brought to the fore subjects that although present in the collective consciousness, were not necessarily as frequently discussed pre-COVID- 19. The first is an increased awareness on the importance of clean and sustainable environment practices. The second, recognition of the importance of a work-life balance as a substantial portion of the workforce was out of necessity pushed towards remote working. Thirdly, an increased awareness in mental health and more significantly, an increase in individuals seeking help for mental problems. The changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have been far reaching and life changing. This dissertation examines the manner in which such changes have impacted and redefined Malta’s borders and consequently impacted Maltese society with a particular focus on the economic sector analysed from the perspective of operators across a number of key economic sectors. The primary research method employed is elite interviews supported by public data and statistics. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/106015 Title: Female slaves in Malta and the Mediterranean in the eighteenth century Abstract: This dissertation embarks on a journey of exploration, examination and interpretation of documents. Documents are scarce but what they reveal about these females is loud and clear, shedding light on paths rarely explored and ground scarcely trodden. This study looks into the reality of slavery within a Mediterranean and Maltese social framework, making the female slave a protagonist within a cosmopolitan society especially in the port cities like that of San Paolo in Valletta. It investigates relationships, marriages, subjection and liberation of these women who did what they could in order to fit into a framework which was otherwise alien to them by means of baptism. The documents found are definitely not representative of the majority of slaves because many had nothing written about them and many had nothing to write but the few documents encountered and studied shed a new light on subjects like marriage and liberation of female slaves, their influence and position within the families where they served and their emotional baggage. The best research starts with a curiosity, and it is usually motivated by unanswered questions in a particular field of study. This dissertation too starts with a question, it questions how these female slaves managed to survive in an alien world, the tenacity of some and how this helped them cope and overcome their chains, how they lived their everyday life. It would have been exciting to come across a diary or letters expressing the emotions of these slaves but unfortunately this did not happen therefore although this dissertation tries also to explore the emotions of these slaves this remains a hypothesis, maybe a possibility for further research. My research on local primary sources was carried out at the Notarial Archives of Valletta (N.A.V.), the Parish of San Paolo in Valletta, the Parish of Mqabba, the National Library Manuscripts (N.L.M. Lib. Ms.) and the National Archives of Malta Banca Giuratale (Mdina). I also carried out some research at the Archives of the Inquisition (A.I.M.) and the National Archives in Rabat (N.A.M.) but I decided not to pursue research there and not to use these documents due to the limited word count and due to the Covid-19 Closure in March 2020. Furthermore, I did not use the documents from the Archives of the Inquisition because these have already been thoroughly studied by a number of other historians. The local documents are used in this dissertation in order to provide a detailed case study of an island in the very middle of the Mediterranean, an island which is very representative of the whole of the Mediterranean with the diversity of cultures, languages and religions sharing this tiny space with the cosmopolitan port city of San Paolo being representative of major port cities in the Mediterranean. As Arlette Farge states, archives only serve as a social observatory, where society is observed through scattered scraps. The puzzle is never complete but one full of gaps which spark curiosity for further research. All this is done while comparing local documents with foreign works by historians like Salvatore Bono, providing the general Mediterranean framework, a framework of a region which had slaves coming from different areas. Bono specifies that the study of female slaves would be complex because of their conspicuous minority when compared to men, a situation which makes them less visible and very easily assimilated and lost within the society they lived in. Gaining freedom was already quite difficult for female slaves, maybe more so than their male counterparts but managing to become rich and acquire social recognition was out of this world but some did. Because the stories of these women have practically never been unearthed, it is only through archival documents that one can start giving life to these individuals who make part of the history of women in Malta and the Mediterranean. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/106006 Title: Making sense of traditional gender stereotypes in Malta in view of the Mediterranean culture Abstract: Stereotypes exist within all societies all over the world. Stereotypes can be attributed to various aspects, one of which is gender. When discussing gender stereotypes, it is also important to consider the society in which such stereotypes exist, in view that gender stereotypes are highly impacted by society. The Mediterranean region is considered to have relatively conservative stereotypes when compared to other European regions. It is not the scope to generalise the entire Mediterranean region as this area consists of a collection of states with different cultures which are independent of each other. Moreover, even within one state, it cannot be assumed that there is a homogenous culture. In this dissertation, a study was conducted on some Mediterranean gender stereotypes and the relevance of these stereotypes in the lives of thirteen Maltese women who participated in the research. In an attempt to make sense of gender stereotypes in the Mediterranean region, three main aspects of lived experiences are discussed: the family, education and work. Additionally, focusing on Malta shifts in gender stereotypes, the last two generations were analysed. Thus, a comparison is made, based on narratives of participants, on the expectations and limitations of two generations of women. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/105944 Title: A study of Andrew Watson’s ‘Islamic agricultural revolution’ in the context of recent literature concerning medieval Iberia, Sicily and Malta, and Egypt Abstract: This dissertation aims to evaluate to what extent Andrew M. Watson’s theory applies to different regions of the Mediterranean. Watson’s theory of the Islamic Agricultural Revolution proposed back in 1974, suggests that agricultural techniques, irrigation methods and crops were transmitted from India to the Mediterranean after the Islamic conquests. To evaluate this theory, this dissertation focuses on three separate regions: Iberia; Sicily and Malta; and Egypt. These regions’ agricultural history before the Islamic conquest is taken into account to see the level of complexity and sophistication previous civilisations took on agriculture. The Romans, for example, were able to grow crops during the summer through irrigation, suggesting that summer was not as “dead” as Watson implies. His theory is further disproved by the history of the diffusion of crops, many of which grew in the Mediterranean much earlier than Watson described. That being said, each of the three aforementioned regions was studied independently and yielded results specific to it. Of all the three regions, Watson’s theory applied more to Sicily and Malta than to Egypt or Iberia. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z