https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/118893 2026-04-20T18:53:51Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/144074 Title: For a cultural reading of the Italian Risorgimento in Sicily : the Euro-Mediterranean routes of Giuseppe La Farina, Carlo Gemelli, and Salvatore Chindemi 1800-1860 Abstract: This thesis examines the Sicilian Risorgimento through the biographies of three southern intellectuals and patriots who lived in southern Italy during the Bourbon monarchy of Naples in the first half of the 19th century. The focus is on the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, situated within a Euro-Mediterranean context where major powers of the time, such as Russia, the Ottoman Empire, and above all France and England, contended for the protection of the Bourbon kingdom, particularly Sicily. The study emphasizes the cultural education of three Sicilian patriots, their experiences during the cholera epidemic, the revolts of 1837, and their involvement in the Sicilian Revolution of 1848, as well as the subsequent Sicilian counterrevolution. Additionally, it explores their experiences of exile, with popular destinations including Tuscany, nearby Malta, France, Belgium, and Piedmont. Ultimately, Piedmont became the final destination for all three protagonists, where they embraced the unification efforts led by the Cavour faction and the House of Savoy, abandoning alternative solutions such as republicanism, separatism, and federalism. In terms of methodology, I employed a combination of three approaches: Mediterranean studies (New Thalassology), transnational cultural history, and the history of emotions. Description: Ph.D.(Melit.) 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/132377 Title: The French connection in the defence of Hospitaller Malta (1722-1789) Abstract: This dissertation examines the extent and the nature of France’s role as a protector of Hospitaller Malta during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, particularly during periods of acute Ottoman threats to the island. France’s assistance to Malta was multifaceted, involving the provision of arms, munitions, and military experts, as well as diplomatic efforts to mitigate Ottoman aggression. The scope of this dissertation was to study three significant Ottoman threats (1722-23, 1731-33 and 1761) to illustrate how Hospitaller Malta and France responded to these crises, and to understand whether as, Jacques Godechot claimed, Malta was a dependency of France. In order to provide a complete picture of the extent of France’s protective stance, the dissertation has investigated the resourcing of Malta’s military even when the Ottoman threat abated, during which time France continued to replenish the islands’ armouries and gunpowder stores, including when France’s own military stocks were stretched to the limit because of its involvement in continental wars. While France was generally responsive to the Order of St John’s military needs, the procurement and delivery of weapons from France was an arduous and complex process, which was only rendered possible by the Order’s extensive web of Hospitallers spread throughout France, including grand priors, receivers, agents, and commissioned knights. Central to this extensive network was the ambassador of the Order in Paris, who negotiated with French government officials for the purchase of arms and gunpowder, oftentimes navigating through bureaucratic obstacles and the logistics for the transportation of armaments from across France to Marseille, and thence to Malta. As this dissertation shows, the ambassador was the lynchpin between the knights in France, the court of Versailles, and the Convent in Malta. Divided into seven chapters, this study probes into Hospitaller procedures, those established and those adaptive, for the summoning of knights from the periphery, for reaching out to Europe for assistance, and for the procurement of arms and experts. In chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5, the three Ottoman threats are explored in depth to tease out the dual nature of French assistance in the form of experts and weapons, alongside the diplomatic measures emanating from Versailles that often-placed French-Ottoman relations at risk. Chapter 6 deals with the logistics of procurement, transportation and shipping to Malta in times of stability, and the Order’s adaptation to the centralised system of weapons procurement of ancien régime France. Chapter 7, on the other hand, focuses on those situations when negotiations in matters pertaining to the Order’s needs were not seamless, especially when the request for manpower intended for the service of the Order had an impact on the navy and the army of France. Conclusions are then drawn on the extent of French protection on Malta, and how both countries benefitted from their mutual support. Description: Ph.D.(Melit.) 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/130827 Title: Monarchy and Republic in Lombardy and Tuscany from the high middle ages to the Renaissance Abstract: The aim of this dissertation is to analyse the themes of monarchy and republic in Lombardy and Tuscany from the High Middle Ages to the Renaissance, within the context of the historical development of Italy. A great deal of literature dealing with the topic is widely available, especially from the Italian and English tradition, as well as the primary sources which when possible, were referred to in their original languages, that is; Latin and Italian. These sources were constantly used in the main text with the translations done by myself, whereas the original text is provided below. The work seeks to present the two historical regions as two case studies in order to allow for a comparable analysis, and make a contribution to the subject matter. Furthermore, the selection of two regions allowed for a more systematic study given the vastness of the subject, and the case-studies of Lombardy and Tuscany provide a fitting inquiry due to more or less similar conditions which then shaped their historical development. The first chapter discusses the contributions given in the subject, and provides a survey of the sources employed, especially since a main focus is placed on the narrative and the available primary sources, most of which are available online. The second chapter deals with the Regnum Italiae and how its configuration provided the circumstances which led to the emergence of the communes. The third chapter analyses the communal experience especially its relationship with the empire, and how the communes although still within the regnum, eventually gained complete locally autonomy. The fourth chapter analyses the city-state republics through the discussion of several themes such as contemporary political theory and reflection, and political development mainly the struggles involving the popolo and the wider context of empire and papacy. The fifth chapter studies the rise of the regional states and of the princely houses of the Medici in Florence and Visconti and Sforza in Lombardy within the context of the transition into that which is recognised as the ‘Renaissance state’. As such, the study aims to critically discuss why the kingdom failed, how republic city-states came into being, and how princely families arrived to create quasi-monarchical states yet never officially so. Description: M.A.(Melit.) 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/125428 Title: Themes in British and French Napoleonic pictorial propaganda (1796-1815) Abstract: The decision to focus on the subject of this dissertation revolved around my interests since the start of my studies in history. I have always been invested in the Napoleonic era, however the issue I stumbled into was the lack of knowledge of French. Hence, I felt that using visual sources could be an effective way in which I could delve into French history during this period. The first chapter is primarily concerned with the technicalities of my research, such as finding the primary and secondary sources as well as setting out the context of my work. The context will involve an explanation of how French culture led to the praise of ‘Great Men’ and how Napoleon would exploit that culture from the start of the Italian Campaign. Popular artists of the time, both British and French, are mentioned to give the reader a sense of who was producing propaganda at the time. Secondary sources that were essential to my work will also be discussed to explain how they provided me with much needed context, analysis of many satirical prints and paintings, and highlighted many important themes which I delved into. The second chapter goes into French propaganda and how Napoleon compared himself to other figures in history to display an image of a hero. It focuses on the period from 1804 to 1810, the height of his Empire. During this period, the Emperor was interested in maintaining his legitimacy by comparing himself to three types of figures: Christ, heroes/valiant warriors such as Charlemagne and Hannibal, and finally and most notably, Classical figures, specifically Roman Emperors. This chapter also focuses on other sources of propaganda instead of just paintings, such as architecture and sculpture, however the emphasis is placed on paintings in most of the dissertation. Chapter 3 focuses on British caricatures which sought to delegitimise Napoleon. The main years tackled during this section are between 1808 and 1815, which were concerned with the Emperor’s downfall and British reactions to this. This chapter starts with a discussion of British criticisms of every government, not just the French one, which goes to show the freedom that British artists enjoyed in comparison to the French, who experienced mass censorship under Napoleon’s rule. Apart from this, themes such as Napoleon’s relation with the Devil and his wrong doings towards the French themselves become prominent. The fourth chapter tackles a theme with which both British and French propaganda were concerned, that is, the legitimacy, or otherwise, of Napoleon. The chapter discusses both sides and shows the inherent differences in their approaches towards propaganda. Indeed, the British were interested in showing Napoleon’s lack of belonging to the French; he was a usurper in their eyes. In addition, the theme of Napoleon’s unjust treatment of the French nation is revisited. Meanwhile, one may also see Napoleon’s development of propaganda from 1796 during his Italian Campaign in the form of pamphlets. Later, he would be concerned with maintaining an image of himself as a Roman emperor. Description: B.A. (Hons)(Melit.) 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z