Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/104161
Title: Colonial encounters : Maltese experiences of British rule, 1800-1970s
Authors: Chircop, John
Keywords: Malta -- History -- British occupation, 1800-1964
Malta -- Politics and government
Great Britain -- Colonies -- History
Issue Date: 2015
Publisher: Horizons Publications
Citation: Chircop, J. (Ed.) (2015). Colonial Encounters: Maltese Experiences of British Rule, 1800-1970s. Malta: Horizons Publications.
Abstract: Colonialism in Malta, as in other imperial mains, evolved as a complex of experiences. These frequently included rejection or downright resistance, but acknowledgement, acceptance and measures of consent given by different 'native' social groups, all the way through the hundred and sixty years or so of 'British rule' and beyond independence into post colonial times. Social diversity in terms of class, status, gender, age and the cultural beliefs of the various sectors of the 'subject population' was significant in terms of shaping the manifold subjective and shared experiences and perceptions of the countless encounters with the British colonial presence in Malta. The chapters in this book explore some of the ways in which such local-colonial 'dialogic' interactions were expressed, many times emphasising the multiple effects, or consequences, that these same encounters brought about in Maltese society, on its social structures, power relations and hegemonic spheres. Such impact was also felt on the material culture and life conditions of the people ( including public health, demographic and migratory movements), as well as the natural environment. In their explorations of these local-colonial crossings, individual chapters investigate key research themes in the growing literature on colonial history, and hence contribute to this research in progress. The editorial approach adopted here - one that is as historiographically inclusive as possible allows a wide range of historical interpretative perspectives to be mirrored in the individual research chapters. Coupled with a thorough critique 0£ and a conscious departure from, the conventional and still predominant paradigm of Maltese 'National History' ( suffused as it is with a historically restrictive nationalistic vista), this should provide fresh dimensions and chart new terrain in the understanding of the multiplicity of local experiences of British colonialism/s. This new, critical reassessment of the historiography of the 'British colonial era', if anything, opens up this research field to as many methods, theoretical approaches and historical perspectives as possible to date. As a result, most of the studies in this volume differ from mainstream historical narratives on the 'British period in Malta: which generally interpret colonial rule as either having been faced with 'fatalistic acceptance' on the part of the Maltese, or being in one way or another rejected by them. This collection is intended to contribute to a more realistic and balanced historical re-evaluation, one that reflects the complex, even contradictory, realities characterising the multitude of intimacies, crossings and fusions of local/indigenous elements with the British colonial presence. In the following chapters resident communities - in all their social and cultural diversity - are presented in their interactions with colonial authority not simply as powerless 'recipients' or subdued victims of colonial rule but also, in different shades and measures, as historical protagonists. In this regard they feature as collaborating elites sharing in Colonial State authority and in decision-making, while the majority of the labouring poor are portrayed, through their persistent resilience, and their acts of disobedience, resistance and protests against colonial encroachments, regulation and policing; of their customary ways of earning a living and in defence of their commons. The approach taken here rejects the conventional view that decisions were taken only at the metropolis independently of the needs and wishes of the subject population. When considered together, the following chapters offer a rendering of 'colonial Malta' not simply as a site characterised by structured uneven power relations between colonised and colonisers - which indeed it was - but also of constantly shifting borders and social negotiations, of dialogue, collaboration and the renegotiation of the terms of consent and, simultaneously, of hidden and not so hidden conflicts, defiance and dissent.
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/104161
ISBN: 9789995738792
Appears in Collections:Scholarly Works - FacArtHis

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
Colonial_encounters__Maltese_experiences_of_british_rule,_1800-1970s(2015).pdf
  Restricted Access
70.7 MBAdobe PDFView/Open Request a copy


Items in OAR@UM are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.