The Grand Harbour extension project : economic and political implications for British Malta, 1858-1870s

Abstract

For most of Malta's history, but particularly since the time of the Order of St John (1530-1798), Malta's main natural port - known as the Grand Harbour - has been the island's ‘only significant natural resource', serving not only as a naval and military base, but also as an important entrepot in the Mediterranean. Owing to its geostrategic importance, the Grand Harbour has served as the island's economic hub for centuries. The Hospitallers had already developed the port infrastructure extensively and when the British came to Malta in 1800, they eventually set out to transform the island into the empire's main naval base in the Mediterranean. Following the official takeover in 1813, increased British defence spending and the presence of the garrison on the island ensured the continued centrality of the Grand Harbour in the fortress colony throughout the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries.