Printing in Malta during the British Protectorate

Abstract

The rapid political changes and general instability prevailing in the Maltese Islands between June 1798 and May 1814 were unparalleled in modern Maltese history. The succession of three radically diverse political entities must have resulted in significant social implications for the Maltese, requiring considerable mental adjustment. Each new order resulting from political change was consciously and effectively passed on to the population through the output of the government press which enjoyed absolute monopoly over local printing since its establishment in June 1756. Administratively, French rule had brought about two major developments regarding the press in Malta: the end of diocesan, inquisitorial and, if only in theory, of government press censorship and the publication of the first local gazette, the intensely pro French Journal de Malte. Strict political control was maintained during the Protectorate, justifiable perhaps by war; not so its perpetuation down to 1839. The few alternative presses allowed were not available for use by the general public.