A study in local history since 1800 : Mġarr

Abstract

The research presented will mainly explore Primary Sources of historical data, including Government Censuses, Bluebooks, Government Gazettes, and scholastic records, the last of which provides a goldmine of information regarding the initial years of the Primary School in the village. These will then be supplemented with Secondary Sources, including books, newspapers, articles, and pamphlets. Other contributions include published material in village magazines issued by the Mġarr Parish, the Local Council, and other village entities, providing researched articles, interviews, and personal experiences. Given that no government or ecclesiastical records provide relevant information on the village before its establishment as a Parish in 1898, it proves to be challenging to assess societal change before 1900. While this lacuna has limited my research to a singular century, it was possible however, to explore the social transformations that transpired and characterized the village in the last century in more detail. Hence, after giving a brief historical overview of the village before the nineteenth century, this study intends to focus primarily on six characteristics, which when brought together and analysed in conjunction, have created a defined picture of the village and community throughout the 20th century. Accordingly, the second chapter will deal with the shifts in demographic patterns in the Maltese islands experienced throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Here we take a closer look at Mġarr to investigate how these shifts affected this small village and evaluate its gradual growth. The following three chapters will explore the evolution of Mġarr through a social lens. While appraising the change in occupational patterns and living standards, education comes to the foreground as a critical determiner in this development. The sixth chapter then evaluates the political inclinations of the villagers, mainly focusing on the general elections held after 1921 and local council elections, which give a more detailed representation of political loyalty. Finally, chapter seven seeks to present the centrality of the Catholic Church in the village, affecting every aspect of people’s lives.