A study in local history since 1800 : Mosta

Abstract

In this dissertation I tried to outline the main characteristics of Mosta which evolved from a simple village into a large populated town centre that later became a hive of commercial activity and incorporated within its ranks, people coming from all over Malta. In compiling this dissertation I made use of unpublished primary sources such as the births, deaths and marriage registers found in the Mosta Parish Archives and the Reports of the General Elections held between 1971 and 1981. Additionally I also made use of published primary sources such as the Censuses, Malta Government Gazette, Blue Books, Government Department Reports, Electoral Registers and the Annual Abstract of Statistics along with local and national newspapers. The data assembled from these sources traces the development of the village. But unfortunately no official Census was held during the first half of the nineteenth century. However this lack of statistical information is partly supplied by ecclesiastical records. But regrettably to say, I did not delve deep enough within the Parish archives due to the understandable constraints of my research. Censuses have the obvious limitation of assembling together just quantitative data. Nonetheless this information is very useful since it is indicative of the economic situation within the village. The data gathered in the Censuses of 1881 and 1891 is based on a district level thus causing inconsistencies. This information gave a regional perspective since Mosta was grouped with the surrounding villages of Naxxar, Gliargliur and Mellielia. Secondary sources have proved to be invaluable for my research since they provided qualitative data which filled some of the gaps left by the shortcomings of primary sources. Several books authored by established academics have been used explain to the wider context in which Mosta belonged. Other contributions utilized, consisted of published works within the local magazines and newspapers which included researched articles and recollection of experiences by locals. These publications along with primary sources have provided me a framework to build my dissertation and allowed me to build a clear picture of the social history of Mosta within the last two centuries.