A study in local history since 1800 : Nadur

Abstract

Although Nadur is not my place of residence I have spent many memorable days of my childhood years there with my maternal grandparents and I have always considered Nadur as my second hometown. Today my maternal grandmother resides with us and her personal experiences of her early life in Nadur and abroad has inspired me to delve further into the nations of history In compiling this dissertation I utilized both primary and secondary sources. The birth and death records located in the Nadur Parish Archive and the State School Logbooks now housed in the Gozo National Archives were the main unpublished primary sources which I made use of. Boys' and Girls' Primary School Logbooks of Nadur date back to the early twentieth century and have provided valuable information. However my research here was limited to the first four decades as records of the last seventy years could not be consulted due to the Data Protection Act. Published primary sources also proved invaluable in tracing the developments of the different aspects of Nadur's local history concerning demography, education, the distribution of occupations, the standard of living and the political inclinations of the inhabitants. I consulted various sources including the Censuses of the Maltese Islands, the Malta Blue Books, several issues of the Malta Government Gazette, Government Department Reports, Electoral Registers, official annual statistical publications along with a number of national newspapers. Censuses provided a range of quantitative data which have shed light on the progress of localities in the Maltese lslands over the years, yet, they too have their limitations. Besides the lack of official censuses for the first half of the nineteenth century, the main obstacle in gathering statistical information was the inconsistencies in the context and layout used which presented difficulties in following certain aspects through. This was a particular drawback in the Censuses from 1881 to 1931 when data was based on a district level rather than on a local level, interrupting the flow of information on the distribution of occupations in Nadur. From the outset I realised that my research would be limited even further as Nadur had not been recorded on its own prior to the Census of 1891 since both Qala and Ghajnsielem, together with the island of Comino, had been parochially attached to Nadur since 1688. Certain information, however, such as the franchise of Nadur, had always been recorded separately to that of Qala and Ghajnsielem and I was able to obtain this information from the Malta Government Gazettes. Various secondary sources have provided qualitative data which has proved to be essential for my research. Books and articles penned by established academics have provided information in a wider context and therefore helped to explain certain local events and conditions of Nadur. Published works in local magazines dealing specifically with local history in the form of researched articles as well as personal experiences of the locals have also proved to be invaluable, especially in filling certain gaps left by the shortcomings of primary sources. Added to these are the various dissertations which I also consulted.