Events leading to the internment and deportation of Maltese Nationalists : 1940-1942

Abstract

This thesis attempts to throw light on an incident which, to quote Sir Ugo Mifsud, was ‘the darkest hour for Maltese history’. It recalls the internment of more than a hundred Maltese, men and women, in special camps in and after 1940, and a process that led to the decision to deport forty-five of the to a camp in Uganda. These men and women were not criminals. They were never convicted of anything. On the contrary they contained among them some of the most influential and important personalities of the island. This thesis will try to show that the Constitutionalists were very much responsible for the decision taken by the British authorities to intern and deport some Maltese Nationalists. Yet the British authorities did not view them as being so excellent politicians to play pro-British politics in Malta.