History
Neolithic Malta
Pottery found by archaeologists at the Skorba Temples resembles the one found in Italy, and suggests that the Maltese islands were first settled in 5200 BC mainly by Stone Age hunters or farmers who had arrived from the Italian island of Sicily.
The Sicani were the only tribe known to have inhabited the island at this time. The population of Malta grew cereals, raised livestock and worshiped a fertility figure. A culture of megalithic temple builders then arose from this early period.
Around the time of 3500 BC, these people built some of the oldest existing free-standing structures in the world, which were used from 4000 to 2500 BC, until the Sicani culture disappeared. After 2500 BC, the Maltese Islands were depopulated for several decades until the arrival of Bronze Age immigrants, who cremated corpses instead of burying them and introduced smaller megalithic structures.
Roman Malta
Malta prehistory ends in around 700 BC, when the island got colonized by the Phoenicians, who ruled the island until they were defeated, in 218 BC, by the Romans. This period is of great importance. It saw the introduction of Christianity. But before the Romans could take Malta, they had to beat their enemy, the Carthaginians.
Having won the Punic Wars (264-146 BC), the Romans took control of Malta which became a free municipium and the islands began to be mentioned in written records. Although the villas, temples and baths found there indicate a life of relative stability and well-being, the island remained, in effect, an outpost of Sicily.
After the division of the Roman empire the islands fell into obscurity until North African Berbers took them in 870 AC.
The Knights of Malta
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, commonly known as the Order of Malta, is a religious order of noble nature.
The order is led by an elected Prince and Grand Master. The Order venerates the Virgin Mary as its patroness, under the title of Our Lady of Philermos.
History of The Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The birth of the Knights Hospital dates back to 1048. Merchants from the ancient Mariner Republic of Amalfi got from the Caliph of Egypt the permission to build a hospital in Jerusalem, to care for pilgrims of any religion or race. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem became independent under the guidance of its founder, Brother Gerard. In 1113, Pope Paschal II approved the foundation of the Hospital, and granted the right to freely elect its superiors without interference from other religious authorities.
When Napoleon led the French occupation of Malta in 1798. He demanded that his ships were allowed to enter the port to take on water and supplies but the Grand Master replied that only two ships could be allowed access to the port. Being aware that such a procedure would leave his forces vulnerable, Bonaparte ordered a cannon fusillade against Malta; after several hours of fierce fighting, the Maltese were forced to surrender and the French forces occupying Malta expelled the Knights from the country.
After that the knights were dispersed, though the Order continued to exist in a diminished form and negotiated a return to power with European governments. In the early 19th century, the Order was severely weakened, as testified by the fact that in 1805 the Order was given to Lieutenants, rather than Grand Masters, until 1879, when Pope Leo XIII restored a Grand Master to the order, signaling the renewal of the Order's fortunes as a humanitarian and religious organization.
Modern Day Malta
The Order's modern-day role is largely focused on providing humanitarian assistance and dealing with international humanitarian relations.
British Malta
Back at the dawn of the 1800s, Malta was under the rule of the Napoleonic French forces. French rulers were extremely unpopular with the local Maltese citizens, therefore, following a short period under their rule, the Maltese asked for help from the British and managed to expel the French from their territory. By 1814 the island had become an important and strategic part of the British empire.
After the wars, Malta was granted independence on September 21st 1964. The British Aired forces retained a presence in Malta until 1979 when the military bases on the island were closed. The Islands became part of the British Commonwealth. It became a member country of the European Union (EU) in 2004.
World War One
Malta played an extremely important role during WW1: due to its location in the center of the Mediterranean, the island was used as a supply station and as a base for the recovery of the injured. The Islands earned the title of "Nurse of the Mediterranean".
World War Two
During WW2 the island played a pivotal role in the Mediterranean theater of war. Malta was used as a base for Royal Navy ships and RAF aircraft. For that reason Malta became a target for the Axis forces and it was bombed so extensively that it soon became one of the most damaged places in Europe
Vanessa Silvestri and Camilla Ricci Petitoni