Early history

The earliest archaeological remains in Malta date from about 5000 BCE. Neolithic farmers lived in caves such as those at Għar Dalam (near Birżebbuġa) or villages such as Skorba (near Żebbiegħ) and produced pottery similar to that of contemporary eastern Sicily. An elaborate cult of the dead evolved sometime after 4000 BCE. Initially centring on rock-cut collective tombs such as those at Żebbuġ and Xemxija, it culminated in the unique underground burial chamber (hypogeum) at Ħal Saflieni (in Paola, known locally as Raħal Ġdid). Hundreds of thousands of human remains, as well as statues, pots, jewelry, and other artifacts, have been unearthed at Ħal Saflieni, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1980. This culture came to a sudden end about 2000 BCE, when it was replaced by the Tarxien Cemetery culture, a metal-using civilization that practiced a cremation burial rite. This culture in turn was supplanted by the Borġ In-Nadur people (1450–800 BCE), whose settlements were founded on naturally defensible hilltops. Between 900 and 800 BCE, people settled at Baħrija and were known for their distinct type of pottery.

Between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE, contact was made with a Semitic culture. Evidence is scanty, however, and a few inscriptions found on Malta constitute an important indication of a Phoenician presence. For example, a prehistoric temple at Tas-Silġ (near Marsaxlokk) was converted into a Phoenician one. There is more substantial proof of the Carthaginian presence from the 6th century BCE; coins, inscriptions, and several rock tombs of the Punic (i.e., Phoenician) type have been found. It is certain that in 218 BCE Malta came under Roman political control, forming part of the praetorship of Sicily. During the first two centuries of Roman occupation, the islands were allowed to coin their own money, send delegations to Rome, and control domestic affairs. Subsequently they were given the status of Roman municipium. St. Paul, the Apostle, was shipwrecked on Malta in 60 CE, and, as it is believed, converted the inhabitants to Christianity. Numerous collective underground burial places dating from the 4th to the 8th century CE represent the first archaeological evidence of Christianity in Malta.

With the division of the Roman Empire in 395 CE, Malta was given to the eastern portion ruled from Constantinople (now Istanbul). Until the 15th century, it followed the more immediate fortunes of nearby Sicily, successively under Byzantine rule (535–870 CE) and Arab rule (870–1090); both groups left a strong mark on the language and customs. The Normans and their Swabian successors in the Kingdom of Sicily (1091–1266) had changed Malta’s legal and governmental structures. A short period of Angevin rule (1266–82) was followed by Spanish rule (1282–1530), when the islands were governed by a succession of feudal lords. In 1530 the Holy Roman emperor Charles V ceded Malta to the homeless Order of the Knights of Rhodes (subsequently the Sovereign and Military Order of the Knights of Malta; see Hospitallers), a religious and military order of the Roman Catholic Church. Malta became a fortress and, under the Knights’ grand master, Jean de Valette, successfully withstood the Ottoman siege of 1565. The new capital city of Valletta, founded in 1566, became a town of splendid palaces and unparalleled fortifications. Growing in power and wealth—owing mainly to their maritime adventures against the Ottomans—the Knights left the island an architectural and artistic legacy. Although there was little social contact between them and the Maltese, the Knights managed to imprint their cosmopolitan character on Malta and its inhabitants.

Modern history

In 1798 French army officer Napoleon Bonaparte (later Napoleon I) captured the island, but the French presence was short-lived. By the middle of 1800 British troops that had been called in to assist the Maltese had arrived. The French held out for three months before they surrendered the island to the British. The Treaty of Amiens returned the island to the Knights in 1802. The Maltese protested and acknowledged Great Britain’s sovereignty, subject to certain conditions incorporated in a Declaration of Rights. The constitutional change was ratified by the Treaties of Paris (1814–15).

Maltese claims for local autonomy were dismissed by Britain, but they never abated. Malta’s political status under Britain underwent a series of vicissitudes in which constitutions were successively granted, suspended, and revoked. British exploitation of Malta’s military facilities dominated the local economy, and the dockyard became the colony’s economic mainstay.

The island flourished during the Crimean War (1853–56) and was favourably affected by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Self-government was granted in 1921 on a dyarchical basis whereby Britain retained control of foreign and military affairs, while a newly created Maltese legislature was responsible for local issues. This agreement was withdrawn in 1933, mostly as a result of Maltese resistance to the imposition of English in lieu of Italian as Malta’s official language. As such, Malta reverted to a strictly colonial regime in which full power rested in the hands of the governor. During World War II (1939–45) the island underwent intense and prolonged bombing by the Axis Powers but did not surrender. The heroism of the Maltese people was recognized when the island as a whole was awarded the George Cross, Britain’s highest civilian decoration. Self-government was granted in 1947, revoked in 1959, and then restored in 1962. Malta finally achieved independence on Sept. September 21, 1964, becoming a member of the Commonwealth and subsequently a member of the Council of Europe. Malta became a republic on Dec. December 13, 1974.

The immediate pre- and post-independence postindependence period was marked by a hardening polarization between Malta’s two major political parties. From 1962 to 1971, Malta was governed by the Nationalist Party (Partit Nazzjonalista; PN), which pursued a policy of firm alignment with the West. In 1971, however, the Malta Labour Party (Partit Laburista; MLP) came to power, embracing a policy of nonalignment and aggressively asserting Malta’s sovereignty. The MLP formed a special friendship with China and Libya and negotiated an agreement that led to the total withdrawal of British forces from Malta by 1979. The closure of the British base was celebrated by the Maltese government as the arrival of “real” independence.

The PN returned to power in 1987 and sought full membership in the European Economic Community (later succeeded by the European Union [EU]). But when the MLP took the reins again in 1996, the party froze Malta’s application for membership in the EU. The MLP’s time in office was short-lived, however, because Prime Minister Alfred Sant called for new elections in 1998 (three years ahead of schedule) after having lost support from his own party. The PN was returned to office in 1998; it reactivated the application for accession to the EU and ushered in major social and economic changes in pursuit of that goal. After considerable political wrangling between the PN and the MLP, Maltese voters in a 2003 referendum chose to join the EU, of which Malta became a member on May 1, 2004. Malta adopted the euro as its currency on Jan. January 1, 2008. The PN was again returned to power in 2008, winning the general elections over the MLP by a small margin of votes.

In May 2011, Maltese voters approved a referendum recommending the legalization of divorce. Until then, Malta had been the only EU country, and one of only a few countries worldwide, without a divorce law. Legislation permitting divorce was passed by the parliament in June and put into effect in October.