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Since Neolithic times, for over 8,000 years, Malta has been populated and remains of the earliest inhabitants can still be found on the island. The large structures of Neolithic temples are still standing in the south of the island of Malta (Tarxien Temples, Hagar Qim, Mnajdra), and in Gozo (Ggantija).
Scientists reckon that some of these temples were erected around one thousand years before the construction of the famous pyramids of Giza in Egypt, and are believed to be the oldest free-standing monuments in the world. After the Neolithic culture faded away, around 2,000 B.C., the island was conquered by the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and Arabs respectively.
During the Middle Ages, Malta was involved in the Byzantine-Arab Wars and was invaded by the Arabs, who introduced new irrigation, some fruits and cotton to the island. The Arabs also brought over the Siculo-Arabic language from Sicily, to which Malta was closely affiliated at the time. The language would eventually evolve into current-day Maltese. The Arabs allowed the native Christians to practice their religion but were discriminated against by being charged with an extra tax.
The Normans seized Malta around 1091, and were welcomed by the native Christians, who will have been pleased to see Roman-Catholicism reintroduced as the state religion. The Maltese islands became part of the Kingdom of Sicily, which also covered a large part of present-day Italy.
The Order of Knights of St John (also known as the Knights of Malta) ruled the islands from 1530 until 1798, during which period they built present-day capital city Valletta. (Learn more about Valletta’s history here.)
The Knights improved living conditions across the Island building hospitals, stimulated trade and commerce and erected strong fortifications. During their rule, the Knights successfully held out for many months throughout the horrific fighting and massive assaults by Ottoman invaders, now coined The Great Siege of 1565.
In 1798 Napoleon’s army conquered the island, easily removing the Knights of St John from power, who had not been prepared for the force with which the French charged. In the six days that followed the conquest, a civil code was laid down for Malta. Slavery was abolished and all Turkish slaves were freed. Napoleon himself created a primary and secondary education system and a more scientific based university replaced the old one.
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The British Throne took over Malta after Napoleon’s demise and ruled the islands for the next 160 years. Malta was bombed persistently by German forces during World War II in an attempt to take over the Malta, which was known as a location of high strategic importance for both trade and conflict. Malta was bombed more heavily in 1942 than the whole blitz of London. The British and Maltese unified in their battle for survival and the Germans failed to conquer neither Malta, nor the Maltese.
The determination and strong spirit shown by the population of Malta led King George VI to award Malta the George Cross. His official message, which was engraved in a marble plaque on the façade of the Presidential Palace in Valletta, reads: “To honour her brave people I award the George Cross to the Island Fortress of Malta, to bear witness to a heroism and a devotion that will long be famous in history.” This award is still part of the national flag of Malta and is seen as a symbol of a proud nation. The Maltese gained their independence from the British in 1964 and the country would continue as a sovereign state and republic. Since May 2003, Malta is a member of the European Union and a popular tourist destination for many Europeans.
| 5000 | First human settlers. Ghar Dalam phase. |
| 3600-2500 | Megalithic temples constructed. |
| 2000-1400 | Bronze-using people. |
| 800-480 | Phoenician rule |
| 700-600 | Greek influence. |
| 480-218 | Carthaginian rule. |
| 264-146 | Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome. |
| 218 | Roman rule begins during the 2nd Punic War. |
| 60 | Shipwreck of St. Paul the Apostle. |
| 117-138 | Islands become municipium under Emperor Hadrian. |
| 395-870 | Byzantine rule. |
| 454 | Islands occupied by the Vandals (?) |
| 464 | Islands occupied by the Goths (?) |
| 533 | Islands restored to Byzantine rule (?) |
| 870-1090 | Arab rule. |
| 870 | Aglabiti (Tunisian) Arabs invade Malta and expel the Byzantine. |
| 1048 | First Byzantine attempts to regain islands. |
| 1091-1194 | Norman rule. |
| 1091 | Count Roger of Hauteville, aka the Norman, takes Malta and imposed taxes but leaves Arab rulers |
| 1127 | Roger II, Count Roger’s son, establishes Norman rule |
| 1122 | Arab uprising fails. |
| 1144 | Second Byzantine attempt to regain islands. |
| 1154 | John made Bishop of Palermo and Malta. |
| 1154-1205 | Genoese influence. |
| 1194-1266 | Swabian rule. |
| 1224 | Final expulsion of Arabs from Sicily and Malta. |
| 1266-1283 | Angevin rule. Creation of the Universita’ (body of administration and not academic institution). |
| 1282 | Sicilian Vespers (uprising against Angevin (French) rule). |
| 1283-1412 | Aragonese rule. |
| 1412-1530 | Aragonese and Castilian rule. |
| 1350 | Establishment of Maltese Nobility. |
| 1350-1357 | First incorporation into Royal Domain (of Aragon) |
| 1393-1397 | Time of the Tyrants – Malta given to feudal lords. |
| 1397-1420 | Second incorporation into Royal Domain. |
| 1420 | Feudal possession of Don Antonio Cardona. |
| 1425 | Revolt against Don Consalvo de Monroy. |
| 1429 | Tunisian Saracens fail to capture of islands. |
| 1428-1530 | Last incorporation into Royal Domain. |
| 1530 | Knights of St. John take possession |
| 1551 | Dragut, prominent Turkish corsair, raids Gozo. |
| 1561 | Inquisition officially established. |
| 1565 | Great Siege. Malta besieged by Turks but the Knights helped by the Maltese resist and win. |
| 1566 | Founding of Valletta, the new capital city named after Grand Master La Valette, hero of the Great Siege. |
| 1568 | Jean Parisot La Valette buried in Valletta. |
| 1571 | Battle of Lepanto. Christian victory over Turks. |
| 1573 | Foundation stone laid for St. John’s Co-Cathedral. |
| 1592 | Founding of Jesuits College, which later becomes the academic University of Malta. |
| 1615 | Wignacourt Aqueduct completed to supply fresh water to Valletta. |
| 1676 | School of Anatomy and Surgery founded at the Sacred Infirmary, the Knight’s hospital in Valletta. |
| 1732 | Manoel Theater dedicated. |
| 1768 | Jesuits expelled and property transferred to the Knights by Papal Order. |
| 1769 | Conversion of Jesuits College to a University. |
| 1775 | Uprising of the priests brutally repressed. |
| 1784 | Creation of a legal code by Grand Master De Rohan. |
| 1792 | Possessions of the Knights of St. John located in France seized by the French revolutionary government. |
| 1798 June 9th | A French army under Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the Maltese Islands on its way to Egypt. The Knights of St. John expelled after 268 years in Malta. Inquisition abolished. |
| 1798 September 2nd |
The Maltese revolt against the French when these confiscate property belonging to the Maltese Church. The French take refuge behind the walls of Valletta and Cottonera and a two-year siege begins. |
| 1799 | Dun Mikiel Xerri and other Maltese executed by the French after a failed plot to storm the Valletta walls. The British take the islands under their protection in the name of the King of Two Sicilies. |
| 1800 September |
The French surrender. |
| 1800 | The French capitulate. British rule begins. |
| 1802 | Treaty of Amiens. The Napoleonic Wars resume because of Malta. |
| 1813 | The Bathurst Constitution |
| 1814 | Treaty of Paris. Malta declared free of the plague. |
| 1815 | Congress of Vienna affirms Treaty of Paris. |
| 1828 | Vatican Church-State proclamation. Right of Sanctuary revoked. |
| 1831 | (Church) See of Malta made independent of See of Palermo. |
| 1833 | Construction begins on Mosta dome. |
| 1835 | First Council of Government under British rule. |
| 1839 | Abolition of Press censorship. Laying of cornerstone for St. Paul’s Anglican Cathedral. |
| 1846 | Carnival riots. |
| 1849 | Council of Government with elected members under British rule. |
| 1869 | Opening of the Suez Canal. |
| 1870 | Referendum on Ecclesiastics serving on Council of Government. |
| 1881 | Anglo-Egyptian Bank founded in Malta |
| 1882 | Creation of Executive Council under British rule. |
| 1883 | Malta Railway begins operation. |
| 1885 | First postage stamps issued. |
| 1886 | Surgeon Major David Bruce discovers microbe causing Malta Fever. |
| 1887 | Council of Government with “dual control” under British rule. |
| 1888 | Construction begins on Royal Opera House. Simmons-Rampolla agreement (Vatican-British) |
| 1903 | Return to the 1849 form of Council of Government under British rule. |
| 1904 | Tram service begins. |
| 1905 | Dr. Themistocles Zammit discovers source of Malta Fever. |
| 1911 | English overtakes Italian as the secondary language after Maltese, increasing tensions between Italophile (anti-colonial) and Anglophile (pro-colonial) political parties. This division dominates Maltese politics in the period leading up to World War II. |
| 1912 | Dun Karm writes his first poem in Maltese. |
| 1914-18 | World War I; Malta is not directly involved in the fighting but becomes known as the “Nurse of the Mediterranean”. |
| 1919 | Sette Giugno riots sparked by cost of living. National Assembly convened. Self-government granted under British rule. The Malta Union of Teachers (MUT) is the first Maltese trade union. |
| 1921 | First Parliament opens. Joseph Howard named Prime Minister. |
| 1923 | The Maltese National Anthem, “Innu Malti” played first time in public. Dr. Francesco Buhagiar becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1924 | Sir Ugo P. Mifsud becomes Prime minister. |
| 1927 | Sir Gerald Strickland becomes Prime Minister. The Malta Labour Party comes to power for the first time together with Strickland’s party. |
| 1930 | Constitution suspended because of a political-religious dispute between Strickland and the Church. |
| 1931 | Malta railway closes. |
| 1932 | Constitution restored under British rule. Sir Ugo Mifsud becomes Prime Minister. |
| 1933 | Constitution withdrawn as Fascist Italy increases its influence on Malta. Malta reverts to the Crown Colony status it held in 1813. |
| 1934 | Malti and English become dual official languages. The first official grammar for the Maltese Language published. |
| 1935 | Rediffusion Radio launched, with the aim of countering Fascist propaganda from Italy. |
| 1936 | Constitution revised to provide for nomination of members to Executive Council under British rule. |
| 1939 | Constitution revised to provide for an elected Council of Government under British rule. Germany invades Poland and WWII starts |
| 1939-45 | World War II. |
| 1940 | On June 11th the first Italian bombs are dropped in Malta |
| 1941 | Daring Italian e-boat attack on Grand Harbour fails. British aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious damaged, bombed, repaired and departs. The Germans join the Italians in bombing Malta. |
| 1942 | Award of the George Cross to the people of Malta to honour their bravery. Operation Pedestal Convoy arrives in Grand Harbour and saves Malta from starvation and surrender. |
| 1943 | Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and King George VI visit Malta. Invasion of Sicily from Malta. Italy surrenders on the 8th of September and the Italian Fleet comes to Malta. The General Workers Union, Malta’s largest trade union, set-up. |
| 1945 | Churchill and Roosevelt meet in Malta prior to the Yalta Conference with Stalin. |
| 1946 | National Assembly results in 1947 constitution under British rule. |
| 1947 | Self-government restored under British rule. Dr. Paul Boffa becomes Prime Minister with a landslide victory for the Malta Labour Party. |
| 1949 | A young ambitious politican, Dom Mintoff, brings a split in the MLP. |
| 1950 | Dr. Enrico Mizzi becomes Prime Minister from September to December when he dies. Dr. Giorgio Borg Olivier becomes Prime minister in December. |
| 1955 | Dom Mintoff becomes Prime Minister. Roundtable Conference held to discuss Malta’s future with Britain |
| 1956 | Referendum on Integration with Britain. |
| 1958 | Dom Mintoff resigns as Prime Minister and a national strike called by the General Workers Union on the 18th of April ends in clashed between workers, police and British soldiers. Dr. Giorgio Borg Olivier declines forming alternative government. Colonial governor takes direct administration under British rule. |
| 1959 | Interim Constitution provides for an Executive Council under British rule. |
| 1961 | Blood Commission provides for a new constitution allowing for a measure of self-government and recognizing the “State” of Malta. Another political-religious struggle erupts between the Church led by Archbishop Gonzi and Mintoff’s MLP. |
| 1962 | Dr. Giorgio Borg Olivier becomes Prime Minister. |
| 11979 964 | “Innu Malti” recognized as the national anthem. Referendum on Independence Constitution. Malta granted independence, becoming a sovereign nation within the British Commonwealth. |
| 1968 | Central Bank established. |
| 1970 | Malta enters an Association agreement with the European Economic Community (EEC), today known as the European Union (EU). |
| 1971 | Dom Mintoff becomes Prime Minister after Malta Labour PArty wins general election in June. Sir Anthony Mamo becomes the first Maltese national to be named Governor General. He is the last one for the Maltese Islands. |
| 1972 | Military base agreement signed by Malta, the United Kingdom and other NATO nations. The King’s Own Malta Regiment disbanded. Change to decimal monetary system. Government bars the U.S. Naval Forces from using Malta as a liberty port. |
| 1973 | Formation of Air Malta. |
| 1974 | Malta becomes a Republic, remaining in the Commonwealth. Sir Anthony Mamo elected first President. Government increases its control over the University. |
| 1975 | Barclays Bank International, Ltd. taken over to become Mid-Med Bank. |
| 1976 | Dr. Anton Buttigieg becomes second President. Mintoff confirmed as {Prime Minister after Malta Labour Party is obtains win in general election |
| 1977 | Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami elected leader of the Nationalist Party. |
| 1979 | Military base agreement terminated. British forces leave. First Freedom Day celebrated on the 31st of March. |
| 1981 | The Malta Labour Party wins the general election by its majority of seats in Parliament, but the Opposition Nationalist Party has the absolute majority of votes. The Nationalist Party begins a protest campaign against the unjust election result. |
| 1982 | Agatha Barbara becomes third, and first female, President of Malta. |
| 1984 | Dr. Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici becomes Prime Minister after the resignation of Prime Minister Dom Mintoff. Stand-off between the government and teachers in a seven-week strike following government’s attempt to make private schooling free of charge. |
| 1987 | Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami becomes Prime Minister following a Nationalist victory in the May general election. |
| 1988 | Freeport Corporation set-up. |
| 1989 | First gathering of Knights of St. John in Malta since their departure in 1798. U.S.-Soviet Summit meets in Malta to end the Cold War. Dr. Vincent Tabone elected fourth President. |
| 1990 | Government formally applies for full membership in the European Community. Pope John Paul II makes the first Papal visit in Malta. Prof. Guido De Marco elected President of 45th Annual UN General Assembly. |
| 1991 | Malta Cable Television given license as the first cable tv operator in Malta. Two Vatican Agreements between the Malta Government and the Holy See signed in Rome. New Delimara Power Station begins operations. |
| 1992 | New Malta International Airport terminal inaugurated. Nationalist Party wins election. Dr. Alfred Sant elected Leader of the Malta Labour Party as Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici steps down following his party’s defeat. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in Malta for the 50th Anniversary of the awarding of the George Cross. 50th Anniversary of Operation Pedestal, popularly known as the ‘Santa Marija Convoy’ celebrated. Stock Exchange opened. Maritime Museum opened in Vittoriosa. |
| 1993 | The European Union’s first report on Malta says it is eligible for EU membership. First University degree courses offered in Gozo. Government signs the Inter- national Convention banning the use of chemical weapons. The Fifth Games of the Small States of Europe held in Malta. First elections for Local Councils held. |
| 1994 | Dr. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici elected fifth President. |
| 1996 | Malta Labour Party wins the elections held in October. Dr. Alfred sworn in as Prime Minister of Malta. |
| 1997 | Malta’s application to join the EU is ‘frozen’ (suspended) but not withdrawn in accordance with the MLP’s policy. MLP government instead seeks industrial free trade zone and closer relations to EU but not membership. |
| 1998 | Dr. Alfred Sant calls for a snap election following a vote of no-confidence. Dr. Eddie Fenech Adami is elected Prime Minister after the Nationalist Party wins the election. |
| 1999 | Prof. Guido de Marco appointed President of Malta. |
| 2004 | Malta joins the European Union after a referendum proves a slight majority of the Maltese population is in favour the previous year. |
| 2008 | The country adopts the Euro as its currency. |
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You did a wonderful job writing this article. Very interesting and educational.
Thank you
My parents with their six girls arrived in Australia in August 1951 but I have always been proud of my wonderful heritage. I love my adopted country. The spirit of the Lighthorsemen but I still call myself a Maltese and am not ashamed to be one.
I am so proud to be part of Malta’s heritage. This article is a wonderful depiction of Malta’s history. Born in Canada to 2 Maltese parents I hope to keep your wonderful traditions alive! Thanks so much for the insight.