Colony of Malta

A colony that asked to be one, and spent a century and a half being a fortress. The Maltese revolted against French occupation in 1798 and requested British protection, and the Treaty of Paris confirmed British sovereignty in 1814 - an acquisition by invitation rather than conquest, which Maltese politics referred back to repeatedly. The islands' value was entirely strategic: the Grand Harbour at Valletta became the Royal Navy's Mediterranean headquarters, and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 put Malta on the shortest route to India. The economy therefore depended on the dockyard and the garrison rather than on any product, which made every reduction in the naval establishment a political crisis. The language question ran for decades between Italian, English and Maltese, with Italian favoured by the professional class and Maltese eventually made official in 1934. The siege of 1940 to 1942 was among the most intense bombardments of the war, and George VI awarded the George Cross to the whole island, which is still on the flag. Self-government was granted, revoked and restored several times. Independence came in 1964. Valletta was the capital and is now a World Heritage site. The islands cover about 316 square kilometres. Emigration to Australia, Britain and North America was heavy through the twentieth century. A referendum on integration with the United Kingdom passed in 1956 on a low turnout and was abandoned. Malta became a republic in 1974 and the last British forces left in 1979, ending a naval presence of a hundred and sixty-five years.

• Type: Polity
• Government: Colonial administration