Italian irredentism in Malta is the movement that uses an

irredentist Irredentism is usually understood as a desire that one state annexes a territory of a neighboring state. This desire is motivated by ethnic reasons (because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent st ...

argument to propose the incorporation of the Maltese islands into

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, with reference to past support in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

for Italian territorial claims on the islands. Although Malta had formally ceased to be part of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

only since 1814 following the

Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France: Treaties 1200s and 1300s * Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade * Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France * Trea ...

, Italian irredentism in Malta was mainly significant during the Italian Fascist era.

Italy and Malta before 1814

Until the end of the 18th century Malta's fortunes—political, economic, religious, cultural—were closely tied with Sicily's. Successive waves of immigration from Sicily and Italy strengthened these ties and increased the

demographic Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings. Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...

similarity. Italian was Malta's language of administration, law, contracts and public records, Malta's culture was similar to Italy's, Malta's nobility was originally composed of Italian families who had moved to Malta mainly in the 13th century and the Maltese Catholic Church was suffragan of the

Archdiocese of Palermo The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Palermo ( la, Archidioecesis Panormitana) was founded as the Diocese of Palermo in the first century and raised to the status of archdiocese in the 11th century.County of Malta. Domestic governance was thus left to the ''Università'' and the Popular Council, early forms of representative local government. The

Maltese language Maltese ( mt, Malti, links=no, also ''L-Ilsien Malti'' or '), is a Semitic language derived from late medieval Sicilian Arabic with Romance superstrata spoken by the Maltese people. It is the national language of Malta and the only offic ...

, the creation of the Diocese of Malta as well as the granting of Malta to the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

in 1530 were developments which started to give a distinct character to Maltese culture and history. Following a brief

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

occupation (1798–1800) the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

established control over Malta while it was still formally part of the

. During both the French and British periods, Malta officially remained part of the Sicilian Kingdom, although the French refused to recognise the island as such in contrast to the British. Malta became a

British Crown Colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

in 1813, which was confirmed a year later through the

Treaty of Paris (1814) The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814, ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition, part of the Napoleonic Wars, following an armistice signed on 23 April between Charles, Count of Artois, and the allies. The treaty set the bord ...

Italian culture in Malta between 1814 and the Fascist era

Cultural changes were few even after 1814. In 1842, all literate Maltese learned Italian while only 4.5% could read, write and/or speak English. However, there was a huge increase in the number of Maltese magazines and newspapers in Italian language during the 1800s and early 1900s, so as a consequence the Italian language was understood (but not spoken fluently) by more than half the Maltese people before

WW1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighti ...

In 1878, a Royal Commission (

the Rowsell-Julyan-Keenan Commission The Rowsell-Julyan-Keenan Commission was a Royal Commission in 1878. It was based on a report by Patrick Keenan, Penrose Julyan and Francis William Rowsell, the latter was made British commissioner of ceded Daira lands, Egypt, that year, and had b ...

) recommended in its report the

Anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influe ...

of the educational and judicial systems. While the judicial system remained predominantly Italian until the 20th century, teaching of the English language started to be enforced in State schools at the expense of Italian. In 1911, English overtook Italian as the secondary language after Maltese, spoken by 13.1% of the population compared to 11.5% for Italian. The Royal Commission's report also had significant political impact. Supporters and opponents organised themselves into a Reform and Anti-Reform parties which, apart from being the forerunners of the present day two main political parties in Malta, assumed respectively the

anglophile An Anglophile is a person who admires or loves England, its people, its culture, its language, and/or its various accents. Etymology The word is derived from the Latin word ''Anglii'' and Ancient Greek word φίλος ''philos'', meaning "fr ...

and

italophile Italophilia is the admiration, appreciation or emulation of Italy, its people, ideals, civilization, and culture. Its opposite is Italophobia. The extent to which Italian civilization has shaped Western civilization and, by extension, the ci ...

imprint (and also, subsequently, pro-colonial and anti-colonial policies) that were to characterise them for decades to come.

Sette Giugno Sette Giugno (from Italian for "Seventh of June") is a Maltese national holiday celebrated annually on 7 June. It commemorates events which occurred on that day in 1919 when, following a series of riots by the Maltese population, British troops ...

, a popular revolt in Malta in 1919, was later considered in fascist Italy as the beginning of the "active" Italian irredentism in Malta. This commemoration (official since 1986) is in remembrance of the riots of 1919 when the Maltese population organized marches to obtain some form of representative government. Four people died when troops stationed on the islands fired into the crowd.

Fascist era and World War II

The Fascists invested heavily in promoting Italian culture in Malta. They made overtures to a minority who not only loved Italy's language but also saw Malta as a geographical extension of the Italian mainland. Malta was described as "the extreme end of Italian soil" (Senator Caruana Gatto who represented the nobility in Malta in 1923). The battle, however, was still being fought in largely cultural terms, as the " Language Question" on the role of Italian in education. This led to the revoking (the second) of the Maltese Constitution in 1934 over the Government's budgetary vote for the teaching of Italian in elementary schools. Italian was eventually dropped from official language status in Malta in 1934, its place being taken by Maltese. Italian ceased to be taught at all levels of education and the language of instruction at the

University of Malta The University of Malta (, UM, formerly UOM) is a higher education institution in Malta. It offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, postgraduate master's degrees and postgraduate doctorates. It is a member of the European University Association ...

and the Law Courts. In 1935 there were manifestations against all these decisions, promoted by the Maltese fascists; the Nationalist Party declared that most of the Maltese population was supporting directly or indirectly the Italian Maltese's struggle. But when

entered the war on the side of the

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

and aerial bombardments of Malta began, what little interest in Italian irredentism that existed in Malta was lost. The colonial authorities however took precautions; in 1940 they interned and eventually deported to Uganda 49

Maltese including the leader of the Nationalist Party,

Enrico Mizzi Enrico Mizzi (20 September 1885 – 20 December 1950) was a Maltese politician, leader of the Maltese Nationalist Party from 1926 and briefly Prime Minister of Malta in 1950.Michael J. Schiavone,Louis J. Scerri,Maltese Biographies of the Twent ...

. Another 700 Maltese with ideals linked to the Italian irredentism in Malta were sent to camps in central Africa. A number of Maltese living in Italy participated in fascist organizations and joined the Italian military forces during World War II. Among them were

Carmelo Borg Pisani Carmelo Borg Pisani (10 August 1915 – 28 November 1942) was a Maltese artist and Italian Fascist spy, condemned to death for treason in 1942. Early life Born into a Maltese Nationalist family in Senglea on 10 August 1915, Borg Pisani enr ...

, Antonio Cortis, Paolo Frendo, Ivo Leone Ganado, Roberto Mallia, Manuele Mizzi, Antonio Vassallo, Joe d’Ancona and Carlo Liberto. Carmelo Borg Pisani attempted to enter Malta during the war ( Operation Herkules), but was captured and executed as an alleged spy in November 1942. He received the

Gold Medal of Military Valor The Gold Medal of Military Valour ( it, Medaglia d'oro al valor militare) is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The f ...

, the highest Italian military award, by King

Victor Emmanuel III The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

a few days after his death. Requests have been made by his family and the Italian government to exhume his body and give it a burial outside prison grounds, which request has never been acceded to.

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

called him a "Maltese Martyr" and created in his honor in

Liguria Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...

the ''Battaglione Borg Pisani'' in November 1943, in which other Maltese irredentists fought.

After World War II

Since World War II, there have been no calls for Italian irredentism in Malta. Enrico Mizzi became Malta's

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

in 1950, but never denied his past when he promoted the union of Malta to Italy: he defined himself as "a man without stain and without fear" (in Italian: "Uomo senza macchia e senza paura").Enrico Mizzi declared in 1949, just before being elected Prime Minister: "I hope that when I pass from this life to become a memory to posterity I hope no one will slander me... for party reasons.... As I had been declared by the Nationalist Party some thirty years ago, I am still, thank God, before the Party, before the people, and above all else before my own conscience 'senza macchia e senza paura'." (''Legislative Assembly Debates'', Sitting No 8, 17 March 1949, p.397)

Notes

References

* Attard, Joseph. ''Britain and Malta''. PEG Ltd. Malta, 1988. * Brincat, Giuseppe. ''Malta. Una storia linguistica''. Ed. Le Mani. Recco, 2004 * Fabei, Stefano. ''Carmelo Borg Pisani (1915–1942) – eroe o traditore?''. Lo Scarabeo Ed. Bologna, 2006 * Cassola, Arnold. ''L'Italiano di Malta''. Malta University Press. Malta, 1998 * Hull, Geoffrey. ''The Malta Language Question: A Case Study in Cultural Imperialism''. Said International, Valletta, 1993. * Mack Smith, Denis. ''Mussolini's Roman Empire''. Fromm Ed. London, 1976. * Seton-Watson, Christopher. ''Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870–1925''. John Murray Publishers. London, 1967. * Stephenson, Charles. ''The Fortifications of Malta 1530–1945''. Osprey Publishing London, 2004. * Tagliavini, Carlo. ''Le origini delle lingue neolatine''. Patron Ed. Bologna 1982. {{Irredentism History of Malta Italian irredentism Italy–Malta relations Political controversies in Italy

Italy and Malta before 1814

Italian culture in Malta between 1814 and the Fascist era

Fascist era and World War II

After World War II

See also

Notes

References