September is an eventful month throughout modern Maltese history. Four of the most notable events in Maltese history occurred during this month, and all four of them sealed the fate of the Maltese people in some way or another.

On the 8th of September 1565 the Turkish army retreated from Malta following its defeat at the hands of the Maltese and the Knights in the Great Siege. It was a costly victory for the Christian defenders, the last bastion against the Ottoman attack on Europe. After four months of bitter hand-to-hand fighting, the Turks finally called it a day, in view of the approaching winter, and went back home. The victory led to the establishment of the Order of St. John for good in Malta and the rise of a new city, Valletta, which is the capital of modern Malta.

On the same day, but in 1943 during the Second World War, Fascist Italy surrendered to the Allies and the Italian Fleet came to anchor at St. Paul’s Bay. Italy had declared war on Britain on the 10th of June 1940. As a result, the first Italian bombs fell on the British colony of Malta the next day. The Italian and German air force and navy besieged Malta, which soon became one of the most heavily bombed places on earth. However the Maltese and the British held on and fought back until vital supplies came through in convoys. Italy, worn out by the war, surrendered to the allies on the 8th of September 1943 and turned against its former ally, Nazi Germany.

September is also related to the Maltese insurrection against the French, beginning on the 2nd of September 1798 and ending in victory for the Maltese and its British allies on the 5th of September 1800. At first the Maltese welcomed the French but the republican fervour of the French clashed with the staunch catholic fervour of the Maltese. Just three months after the French arrival in Malta, the Maltese revolted and besieged Napoleon’s troops who took cover in the cities around the Grand Harbour. When the British came over to help the Maltese the siege was tightened and the French could not hold beyond the 5th of September 1800. This led to the British acquisition of the Maltese Islands that ended with Malta’s independence 164 years later.

In fact the British granted Malta its independence on the 21st of September 1964. Malta immediately joined the United Nations as a sovereign state and on the 13th of December 1974 became a republic. The British base remained in Malta until the Maltese Government chose not to renew the agreement and the last British forces left the country on the 31st of March 1979.

However September will also be remembered for a tragic event that did not happen in Malta, but in the United States, which however affected Malta like any other democratic country in the world.

On September 11 2001 some 3,000 innocent people were killed when two hijacked planes smashed into the World Trade Centre Twin Towers in New York and the another plan hit the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

The civilised world was shocked with the acts of terror, perpetrated by Islamic extremists led by Osama Bin Laden.

Though no Maltese citizens were among the victims, even though many Maltese emigrants live in New York, Malta suffered economically with a further decline in incoming tourism.

You can relive these historic moments through these fine books and audio-visual productions available from books.aboutmalta.com:

	The Great Siege of Malta 1565 - 90 minute version Lm10.00 [US $22.22] - Buy it! The Great Siege of Malta 1565 is a docu-drama in two 45 minute episodes released for worldwide television to coincide with the 900th Anniversary of the foundation of the Hospitalier Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta. Watch a RealMedia clip from this production.
	The Great Siege of Malta 1565 - Soundtrack to the visual production. Lm5.95 [US $13.22] - Buy it! Composed by Adam Bonello. Such an important historical event as the Siege of Malta is bound to inspire any composer to create music of an heroic nature. Bonello's score matches all the various sections of the narrative with uncanny instinct at time using various string sections, plucked strings and full orchestral glory when the time permits.
	The French In Malta Lm30.00 [US $66.67] - Buy it! by Carmel Testa This book is a documented account of the French occupation of Malta between 10 June 1798 when Napoleon landed on the island with his Army of the East and 5 September 1800 when the French commander General Vaubois capitulated.
	Malta taht l-Inglizi Lm2.50 [US $5.56] - Buy it! by Jesmond Grech Il-perjodu ta’ bejn l- 1800 u l-1979 jista’ jitqies bhala wiehed mill-iktar importanti fl-istorja tal-Gzejjer Maltin, u l-fatt li kien hawn l-Inglizi hija xhieda bizzejjed tal-qawwa strategika ta’ Malta fil-bahar Mediterran. Jesmond Grech jaghrbel bis-shih il-konessjoni ta’ Malta ma’ l-Inglizi, dawn ta’ l-ahhar kienu tassew makakki fejn irnexxielhom izommu l- kmand tal-Gzejjer ghaddej minghajr ma jurtaw lill hadd, kemm f’ kwistjonijiet politici kif ukoll dawk religjuzi. L-istil ta’ Grech huwa wiehed mexxej minghajr ma hu dettaljat izzejjed.
	Rajt Malta Tinbidel 2 Lm4.90 [US $10.89] - Buy it! by Herbert Ganado Ir-rakkonti ta’ Herbert Ganado huma meqjusa bhala klassici tal-letteratura Maltija, stampa nostalgika tas-snin imghoddija, miktubin bi stil tant sabih u li jiftiehem mill-ewwel. F’dan it-tieni volum, l-awtur jgharbel dik li kienet il-hajja tieghu meta beda fil-professjoni t’avukat, iz-zwieg tieghu, kif ukoll il perjodu tat-Tieni Gwerra Dinjija meta huwa kien internat ingustament ghal tul ta’ snin minhabba t-tweminn pro-Taljan tieghu.
	Raiders Passed - Wartime Memories Lm4.95 [US $11.00] - Buy it! by Charles B. Grech translated by Joseph Galea Debono This is now the classic account of a boy's story in the depths of the Second World war, when Malta was such a different place than it is now. It is classic for two reasons. One is the flowing narrative that makes it very attractive to read and secondly, it is an honest-to-goodness account in every sense of the word, you almost feel every single bomb blast and escapade, such is the excitement generated by Grech and Debono.
	Wartime Experience Lm6.95 [US $15.44] - Buy it! Malta earned this unique honour for the heroic resistance of its civilian population in the face of one of the harshest sieges of the Second World War. Fear of death and destruction came second in importance to hunger and depravation of all that is essential to everyday life. Watch a RealMedia clip from this production.
	Party Politics in a Fortress Colony: The Maltese Experience Lm7.50 [US $16.67] - Buy it! by Henry Frendo The book is a case study of nationalism and political parties in an outpost of the Empire. At the same time, it presents a picture of cultural complexities in a small island society in the central Mediterranean. Party rivalry develops as an expression of the changing inter-relations between what the author calls 'the colonial dynamic" and "the patrioritic consensus" in an often internecine struggle between extreme viewpoints - the anglophile's "need to depend" and the italophile's "will to be free".

Excerpts from reviews and synopses taken from books.aboutmalta.com

Prices quoted in US $ are approximative

Return to the main HISTORY index