The strategic, central position and superb natural harbours of the Maltese archipelago have attracted the interest of settlers from great nations throughout its past. Out of the mists of recorded history, the prehistoric stone temples of Hagar Qim and Ggantija bear mute witness to successive waves of colonisation.
Legend even has it that Ulysses was seduced by the nymph Calypso on the island of Gozo, while in the year AD 60, another seafarer was to find safe haven on these shores. Even then, as St Paul relates, the inhabitants received him with “uncommon kindness”.
With the ebb and flow of time, the islands were, in turn, home to Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, Castillians and Spanish. Yet, it was the ceding of the islands by Spain to the Knights of the Order of St John that was to usher in the most glorious moment in Malta’s history.
After an impressive victory over the Ottoman Turks in 1565, the island was endowed with some of the finest examples of architecture and fortifications in the world. The period of the knights lasted some 270 years, following which the islands fell to the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte. Two years of unrest ushered in British rule, which saw the start of a long, close and ongoing relationship between the two countries. With Britain, Malta fought the Second World War, earning the praise and admiration of the world. The Maltese flag still proudly depicts the George Cross, awarded for bravery beyond the call of duty - the only time a nation as a whole has ever received this.
After Independence in 1964, the country’s military-based economy moved to one based on tourism and light industry. The proclamation of the Republic of Malta in 1974, followed by the formal departure of British troops in 1979, bring us to 2004, when Malta joined the EU on May 1.
Blessed with a warm climate and a highly adaptable, multi-talented workforce, Malta now attracts invaders of a most welcome sort – investors in the form of foreign companies, and over 1.2 million tourists each year. The last 20 years have seen the islands make the transaction to a forward-looking, thoroughly modern country, still retaining its unique blend of culture, language, history and religion.