Timeline Malta
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World History KLMA: http://www.stabi.hs-bremerhaven.de/gbs2/whkmla/
The islands of Gozo, Comino and Malta comprise the Maltese
archipelago,
50 miles southeast of Sicily.
(AM, Jul/Aug '97 p.43)
5000BC The Ghar Dalam cave near the
harbor of Marsaxlokk revealed bones of domesticated animals and
potsherds.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.42)
4500-4200BC The Skorba phase on Malta was marked by a
growing population, with increased forest clearance for agriculture and
grazing that may have led to erosion. Obsidian on Malta from the
islands of Lipari and Panteleria indicate links to the outside world.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
4200-3800BC The Zebbug phase indicated evidence of
collective burials.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
c4000BC The Hypogeum, a complex of rock-cut chamber
tombs, dated to this time. They were discovered in 1902.
(SFEC, 9/17/00, p.T3)
3600-3000BC The Gantija phase saw the construction of
the first megalithic temples.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.43)
3600-2500BC The Late Neolithic in Malta.
(AM, 7/04, p.43)
c3,000BC A Neolithic temple at Mnajdra dates to this
time.
(AM, 7/01, p.15)
3000-2500BC The Tarxien phase is marked by the
collapse of the temple culture.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.44)
2500BC By about his time the megalithic temples were
no longer in use.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.47)
60CE Feb 10, St. Paul is believed
to have been shipwrecked near Malta while enroute to Rome for trial for
practicing Catholicism. The story is told in the Bible’s New Testament
Acts of the Apostles, chapter 27. The event is marked in Malta every
February 10.
(WSJ, 6/21/08,
p.W8)(www.maltamedia.com/artman2/publish/out_about/article_5012.shtml)
1522 Suleiman I captured Rhodes
from the Knights Hospitallers of St. John. The knights surrendered
after a 6-month siege. In 1530 the knights were resettled on Malta by
Charles V.
(WSJ, 7/21/08, p.A11)
1530 The Holy Roman Emperor,
Charles V, offered the Knights Hospitallers of St. John the Isle of
Malta. In exchange for a perpetual lease the Knights undertook to send
the emperor a falcon (made famous in the mystery novel, The Maltese
Falcon, and the movie of the same name) once every year as a token of
their fealty. They remained there until the time of Napoleon, and
became known as the Knights of Malta.
(WSJ, 12/30/94, A-6)(WSJ, 7/21/08, p.A11)
1530 Feb 24, Charles V was crowned
Holy Roman Emperor by Clement V in the 1st imperial coronation by a
Pope. Charles restored the Medici to power after capturing Florence and
ceded Malta to the landless religious order of the Knights of St. John
of Jerusalem.
(TL-MB, p.14)(MC, 2/24/02)
1551 Turkish forces captured
Tripoli but failed to take Malta.
(TL-MB, p.18)
1565 May 19-Sep 8, In Malta the
Great Siege lasted over this period as Suleyman the Magnificent sought
to add the island to his conquests. The Turkish army of 40,000 men
besieged the Knights of Malta, led by Grand Master Jean de la Valette,
at their garrison, St. Elmo. The defenders numbered 540 knights, 400
Spanish troops, and Maltese gentry. In the initial attack 200 of 260
defenders lay dead at the end of the day but the garrison held out. The
Turks continued their efforts for four months when reinforcements
arrived and saved them. The arrival of a fleet from Spain, the “Gran
Soccorso,” turned the tide. This halted the westward advance of Islam
in the Mediterranean. St. Elmo was later transformed into Valletta, the
capital of Malta. The Order of St. John continues to thrive to today.
(HNQ, 4/8/99)(WSJ, 12/30/94, p.A-6)(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97
p.40)(WSJ, 7/21/08, p.A11)
1571 The Palace of the Grand
Masters was begun.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
1573-1577 The Cathedral of St. John was built.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
1647 Gian Francesca Abela,
vice-chancellor of the Knights of St. John and the father of Maltese
historiography, authored “Descrittione di Malta.” His antiquities,
willed to the College of Jesuit Fathers in Valetta, later formed the
nucleus of Malta’s National Museum of Archeology.
(AM, 7/97, p.48)
1731 The Manoel Theater was
constructed.
(AM, Jul/Aug ‘97 p.40)
1733-1740 The Cathedral Museum in Mdina was built as
a seminary opposite the Mdina Cathedral. Traces of the classical city
of Melite were later found beneath it.
(AM, 7/97, p.48)
1798 Sep 2, The Maltese people
revolted against the French occupation, forcing the French troops to
take refuge in the citadel of Valetta in Malta.
(HN, 9/2/98)
1798 Napoleon expelled the Knights
of Malta from their base in Malta. The Sovereign Military Hospitaller
Order of St. John of Jerusalem (SMOM), without citizens or territory,
became a permanent observer at the UN in 1994.
(WSJ, 6/28/01, p.A1)
1800 Sep 5, Malta surrendered to
British after they blockaded French troops.
(MC, 9/5/01)
1804 Samuel Taylor Coleridge (32),
poet, fled to Malta and worked as an assistant to the civilian
governor. He returned to England in 1806.
(WSJ, 4/15/99, p.A20)
1902 The 6,000 year-old Hypogeum,
a complex of rock-cut chamber tombs, was discovered.
(SFEC, 9/17/00, p.T3)
1915-1919 Themistocles Zammit, father of Maltese
prehistory, excavated the Tarxien temples.
(AM, 7/97, p.48)
1942 Mar 7, 15 Mk-VB Spitfires
reached Malta.
(MC, 3/7/02)
1942 Mar 20-22, There was a major
German assault on Malta.
(MC, 3/20/02)(MC, 3/21/02)(MC, 3/22/02)
1942 Apr 7, There was a heavy
German assault on Malta.
(MC, 4/7/02)
1942 Apr 15, George VI awarded the
George Cross to the citizens of Malta.
(HN, 4/15/98)
1942 Apr 16, Britain’s King George
V awarded the Island of Malta the George Cross in recognition for
heroism under constant German air attack. It was the first such award
given to any part of the British Commonwealth.
(HN, 4/16/99)(HNQ, 7/8/01)
1942 Apr 20, Heavy German assault
on Malta.
(MC, 4/20/02)
1942 Jun 11-Oct 20, In Malta the
German and Italian air blockade and repeated bombing failed to break
the people-who lived in caves and catacombs through the worst. Hitler’s
planned airborne invasion-Operation Hercules-was finally called off.
(HNQ, 4/8/99)
1964 Sep 21, Malta gained
independence from Britain and joined the UN.
(SFC, 7/1/97, p.A9)(AP, 9/21/97)
1958 The National Museum of
Archeology was established by British authorities in Valetta.
(AM, 7/97, p.49)
1964 Sep 21, Malta became an
independent member of the British Commonwealth.
(AP, 9/21/97)(Econ, 7/14/07,
p.57)(www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5382.htm)
1967 Arvid Pardo (d.1999 at 85),
Maltese delegate to the UN, proposed that the bounty of the sea should
be considered "the common heritage of mankind" and asked that some of
the sea's wealth be used to bankroll a fund to help close the gap
between rich and poor nations. The Law of the Sea was ratified in 1993
and took effect on Nov 16, 1994.
(SFC, 7/19/99, p.A22)
1971 John Evans (b.1925), English
archeologist, published the comprehensive survey: "The Prehistoric
Antiquities of the Maltese Islands."
(AM, 7/97,
p.48)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Davies_Evans)
1977 Arvid Pardo published "The
New International Order and the Law of the Sea with Elisabeth Mann
Borgese.
(SFC, 7/19/99, p.A22)
1980 The film “Popeye,” directed
by Robert Altman, was made in Malta. A replica of the town of
Sweethaven was built at Anchor Bay and remained as a tourist attraction.
(WSJ, 9/11/00, p.A1)
1985 Nov 23, Egypt Air flight 648
was hijacked to Malta by Palestinian militant Omar Mohammed Ali Rezaq,
a member of the Abu Nidal terrorist group.
(SFC, 7/20/96, p.A6)(SFEC, 10/8/96,
D1)(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EgyptAir_Flight_648)
1985 Nov 24, The hijacking of an
EgyptAir jetliner parked on the ground in Malta ended violently as
Egyptian commandos stormed the plane. Fifty-eight people died in the
raid, in addition to two others killed by the hijackers. Ali Rezaq of
the Abu Nidal terrorist group was imprisoned in Malta for 7 years and
then released. The US FBI apprehended him in Nigeria in 1993 and he was
convicted by a US federal jury in 1996 and sentenced to life in prison.
(SFC, 7/20/96, p.A6)(SFEC, 10/8/96, D1)(AP, 11/24/97)
1988 The Grand Master of The Order
of St. John (Knights of Malta) died. Fidel Castro declared a national
day of mourning in Cuba.
(WSJ, 12/30/94, p.A6)
1989 Dec 3, In Malta Presidents
George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev announce the official end to the Cold
War.
(HN, 12/3/02)
1994 Nov 16, The UN Law of the
Sea, ratified in 1993, took effect. Arvid Pardo (d.1999 at 85), Maltese
delegate to the UN, proposed in 1967 that the bounty of the sea should
be considered "the common heritage of mankind" and asked that some of
the sea's wealth be used to bankroll a fund to help close the gap
between rich and poor nations. The International Seabed Authority came
into existence as the law took effect. The first Secretary-General of
the Authority, Satya Nandan (Fiji) was elected in March 1996, and the
Authority became fully operational as an autonomous international
organization in June 1996, when it took over the premises and
facilities in Kingston, Jamaica. The UN Law of the Sea treaty, which
extended internationally recognized territorial waters to 200 miles
offshore, came into force one year after the sixtieth state, Guyana,
signed it.
(http://tinyurl.com/2wsq9p)(SFC, 7/19/99, p.A22)
1995 Oct 26, Islamic Jihad leader
Fathi Shakaki was shot to death on the Mediterranean island of Malta in
a killing his supporters blamed on Israel.
(LVRJ, 11/1/97, p.17A)(AP, 10/26/05)
1996 Oct 27, The opposition
socialist leader, Alfred Sant, won elections that could return his
Labor Party back to power after 16 years. His party has opposed the
push to join the European Union. He was sworn in as prime minister by
Pres. Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, a former minister of the defeated Nationalist
Party.
(SFC, 10/28/96, p.A10)(SFC, 10/29/96, p.A8)
1999 Dec 10, The EU granted
preliminary consideration for membership to Bulgaria, Latvia,
Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Malta.
(SFC, 12/11/99, p.A16)
1999 Dec 12, The Erika, a Maltese
registered oil tanker, broke in two during a storm off the coast of
Brest, France, with 8 million gallons of diesel oil. Half the ship was
towed to deeper waters and 3 million gallons were spilled. In 2008 a
French court found Total SA guilty of maritime pollution and fined it
the maximum penalty of $560,000. It also ordered Total and three other
defendants to pay total damages of $285 million.
(SFC, 12/13/99, p.A13)(WSJ, 12/13/99, p.A1)(SFC,
11/20/02, p.A14)(AP, 1/16/08)
2001 May 8, In Malta Pope John
Paul II was welcomed on the final stop of his 6-day pilgrimage to
retrace the steps of the Apostle Paul.
(WSJ, 5/9/01, p.A1)
2002 Oct 9, The European Union's
executive Commission declared Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia,
and Slovakia nearly ready for EU membership and recommended they be
invited to join in 2004. Romania and Bulgaria likely will be delayed
until 2007 because of weak economies, the Commission said, adding
Turkey was the weakest link among candidates.
(AP, 10/9/02)
2002 Dec 13, The EU reached
agreement to accept 10 new countries in 2004. These included Czech
Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland,
Slovakia, and Slovenia.
(SFC, 12/14/02, p.A3)
2003 Mar 8, Malta became
the first of 10 countries to vote on whether to join the European
Union, which is luring new members with a $40 billion aid package. The
referendum was approved 53.65 to 46.35%.
(AP, 3/8/03)(SFC, 3/10/03, p.A3)
2003 Apr 12, Malta held
parliamentary elections. PM Eddie Fenech Adami won and said his nation
will go ahead with European Union membership.
(AP, 4/13/03)
2004 May 1, Revelers across
ex-communist eastern Europe celebrated their historic entry to the
European Union. 10 new members (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia)
joined. Malta joined with 70 exemptions to EU rules. Poland had 43
exemptions. Latvia had 32. The Turkish occupied area of Cyprus was
suspended from entry.
(AP, 5/1/04)(Econ, 2/28/04, p.50)(Econ, 4/16/05,
p.16)
2004 The equity index of the
Maltese Stock Exchange (MSE) rose 40%.
(Econ, 2/11/06, p.71)
2005 Dec 29, Britain’s tax
authorities recognized the Maltese Stock Exchange (MSE). The equity
index of the MSE rose 60% this year.
(http://business.timesofmalta.com/article.php?id=3721)(Econ, 2/11/06,
p.71)
2006 Malta’s population was about
392,000.
(Econ, 2/11/06, p.71)
2007 Jun 3, Pope Benedict XVI
named four new saints from France, Malta, the Netherlands and Poland at
a ceremony in St. Peter's Square. Among those honored was Sister Marie
Eugenie de Jesus Milleret, a French nun who in 1839 founded the
Religious of the Assumption to educate young girls; the Rev. George
Preca of Malta, who founded the Society of Christian Doctrine in 1932
as a group of lay people who teach the faith to others; the Rev. Szymon
z Lipnicy of Poland, a Franciscan monk who comforted Poles afflicted by
the plague that broke out in Krakow from 1482-83 and died of it
himself; and the Rev. Charles of St. Andrew (Dublin), who was born
Karel Van Sint Andries Houben in the Netherlands in 1821.
(AP, 6/3/07)
2007 Jun 25, Frontex, the EU's
external border agency, kicked off a new series of patrols in the
Mediterranean coastal area, known as operation Nautilus, in order to
halt the influx of illegal immigrants, crossing over from North Africa
to Europe. Many migrants aimed to reach Malta as a stepping stone to
Italy and Europe.
(www.eubusiness.com/Malta/1181678401.8/)(Econ,
6/23/07, p.59)
2007 Jul 10, Cyprus and Malta
received approval from EU finance ministers to join the euro.
(Econ, 7/14/07, p.57)
2007 Malta’s population was about
400,000.
(Econ, 6/23/07, p.59)
2008 Jan 1, The Maltese lira was
scheduled to give way to the EU euro.
(Econ, 10/6/07, p.78)
2007 Dec 20, Estonia, Hungary,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech
Republic halted land and sea border controls at midnight in a wave of
new members of Europe's passport-free Schengen zone. They all joined
the EU on May 1, 2004.
(AFP, 12/20/07)(WSJ, 12/21/07, p.A1)
2008 Jan 1, EU newcomers Cyprus
and Malta adopted the euro, bringing to fifteen the number of countries
using the currency with increasing clout over the slumping US dollar.
(AP, 1/1/08)
2008 Jan 18, It was reported that
the EU’s environment commissioner has threatened to take Malta to the
European Court of Justice to force an end spring shooting of
turtledoves and quail. Bird hunting and trapping is a traditional
pastime in Malta where migrating stop twice every year. Numerous
protected birds have been killed.
(WSJ, 1/18/08, p.A1)
2008 Jan 31, It was reported that
the EU is suing Malta for permitting residents to hunt 2 species of
birds in the spring. The Maltese government said it qualifies for an
exemption under EU rules.
(WSJ, 2/1/08, p.A6)
2008 Jun 4, An undetermined amount
of fuel oil was released after the Greece-registered Syros slammed
against the Malta-registered Sea Bird near Montevideo, Uruguay.
(AP, 6/5/08)
2008 Aug 26, A Maltese fishing
trawler rescued the migrants. Authorities said the survivors first told
the fishermen that 10 people were missing, but later said as many as 70
people from Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan made the sea voyage with them.
(AP, 8/28/08)
2008 Oct 30, Scientists reported
that 1 in 17 men living on the coasts of North Africa and southern
europe may have a Phoenician direct male line ancestor. Evidence was
based on Y-chromosomes collected in Cyprus, Malta, Morocco, the West
Bank, Syria and Tunisia.
(SFC, 10/31/08, p.A14)
2009 Apr 18, About 140 migrants
remained stranded aboard a Turkish cargo ship for a third day as Malta
and Italy argued about which country should accept them.
(AP, 4/18/09)
2009 Apr 19, Italy agreed to
accept 140 migrants stranded aboard a Turkish cargo ship that rescued
them in the Mediterranean, ending a four-day standoff with Malta about
who would take them in.
(AP, 4/20/09)
2009 Sep 22, A sharply divided EU
failed to protect the threatened bluefin tuna, as the bloc's
Mediterranean nations refused to back even a temporary a ban on
catching the fish prized by sushi aficionados. Greece, Cyprus, Malta,
Spain, France and Italy, with strong fishermen's lobbies at home,
insisted on continuing the hunt despite the precarious state of the
species. Conservation groups had earlier criticized the EU for not
pushing to list the bluefin tuna under the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species.
(AP, 9/22/09)
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Subject = Malta
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