The Strangeness of Anglo-Maltese Relations1

British colonial policy in Malta can be described as benevolent autocracy honeyed with tethered constitutional awards. The circumstances in which Malta entered the British Empire, the power of the Catholic Church, the imperatives of interdependence on account of the island’s strategic usefulness, and the binding of Malta’s subsistence with imperial defence spending generated an atypical relationship between imperial authority and colonial community. Until WW2 nationalism took the form of constitutional demands and, secondarily, manifested itself in expressions of linguistic and cultural affinities with neighbouring Italy, but not in any demand for independence. After WW2 contesting Maltese parties proposed to recast Anglo-Maltese relations by proposing, respectively, integration with Britain and dominion status. When neither succeeded a broad agreement ensued about independence, though not about the details. While there are elements which invite comparison with other former British colonies, such as Cyprus, this Maltese experience stands out as a distinct and peculiar colonial narrative.