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Home , Emigration from Malta, Maltese people, Paul Boffa

Emigration Lawrence.E. Attard

n June 9, 1798, Bonaparte degree helped him in no small way to make 0 appeared on 's horizon, his name known in Malta. In later years ostensibly to ask for water for his fleet, Eugene and his brother Antoine left for and eventually received from Grand Master . Eugene practised as a doctor in Ferdinand von Hompesch the capitulation Bone while Antoine became mayor of the of the island. Napoleon brought to an end same town and a representative of Francp an era that had endured for 268 years. In in Philippeville. spite of the ease with which the French took Malta from the Knights of Saint John, their presence on the island lasted The Imperial Bond only two years and they spent much of that time behind the massive fortifications till The transition from a self-contained General Vaubois capitulated to the British island ruled for many years by the and to the Maltese on September 5, 1800. paternalistic Knights of St John to a The defeat of the French heralded the colonial status within the vast British beginning of Malta's incorporation within Empire was bound to produce radical the British Empire. On May 30, 1814, changes in the life of the Maltese. It is for 's leaders met at Paris to formally this reason that 1798 is considered as a sign a treaty. The Treaty of Paris aimed at milestone in Maltese history. That year bringing peace to a continent shattered by marked the end of a Medieval system and long years of wars. According to article paved the way for Great Britain to obtain seven of the Treaty, Malta was to pass a valuable base in the middle of the formally under the sovereignty of the Mediterranean. The end of the rule of the British monarch. Knights and the hurried departure of the When Napoleon left Malta he took with French caused Malta to abandon centuries­ him some 2,000 Maltese who had enlisted old ties with Europe. What was previously with the French and formed the so-called an intensely Catholic state ruled by a Legion Maltaise. Many of these recruits Religious Order whose roots were Latin were to perish because of Napoleon's · and aristocratic, became now a small misadventures in , but R. Vadala colony and a strategic naval base. Great considers these men as the first arrivals of Britain, Anglo-Saxon, Protestant, and very what was later to become one of the most distant, became the Mother Country of the populous Maltese colonies in . Maltese. Marc Donato believes that Maltese The French interlude and the subsequent emigrants starte.d leaving their islands as a British connection put Malta's consequence of 1798. He refers to the Mediterranean role in a secondary position presence of Maltese immigrants in Algeria of importance. Henceforth Malta's place before 1830, the year when the French was in the Empire and Imperial took over that country. Donato mentions a representatives in Malta made it clear that certain Eug(me Fenech who was in Malta at to their way of thinking Malta was a the time of Napoleon's invasion. Fenech fortress with excellent harbours from which went to Paris to study medicine and his London intended to keep watch on what

253 was going on in the Mediterranean. That important country for emigrants from Malta was home to the Maltese was Malta. Indeed, by the 1850's more than secondary to Imperial considerations. The half of those who had emigrated opted for men of Malta were employed to keep the that country. Miege, the French Consul in military and naval facilities in good shape Malta, encouraged this movement because ready to defend the primacy of the British the French had difficulty in finding enough fleet in the Mediterranean. Those not settlers from France itself and he involved in the maintenance of the Fortress considered the Maltese as safe foreigners were advised to seek employment overseas. because they had no political ambitions. Emigration was the only feasible solution Another prominent Frenchman who wished for those unemployed who had no place to see more Maltes~ emigrate to French within the defence system of the island. North Africa was Cardinal Charles The first years of British rule were Lavigerie, who was in Malta in 1882. He relatively prosperous. Maltese harbours spoke of the Maltese workers in Algeria as were busy owing to the international hard working people loyal to France and to situation. In 1812 a Commission of Inquiry the . had noted that the Maltese had done well By 1847 the number of Maltese living in for themselves from 1800 till the end of the Algeria was estimated to be slightly over Napoleonic wars in 1815. The presence of 4,000. In 1903 there were probably some the British fleet in the Mediterranean had 15,000 persons in Algeria who claimed helped to reduce the piratical activity of Maltese ancestry, most of them living in the Barbary corsairs and Maltese , Philippeville and Bone. In a village entrepreneurs began to approach the shores near Bone called Allelik, a Gozitan immigrant of North Africa as traders when previously family had a son on Christmas Day 1891. most Maltese had entered those areas as They named him Laurent. When he grew slaves captured by pirates. Agile speronaras up Laurent Ropa became a well-known owned by the Maltese were plying the novelist whose works reflected the life of narrow waters between , Malta and Maltese immigrants in Algeria. the neighbouring Arab lands. Maltese On the east side of Algeria lay the traders soon established contacts with the territory now known as which and with other Europeans in eventually was also drawn into the French Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt. sphere of influence. Since the shores of The emigrant followed the trader and small Tunisia are so close to Malta, settlements colonies of Maltese came into being along in that country began to take shape in the southern shores of the Mediterranean. various localities such as , Susa, Monastir, Mehdia and on the island of Jerba. By 1842 the Maltese population in Algeria and Tunisia Tunisia rose to 3,000 and in less than twenty years that number increased to Maltese haphazard emigration to the 7 ,000. Paul Cambon, an influential French western regions of North Africa proceeded politician, urged the government in Paris rapidly after 1830 when the French under to encourage more Maltese to settle in King Louis Philippe conquered Algeria Tunisia because the there were very thus opening that part of the Ottoman numerous and itself had schemes to Empire to thousands of French and other take over the territory. Cambon referred to European colons. Among the Europeans the Maltese in Tunisia as the "Anglo­ the Maltese were at one time the fourth Maltese Element" and he felt that the largest group after the French, the Maltese in North Africa owed their Spaniards and the Italians. allegiance to France. In 1882 Cambon was Algeria was for many years the most administering Tunisia for France and he

254 wrote to the French consul in Malta to Vella edited a weekly newspaper under the ~encourage more migrants from Malta to name of "Li Standard tal-Maltin"; it settle in Tunisia. ceased publication in 1912 but was resumed Close to Tunisia lay the two provinces of ;·in 1919 and survived till 1924. Toni Said Cyrenaica and Tripolitania. For centuries founded an association for the preservation they languished under inefficient Turkish )and diffusion of the Maltese langauge. He rule, but in 1911 the Italians occupied them tried to achieve this by publishing a literary and created a zone which they called Libia review called "Il-Qari Malti", which ltaliana. As was the case with Algeria and appeared at intervals and survived till 1946. Tunisia, Maltese traders had long- / There were other Maltese publications in established links with the ports of Egypt supported ~y various societies. As and Benghazi. They carried goods which the Maltese communities prospered, the Saharan traders had brought to the coast. children of the original immigrants received There had been schemes for Maltese a sound education and many of them colonisation of Cyrenaica but the Italian became accomplished linguists fluent in occupation brought them to nothing. Maltese, English, French and . This Unlike the French, the Italians did not like flair for languages opened for them the the presence of the Maltese because they doors of diffe~_sl!r~ers. Maltese were to feared British influence. They also had be found in consular offices and European enough migrants of their o~n-from the companies operating in the Canal Zone Mezzogiorno to meet their needs in found the polyglot Maltese very useful. Africa. It is probable that the number of ( By 1926 Egypt had practically achieved Maltese in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica independence from Great Britain though never rose to more than 3,000. \ British forces were still stationed there. The Maltese, like other aliens living in that . land, felt secure as long as there were The Maltese in Egypt . British soiclie;s guaranteeing their lives and property. This dependence on external When the Treaty of Paris had been forces made many immigrants nervous and signed there were about 1,000 Maltese in there were some who soon after the end of Egypt. These included the ~'Urvlvors of the Second World War started packing those who had enlisted in Napoleon's their belongings to seek a new home Legion Maltaise. By 1882 Egypt was under somewhere else, even if Egypt was the only the effective rule of the British who were country in the world that they knew. When to expand their sphere of influence over the fateful year 1956 arrived the Maltese the Dark Continent from Cairo to the joined the mass departure of foreigners Cape. Politicians like Benjamin Disraeli and sought refuge in Great Britain and in had grasped the strategic value of Egypt where they began to rebuild their and the Sudan especially when work on the lives again. digging of the Canal was finalised in 1869. By that time the Maltese population ir{~ Egypt had risen to 7AQQ. This number , Constantinople and lres.nt nn ;n,...T".or:u•1nn nnt11 1nc-t h.a.f-.... .a th.o. ~m urn<:> .1.'-""'!-''- '-'·U• .1..&.1.¥.1."'U.•:;J.I. .I.J.5 UU.\..1..1 JUOL V""J.VJ.\..o L.l.l¥ U,J...J....A.J.I..I..I.\.1. Second World War there were about 20,000 people of Maltese origin, mostly in The became a British Akxand.ria:~ Cairo, Suez, Rosetta and Port protectorate in 1815. The British Said. encouraged Maltese into the In the later years of the last century the islands because they needed workers and · Maltese in Egypt issued publications like also to strengthen their position in an area "Melita" and "Egittu". In ~1909 George J. which felt distinctly Greek. Sir Thomas

255 Maitland wanted migrants from Malta M~lta, found refuge in the island of their because he knew that they would be loyal forefathers. supporters of the British connection. In 1901 there were 1,()()() p_eopl~jnCorfu who claimed Maltese~ancestry. In Ceghalonia the Maltese were just over 200. and In 1864 the islands were returned to Greece and Maltese interest in the Ionian islands waned. Some of the Maltese decided to re- . At the westernmost extremity of the emigrate; this time their destination was Mediterranean lies the Rock of Gibraltar Great Britain. They went to where which became Bri~i~~ir1J7B. The presence their descendants are still living. But the of the navy attracted many foreigners, original Maltese colony in Corfu did not including Maltese, who found work at the vanish. Two villages still bear names with a dos~5.yard and in the running of small Maltese connotation: Maltezika (Malta) businesses. By 1885 there were about 1,000 and Cozzella (). In the latter the Mafiese livingjn Qibraltar but in later·-~ Franciscan Sisters of Malta opened a yearsre;Maltese ~ent th~re. However, convent and a school in 1907. unlike the history of Maltese settlements in Co11stantinopj~ and Srnyrna also Moslem lands, the Maltese colony never attracted a number of Maltese migrants. became extinct and the descendants of the During the midgJe_ years of the ,!!in.et~t::Ilth first immigrants from Maltaare still t:l 111 UlClL yc;al L11Cll 11<; i:ll.4UH<;U Cl l.lli:lfJI;l tension between the Turks and the for his community. Today Marseilles must Europeans kept on rising until 1922 when hold a considerable number of people with the Young Turks turned on the Christians Maltese ancestry because many of the who fled in their thousands. By 1932 the Maltese who were living in Algeria aqg Turkish leader, Kemal Ataturk, had Tq!lJsil! sought refuge there. after they were practically expelled all aliens. Some of the compelled to leave North Africa. Maltese, none of whom had been born in

256 South America part of the world. In 1924 Senator A. Cassar Torreggiani went to Paris to contact was for many government officials from Argentina. The years haphazard and without any serious senator's report was presented to the planning; nor were those who wished to Maltese Government on July of that year. emigrate prepared for life in a foreign According to that report Argentina country. There was no one willing to help welcomed agricultural workers who would financially those who had the will to be housed at the expense of the state. emigrate but had no cash to realise their Politicians like and Ignazio wish. When in 1912 a special offer Panzavecchia supported emigration to appeared in thee Maltese press of a free trip Argentina even though Mizzi complicated t~_r~azil, interest was naturally arousecr.­ the matter by saying that Italian was a Some Brazilian landlords had contacted a useful language to learn because it was so local agent to recruit workers for their similar to the Spanish language spoken in coffee plantations. The offer was tempting: Argentina. No~ was don~J()~jrect the free Transport from Marseilles to Santos flow of Maltese emigration to Latin with work and accommodation guaranteed. America. The first batch left for Brazil on March 28, 1912. Another group left on April 18. In all 172~ migrants, including women and Emigration to the USA children, left on what was naively described as ''the founding of our little Malta Europe af~l9l8 was a continent of beyond the ocean". The first arrivals were confusion. Millions of displaced Europeans accommodated on the fazenda of San Jose felt they had had enough of the qu"arrel­ de Fortaleza while the others were put on some nations in the Old Continent, and the fazenda of Santa Eulalia. opted for a new life in the .. In The Brazilian landlords were not the first four months of 1920, 3,461 impressed by the newcomers. None had Maltese had applied for their passports any training for the work they were stating that their final destination was the expected to do and they had no interpreter U.S.A. However by 1921 the American with them. The Maltese soon found out authorities checked the unrestricted entry that food and wages were conditional on of aliens by enforcing a Provisional the amount of work they were able to do Immigration Measure on May 19, 1921. in one day. They also complained about This was also known as the First Quota the local food. As had happened before, Law and it limited the numbero-f-~· they soon broke their contract and drifted immigrants to 30Jo of the total of foreign­ towards the cities, destitute and very born persons as they were in 1910. Maltese lonely. By August 1913 the Brazilian immigrants prior to 1910 were few in venture had ended in dismal failure. number. IY!alta was placed with a group of In general the Maltese failed to gri!SP the small countries such as Andorra and potential of South America where millions Monaco. These were to share between of Europeans were emigrating. As has them the grand total of ei~~~.:::~ix happened so often in Malta emigration immigrants each year. became a political issue and the pro-British Before the First Quota Law interfered party was against interest in the vast with the Maltese migratory movement to regions of Latin America because these the U.S.A., a few thousand Maltese had were places beyond the pale of the British settled in New York, and San Empire. The failure of the Brazilian Francisco. Detroit had the largest Maltese project thwarted any real attempt at community not only in the U.S. but in the establishing a permanent foothold in that whole of North America. By the middle

257 1920's the Maltese in Michi~n numbered a pattern not unlike that of 1918. In Malta 5,000. They were mostl~n ~working in the situation was rendered more difficult tbe autOJ:ll~QikJnc:l,ustry. Eventually they by the intention of the British Government organised themselves into various to run down the facilities of the Services ~~--,-·-· associations and published some with sigmficant redundancies looming on a newspapers such as// Malti-American and dark horizon. Again, emigration was L 'Ecu Malti. thought to be the easiest way out of the Although the Maltese in NevvXQrlc were two major problems facing the island: not as numerous as those in Detroit, yet over-population and unemployment. Up to their presence in that city preceded that in 1947.Mafta was under direct colonial rule Detroit. I~]O a certain Carmelo from Whitehall and the will to develop the Caruana had a business in New York island industrially was not there yet. where he was known as "'[~e.. Mf!r£hant Betw.een 1947a.nd 194~ a little more than a ~rip.ce". Jean Piper, writing in the th~lYJ.altese left their homes for a "Brooklyn Daily Eagles" of August 16, new life and security in employment. These 1925, said that in that year there were migrants, among the first to travel directly 2~000_Malt~se)iving in New Yor le., spread by ship from Malta to the U.S.A., settled out in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the in the traditional receiving cities such as Bronx. De![()i!,)i(;ln Francisco. and Ne.w.Yor k A report published by the Malta where they were likely to be helped by Emigration Committee in 1900 stated that friends and relatives. the Maltese in California numbered then In February 1950 the American about 200. A yearlater 'Cfiarl~;M~ttei. Consulate in Malta was again reopened. claimed that he had helped 500 emignmts According to the Emigration Report of the to settle in North America, most of whom time the Consul was issuing visas at the had settled in . In 1915 the rate of 2QQJL!!!Q!Uh. Between 1950 and Maltese in s·~mFrancisco had acquired a 1952 ~,146.e.m!gr~nts left. fordestii1l1.!i9ns hall in the Bay View District which was in the U.S.A., but again restrictive converted in 1922 int() a chapel and was legislation was enacted in 1952 which given the title ofSt Paul of the Shipwreck established a nominal cmnual quota of 100 Maltese Church. entrants for all colonial i~l-ritori~soTthe ··· By the late 1920's the Maltese living in British-Coll-tmonweahh. This enactment the areas of San Bruno and Butcherstown was the U.S. Immigration and Nationality had increased to about 5,ooo. A. cel-tain Law, commonly known as the McCarran­ Francis Grech opened on February 1, 1930, Walter Act. the Maltese Club of San Francisco and in On the first of December 1965 an less thanfive ye~rs the Club had 750 amendment was made wh.ich abolished the members. However the crash of the Stock National Origins Quota System·;· but the Market in 1929, coupled with s~vere effects of the amendment did take a long restrictions on immigration, severely time to be felt. The annual intake of hampered the growth of the Maltese emigrants from Malta from 1954 onwards communities in the U.S. Tt!,~.r~t~.oJ never reached the 300 mark. retur!1~es was high. Within the ten-year period, April1921 - March 1931, there were 2,891 departures from Malta to the The Call of U.S.A. Of these 2,188 came back, most of them beaten by the Depression. North of the American border lay the When the dust of war began to settle vast open spaces of British North America. down after 1945 an enormous movement During the nineteenth century very few of displaced p~ople began taking place on· Maltese had ventured that far, though a

258 successful businessman from Malta, Louis 1918 and 1920 the number of Maltese Shickluna had settled in St C(lth(!dne:S, emigrants was 611. However in 1919 the ,in t836, Shfkl~nahadhis own Canadian authorities imposed the Literacy shipbuilding y~rd and was a very well­ T~! and a year later foreigners entenng known person when he died in 1880. the country were expected to have In 1910 the Malta Emigration Committee sufficient cash to help them settle in their stated that British Columbia was a region placeordes.tination. No immigrant was to capable of absorbing m.any of Malta's enter Canada unless he had travelled unskilled labourers. There had been a few dir~I!Lh~~-Q~Qcountry. Since at the isolated cases of immigrants from Malta time there was hardly any direct shipping who had settled in British Columbia. between Malta and Canada, this condition Others were to be found in and effectively barred many from reaching . The major obstacle to Canada .. ~ emigration to Canada at the time was the In 1922 it was decided that no immigrant expe!!~eji1\fOlved. Among those who of any Asian race was to be allowed into managed to make it, many were illiterate, Canada unless he carried on him the sum unable to speak English and unprepared of 250 dollars. Eventually even the Maltese for life in that part of the world. The class were required to have such money on of emigrants needed in Canada were them. A Can~ian official told Henry farmers with capital. The unemployed Casolani, the Superintendent of Emigration lab~urers in Malta wereTab9!i"rer;·~ith no in Malta, that he thought that the 1\tl!lt~e capit~l. were physically unfit for life in a cold Between January 1909 and May 1912 ~~ country iilZe. Cr~qto. in 111e.area known migratory movement from Malta to as the Junction. There they had their own Canada began gaining momentum. Between Church which had been acquired through

259 the initiative of their own priest, Alphonse applicants solely on grounds of education, Cauchi. He had also given his support to health,. conduct and skif[ H:enceemlgrants the creation of the M!ilt~:C~nadi

260 when they went back home, giving rise to July 1, 1962. This was an effective measure an interesting Anglo-Maltese communityin to control the entry of Commonwealth places with sea-goiilgtradiiion such as~ . citizens. The Emigration Report for 1962 London, Southampton and . noted that "Paradoxically the new British The Anglo-Maltese element kept on legislation would appear to have had an incre~sing till well after the Second World opposite effect on Maltese migration in.as War. muchas the number of emigrants admitted Between 1919 and 1929 there were 3,354 during the year was the largest for some Maltese officially listed as having .~ · years." The number referred io;~~-·that of emigrated to the United Kingdom, though l.Jl2.irnmigrants. That ascending trend 1,.445 of these are known to have come continued for a few years. Only in 1967 did b~ck in later years. Even those listed as the total intake fall under the one thousand having stayed in Great Britain did not. mark. From that year onwards Maltese actually stay in the country but moved on emigration to the United Kingdom kept to .the U.S.A., Canada, Australia ailcfto~ falling until by the end of the seventies it other parts of the Empire. (The report on became insignificantf·~--·· ··- ·~ ······ .. emigration for 1918·''1920 states:\ "It may seem strange that in the present unsettled state of the labour market in England, 225 Maltese Pioneers in Australia emigrants should have gone to the United Kingdom between Armistice Day and March 31, 1920. On a In strict geographical terms the very small scale a certain number of Maltese have always distant land of Australia should have been filtered to the Mother Country. They are attracted by friends, or go to join relatives who are there, and they the last place to attract.Maltese migrants. belong as a rule, either to the Dockyard or Domestic Attract it did, in thousands. In 1991 it was classes". \ estimated that there were 57,778 people in Emigration from Malta to the United Australia whosebirths had-be.en registered Kingdom intensified after 1946. By 1974 in Malta. According to the ­ more than 30,000 had l;ftM~lta for Gr~at based newspaper "11-Maltija" of October Britain. This intake is se~ond only to that 1, 1991, there were in Australia about of Australia. That figure includes those 119,504 people of Maltese ethnic origin. emigrants who had been processed by the · if Is probable that some Maltese reached Emigration Department in Malta. Those the shores of the ''terra incognita who had emigrated on their own initiative australis" soon after the Treaty of Paris or arrived in the United Kingdom not (1814) when the Maltese Islands joined the directly from Malta (as many Maltese from same British Empire of which Australia North Africa did), are not included in that was a major possession. Of course these figure. unknown arrivals by no means point to the For many years no formal arrangements beginning of Maltese emigration to that were made to regulate the flow of part of the world. ' emigrants from Malta to Great Britain. An Although before 1900 Maltese interest in applicant was allowed to go if he was Australia was mild and sporadic there were considered suitable for settlement overseas those who felt that Qu~ensland was the and had a good conduct. He only paid one parl of Australia capabie of absorbing fourth,. of the passage money and was given Malta's surplus population. Alexander a passport free of charge. Those who did Balbi and two brothers, Joseph and not apply for financial assistance were free Charles Busuttil, had done well in to go without too much formality. where the sugar industry was On November 1, 1961 the government at expanding and workers were" in such a Westminster introduced the Immigration demand that in spite of the Australian and Deportation Bill which tookeffect on determination to keep Asians out some of

261 the landlords were recruiting workers from languages. He also encouraged some of his the Solomon Islands. own relatives to emigrate to Australia and The first governor of Queensland, Sir their descendants are now living in and George Bowen, knew the Maltese and he around the city of Mackay. preferred to have them on the sugar plantations rather than the Kanakas. It is for this reason that he wrote to Malta Emigration to Australia before suggesting that Maltese workers should l;>e 1939 sent on contract to his State. According to c:~Price, some Maltese were interested but Australians were acutely aware of the there was ge~QQJ.ance in Malta at the important decision they had to make time abo!lt Australia. The problem of how regarding the future of their country: to fin'!nce transport to Queensland was populate or perish. In 1912 Percy Hunter, also difficult and Bowen's suggestion Director of Immigration for New South eventually catpe to 11othing. Wales, stated that it was Australia's goal It is not correct to state that the Maltese to swell its population to twenty million. had ignored the possibility of establishing Another Australian who was also the some contact with Australia. Some twenty president of the Immigration League, years after Bowen's suggestion a Maltese Richard Arthur, wrote in 1912 to some businessman, Francesco Decesare, was politicians in Malta suggesting that the invited to go to Australia to inquire about Maltese had better forget all about other the possibility of sending Maltese workers countries such as Brazil and Canada and there. Again it was the landlords of think of Australia as the land of their Queensland who showed the greatest future. The suggestion had its supporters in interest because opposition to the presence Malta as the comment of "The Daily of the Kanakas was growing and the Malta Chronicle" of September 28, 1912 landlords needed the Maltese to fill the rightly shows: place of the Kanakas. "Whom (ould Australia admit after Englishmen, with Th~ mission of Decesare resulted in the greater advantage· to herself than emigrants from sending of the first or~anised group of Malta? We have the same flag as Englishmen and Maltese emigrants~wekno~'(){i:; date. Australians. Our skin is about as fair, except for the tanning done by a semi-tropical sun. We are as proud About seventy men left Malta for Australia of our place in the Empire as they are of theirs. Our in Octob~!l1t~ on board the ship S.S. physique is all that could be desired by the most Nuddea. They had a priest with them, fastidious selectors of immigrants. Our moral values Ambrose Cassar. They travelled as steerage are above dispute." passengers and disembarked at Brisbane Dr Richard Arthur had first-hand some six weeks later. From Brisbane they knowledge of the Maltese as he had been were taken to Townsville and were given on a visit to Malta. He claimed that work on a five-year contract. Fr Cassar Australia should admit the Maltese wrote to Malta~t~o~co~~plain that the especially in the more remote regions where Maltese were notr~~i.Yti!&Jl1es§!!!l~~~llges they could withstand the climate better as other European workers. Some than Englishmen. Such writing sounded compiained about ihe hoi weaiher and iike sweet musk to those who championed others were downright llofi1esick. By the Malta's British connection. By emigrating end qL18§4 most of them had broken their to .~ustralia Malta would be~heii)iili 1() contract and drifted towards ~yc!I!t!Y. But keep that large island under the British Fr Cassar himself stayed in Australia for Crown and would also strengthen its own the rest of his forty-five years. He worked ties with Great Britain. The teaching oft~ among immigrants of different nationalities would receive a great (jl as he was conversant with various boost and the supremacy of Italian would ·

262 be done away with. favour of conscription. His opponents One politician who agreed with the pro­ raised the alarm about the Maltese who British platform was Sir Gerald Strickland. were about to enter the country when the Although born in Malta fi1-i86(he-h~d a Prime Minister was intending to send British father and had connections with young Australians to the fronts. The ship Australia where he had been governor of was not allowed to enter any Australian various States. On becoming Prime port but was told to proceed to Noumea in Minister of Malta in 1927, besides the French island of New Caledonia. The strengthening Malta's ties with the Empire Maltese were kept ther~orth~~~ gHmths: .;1.~l and reducing cultural ties with Latin Even when they returned to their Europe to a minimum, Strickland also trial was not over yet. They were sought to establ\sh a ~Mal.!~~s;-s;glp~y~i!L transferred to an old sJlip away from AJ.!~~t!~li

263 "I am glad to be in a position to state positively that the ne~d ()f pr_eparing those who intended Mr Hunter's views are very favourable to our to emigrate and that those who were migrants." selected should settle in the country not in John McWhae, the Agent General for the crowded cities. -, the State of , was not convinced. Casolani also insisted on three basic He was a staunch supporter of the White points in order to make Maltese emig,raJ:ion Australia Policy and for him White meant successful: First, educate prospective _f', British and British.meant what it said: a . emigrants. Second, appoint an official person born in Great Britain of pure representative to speak and act on behalf British parentage. To McWhae the Maitese of the Maltese living in a foreign couQtry. were aliens and he told Casolani that he Third, encourage priests to settle intended to keep all aliens away from permanently in areas inhabited by the Australia to make sure that his country Maltese. remained Anglo-Saxon. It did take some years before these lpJ92S McWh~(! was back in Australia suggestions were taken up by the Maltese more determined than ever in his authorities. The choice of Captain Henry opposition to foreign immigration. At the Curmi in 1929 was a good on;-cU.rmi was same time there was a recrudescence of in Australia in that year and his arrival agtJ-:l\1altese articles in the M~1,1rne coincided with the DeQI~§.§!on. He press. In 1924, Adelaide witnessed some therefore warned the Maltese authorities ugly disturbances and when the police against sending too many emigrants while intervened it was revealed that among the situation remained as it was. In 1930 ' those arrested were some immigrants from no new passports were issued for would-be Malta. In Sydney and in people were migrants unless they had close relatives in warned about the imminent take over of Australia who would be willfng~to,help Australia by hungry undesirables from them out during the initial months of their . Organisations speaking arrival. on behalf of returned soldiers insisted that Although Captain Curmi had to give up any available jobs should go to those who his work soon after his arrival in Australia had fought for king and country. because of failing health he ·was back as As far as the Maltese were concerned Malta's commissioner on June 8, 1936. At there was no imminent danger from their that time there were about 4,000 :rVIafi~se, part of taking over "the Lucky Country". mostly in Queepsland, but there were other In 1922 there were less than 2,000 Maltt;!se communities 'in various States of Australia. inAustralia. (Malta Government Gazzette, In 1937 Curmi was in New South Wales Vol. XIV, no.36). At that time the entry of and he found out that theMaltesein that Maltese into Australia was regulated by the State actually outnumbered those in quota system which allowed 260 Queensland. Curmi was of the opinion that immigrants each~ year. In later years the New South Wales and Victoria were to quota was abolished and l:>yJJ~])he become the major focal points of Maltese Maltese population in Australia was near immigration into Australia. During his the 3,000 mark. In that same year Casolani visits to the two States, Curmi noted that pUblished his book "L-Emigra:ajoni tal­ the :Maltese clid not stick to one particular Maltin" where he still complained about type of work. Many worked in factories, the prejudices against the Maltese which hotels, shops, and on the wharves. Others were rampant in some sections of the press owned small businesses such as general in Australia. The author urged the Maltese stores, groceries, cafes and fish shops. not to be discouraged by such prejudices. In the western suburbs of Sydney and In a later book published in 1930 under the Melbourne Curmi noticed how successful title "Awake Malta" Casolani insisted on Maltese market-~ardeners were. He thought

264 that some Maltese, particularly the Malta had in. mind when he said that Gozitans, had holdings which in 1937 were nothing was more welcome to Malta than worth £10,000 or more. He wrote: wars. It came as no surprise to anybody "It is a pleasure to mention that I have seen a poultry when Paul Boffa's administration declared farm and a dairy farm each owned and kept by a emigratiQ'ii-a~'-'!11e._§~tfety-valve" of the · Maltese and both of which are models of their kind. nation. The success of the Maltese as market-gardeners is One of the first moves of the new proverbial and landowners have written to me to government was to create a Department of ;i obtain settlers from Malta because they knew that the '!Maltese have proved to be a success in their Emigration with a minister and director ~ avocation." responsible for it. A Standing Committee A great achievement for Captain Curmi was formed to advise the minister on how was when in March 1938 the Australians~ to encourage tl1e Maltese to emigrate. This finally decided to acc'O;d British status to Standing Committee was described by John the migrants from Malta. It was a belated Axisa, the director of emigration, in these decision but a very welcome one at that words: "It is today a powerful element in time. Cl!§Olai)Lhad worked hard for a the formation of Government policy with British status and <;::urmi reaped the results. regard to emigration." In just over a year A British status for the Maltese meant that after taking power the Labour Government henceforth applicants from Malta were needed all the advice it could get because considered on a par with applicants from on its books it had more than 25,000 the United Kingdom. There were no M~l~se who had registered in order to objections to their being approved for emigrate. entry into Australia except that they had to In September 1948, a Ministerial Mission abide by the general rules concerning left for Canada, U .S.A. and Australia. The health and general adaptability. By .1938 minister responsible for emigration, J .J. the negative effects generated by the Cole and his director, J. Axisa, obtained Depression were nearly over and as the from the Australian Government an economy improved, Australia began agreement on passage assistance which was ;; recruiting more workers. The Government to take effect as from January 1, 1949, .. ~ of Malta was offering financial assistance The Australians also agreed to nominate a ., by paying half the passage of those large number of workers for important , families who had been nominated by Sta,te projects. This made the emigration of sponsors already living in Australia. those with no one willing to sponsor them possible. There was also an agreement on the inception of a Cl!ild Migrant Scheme Post-War Migration which had been in operation with the United Kingdom for many years and which In 1947 the Maltese were again granted was to be extended to Malta with the self-government and the ensuing elections cooperation of Church authorities in Malta returned the to power. The and in Australia. new government faced the old and double By 1953 a Maltese migrant going to problem of an exp~I1sJing~population due Australia was paying the no!!lii1~1Jare of £i0. There was aiso an aiiowance of io numerous marriages contracted as soon . - as hostilities were over and the l~ck of £20/£30 to the dependants of migrants emRloyment because of the redundancies when the heads of families were emigrating made by the British forces. Peac~ught ahead of their wives and children. These the same old problems to an island that financial concessions had removed the knew much of its prosperity to fighting in great barrier which had hindered the the Mediterranean region. This was the development of emigration to distant lands prediction Christopher Marlowe's Jew of on a significant scale. Direct shipping from

265 from Malta to Australian ports also had to reluctantly admit that the Maltese facilitated the transport of thousands of situation was still in a state of flux and migrants. This was even more improved they went back. For much of the sixties when emigrants started leavjQg M~ltlll!Y there was-a~Tot of political turmoil coupled air. Besides such obvious advantages with widespread industrial unrest. All this emigration to Australia received a made life unpredictable. The very year of considerable boost when the Archbishop of Malta's independence, 1964, saw the exit Malta, Michael Gonzi, went on a ~!Q!Jtl of 8, 788 of its citizens. Again it was visit to see the Maltese in Australia in Australia that received about 590fo of 1~~~· The effect of this visit is clearly seen Maltese wishing to settle abroad. in the emigration figures for 12?4 when In 1960 the Single Young Women 11,447 assiste.d emigrants left Malta, with Migrants Scheme (SYWMS) was launched -•'' ~- ~ ' " C,, ,~ M<<• <'," ,,,,,,,,, ' '' ' 8,470 preferring to settle in Australia. This tohelpladies in the age-group between was the highest figure ever achieved in the eighteen and thirty-five years to emigrate. history of emigration. Mass emigration had produced an Yet only tw() X~~rs, after that exodus the unpleasant side effect. Malta, and to a trend of emigrations to Australia went on a larger extent Gozo, became a country where downward direction. In 1957 the number young women did not find enough male of those who left for Australia with an partners. Ip.J~6P there were lll~m~Jl1~n assisted passage was only 1,286. This trend ~.QQQ girls of marriageable age than there lasted for three years, when during the were young men. In some villages in Gozo 1960's. emigration to Australia was again the young male population had vanished. on the increase. It was at this time when The Governments of Malta and Australia some people began to have second enlisted the support of Church authorities thoughts on how wise it was to accept to redress this imbalance, especially when emigration as an inevitable fact of life. on the Aust~li~:!!_&~!~U~.~J'!:Q£l~lll ~~~.. !he flans began to be considered for the reyerse. The Church in Malta, through its economic developlllent of the island, Emigrants' Commission which had been though a political solution had to be found active since 1950, helped to run this scheme so that the Maltese would free themselves in conjunction with the Female Catholic of the humilJ!ttioJl_Qf £E!!g"~.co}QPY. The Immigration Committee of Australia. great British Empire was now only a weak In 12Qf. Church and State collaborated in shadow of what it was before 1939. The working the Child Migration Scheme which British wanted to retain their bases but did has been alreadyfclerrecrio~ch.Iid.ren not feel bound to provide the same amount from local institutions and others with no of jobs they formerly generated. If Malta particular bright prospects for their future, ~were to take the road to economic were sent to institutions in Australia where ! "development, emigration had to be they received a gqod education and were controlled and the were to trained for particular jobs. More than 250 have the full reins of their own country in boys and girls were eventually sent to their own hands. Western Australia, their ages raging from This way of thinking began to attract a six to sixteen. Their progress was lot of people. Not only fewer people monitored by welfare officers till they wanted to emigrate but some of those who reached the age of twenty-one. This scheme had gone began returning home. The did provide an opportunity for a emigration figure ofl,286, for 1957 has to completely new start for some. However be examined againsr thenumbei:'Of the Scheme had its critics too. They argued retgmees for the same year which was it was not right to send children to another 1,097. Unfortunately words were not country at an age when they did not fully matched by facts. Many of the returnees realise what was being decided for them.

266 Eventually the scheme was allowed to die Although the situation of our migrants out. world-wide differs considerably from one In 1962 the ctuoJ:a for Maltese emigrants country to another, it is possible to arrive to Australia was increased from 2,000 to _at some conclusions. To begin with the 3,000 a year. Half of this quota was made ')oldest category: the Maltese of North up of persons sponsored by close relatives ·~ Africa. Most of their descendants are who were permanently resident in spread out in many countries. There are Australia. These were financially helped significant groupings in the U.K., France under the Passage Assistance Agreement and Australia. Those in Australia have which had come into force in 1949 and established contacts with the other Maltese, which had been periodically renewed. The though they are careful to preserve their other half consisted of those who individuality and can be marked out by ·:)qualified for help from the Maltese their flare for business and pursuit of side. higher learning. A number of people in the According to a census held in Australia professions in Australia who carry Maltese in June 1966 there were in the country names are in fact Maltese from 55,104--persons who had been born in Egypt. M_~]4\. Maltese interest in Australia­ In the United Kingdom and in France continued till 1974 when a total of 2,595 there are associations made up of people as~~tec:l emigrants lert for various who had to leave their homes and destinations in Australia. After that year possessions in North Africa. In England there was a decline, punctuated by two most of the immigrants are from Egypt exceptions in 1980 and 1981. The low whereas in France they were originally figures for emigration contrasted with the refugees from Algeria and Tunisia. The high numbers of returnees:~it can be said British and the French governments offered that as from 1975 emigration to Australia them shelter and these people are now and to other traditional receiving countries proud of their British and French ceased to be a relevant factor in the life of citizenship. In Great Britain there is an the Maltese:; Association of Maltese Communities of Significant to the changes of the times ~gypt, originally founded in in was the Maltese Government's decision in 1854 and transferred to London in 1956. It May 1991 to "reconstruct" the Department is still very active and publishes its own of Labour and Emigration. The very term newsletter. In Paris there is the Association "emigration" was dropped and a new France-Malte, which among other body came into being known as Secretariat activities, organises tours to Malta for for Maltese Living Abroad. There was also members eager to discover their own to be a Commission under a similar title roots. which was supposed to suggest policies 5J M_9re r~ec~nt ell!igrants settled in concerning people of Maltese origin living ··-_/Australia, Canada, Great Britain and the in other lands and to present them to the U.S.A. Those who went to the United Government for approval. Kingdom and to the U .S.A. are not as The Maltese living abroad are a ~!atistical vibrant in their identity as the others.

r~l""t nrh1Ph e>hn:nlrl nnt ho ;1"1''1"'\1"\'I'".O...t D.o.Tnr.ao.­ .... _ ...... l'Y.I..&.I...... U. ~J..&VU.I.U .I.J.VL. V¥ .l,f;.l..lV.I.\.IUo ,.J...IVL.Yl'"'\,r.l.l 1946 and 1974 more than 137,000 for Great Britain between 1946 and 1974, emigrated. The number of those who the rate of returnees was very high so returned should be taken into consideration much so that it is probable that the present but it is also a fact that most of those who population of Maltese in Great Britain left did so with the intention of settling is about half that total. As Russel King permanently in their country of noted, "the whole idea of Maltese adoption. emigration is more in the nature of an

267 adventure, a relatively short-term work During the peak years of Maltese contract, than permanent migration." emigration the two countries received more Since a number of those who did actually than 97,000 men, women and children. remain were single men they married non­ Agreemel1ts6etweel'l th.e two receiving Maltese women and in such mixed countries on one hand and the Maltese marriages the children were unlikely to be authorities on the other, ensured that the brought up as Maltese. In some cases there migratory movement was based on was a cultivated attitude to ignore one's preserving the unity of the fam!ly. A past so as to become thoroughly number of priests rioi only accompanied assimilated. Then there are those who the emigrants but also settled in places because of the ease with which one can where the Maltese were present in good travel between Malta and Great Britain numbers. Priests also acted as welfare­ spend some time in one place and some officers and interpreters. time in another. Both Canada and Australia have The case of the Maltese in the U .S.A. is accepted the princip!e that they are roughly similar to that of their brethren in '1 m'!!!!9!Ltt!!:al. The immigrant can be the United Kingdom. Not only are they ~\integrated without being assimilated. relatively few but they are also scattered in ' allows an to different cities which are miles and miles take pride in its own language, culture and apart. For many years foreign immigrants religion without being considered as a in America were under intense pressure to despised minority. There are newspapers conform with the majority. There was an published by the Maltese in Canada and in evident dislike of the unlike. The Australia. These are either bilingual or in Americanisation Committees insisted on Maltese. The editor is sometimes elevated conformity in habits and in language to to the status of a spokesman of the such an extent that many were encouraged community. Prof. H. Frendo says on the to change their names. The situation did ethnic press in Australia: ''People would change after the Second World War and phone to enquire about anything and the Americans slowly adopted the everything, occasionally reducing the editor CanaJian policy of respecting ethnic and his staff to journalists - turned - culture; hence the icte~. of multi<;.ulturalism. counsellors." The Maltese in. Detroit,J1leyv Y()f~.'!Q<;L Some libraries have sections of Maltese San Francisco had their own clubs, some books. There are ethnic radio and television of which still function to this day: Some of programmes with the radio broadcasts in the earliest Maltese newspapers away from Maltese perhaps being one of the most Malta were published in Detroit. The popular means of communication. Religion Maltese in the U .S.A. were also very also helps to preserve a national identity generous in supporting the Malta Relief because, as H. Frendo asserts, "most Fund to help the besieged population of central to this· unmistakable feature of Malta during the war. However, the total Malteseness is the festa of the patron saint intake of Maltese immigrants after the war of the town or village of origin, in which was not impressive, perl!~P.~Jt;tsL~v~r the brass band plays an active part.'' 9,000. As in the United Kingdom, the Will the survive in an number of unmarried men who emigrated alien environment? Emigrants born in to the U.S.A. was considerable. This Malta with Maltese as their native language brought about a situation with similarities will undoubtedly speak Maltese till the very already noted with the situation prevailing end. Children born to Maltese couples in Great Britain. stand a fair chance of retaining the The Maltese presence in_Cai!~c!a.ancUn language. Maltese however tend to enter At~stralia is identifiElhle.with I'~J:"IUa!l-~!!9~~ into mixed marriages and the children of

268 such unions, especially when the mother is have gone to university and entered State not Maltese, will not be able to speak the parliaments, their impact on cultural circles language of their father. in the receiving countries, including It is also unfortunate to note that the Canada and Australia is negligible; it is Maltese are poorly represented in the certainly not commensurate with their professional classes, and although some numbers.

269 Bibliography

ATTARD, L.E., Early Maltese Emigration (1900-1914), Gulf Publishing Ltd., Malta, 1983. The Great Exodus (1918-1939), P.E.G. Ltd., Malta, 1989. "Maltese Ethnic Identity in Australia", I.C.M.C. News No.2, Geneva, 1979. CASOLANI, H., Reports and Correspondence on Mission to London, 1922c Awake Malta, 1930. L-Emigravjoni tal-Maltin, 1927. CAUCHI, M.N., Maltese Migrants in Australia, M.C.C., Victoria, 1990. CORDER, F.J., "Maltese links· with Australia" in The Victorian Historical Magazine, Vol.XXVI, No.4, June, 1933. DENCH, G., Maltese in London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London & Boston, 1975. DONATO, M., L'Emigration de Maltais en Algerie au XIXeme Siecle, Africa Nostra, Montpelleir, 1985. FERGUSSON, E., Immigrants in Canada, University of Toronto, 1974. FRENDO, H., "Religion and Ethnic Identity in the Maltese Australian Community" in A. Ata (ed): Religion and Ethnic Identity. An Australian Study. Spectrum, Melbourne, 1988. "Australia's Maltese Language Press", Abe Wade Ata and Colin Ryan (eds): The Ethnic Press in Australia, Academia Press, Melbourne, 1989. "Maltese Cultural Identity in Australia" in The Maltese Herald, Sydney, 7, 14, 21 July, 1992. HARTMANN, E.G., A History of American Immigration, Rand & McNally and Co., , 1967. HARVARD Encyclopaedia of American Ethnic Groups, H.U.P., 1980. JONES, H.R., "The Regional Origin of Emigrants: Findings from Malta" in International Migration, Vol.XI, 1973. JUPP, J., "Settlement patterns in Melbourne", Jupp J. (ed): The Australian People, Angus and Robertson, 1988. KING, R., "Post-War Migration Pattern and Policies in Malta" in European Demographic Information Bulletin, Vol.X, No.3, 1979. MAGRI-OVEREND, 1., "Humble Beginnings - Great Achievements" in Lil Hutna, 1976-1978. MORISON, S.E., The Oxford History of the American People, O.U.P., New York, 1965. PRICE, C., Malta and the Maltese, Georgian House, Melbourne, 1954. SMITH, T.E., "Malta and the Commonwealth Connection" in Commonwealth Migration: Flows and Policies, Macmillan, London, 1981. TENCAJOLI, O.F., L'Emigrazione Maltese in Australia, Rome, 1927. VADALA, R., Les Maltais hors de Malte, Paris, 1912. YORK, B., The Maltese in Australia, A.E. Press, Melbourne, 1986. Empire and Race, N.S.W. University Press, 1990.

270 Notes on Contributors

LAWRENCE E. ATTARD is a Catholic priest and has written extensively on Maltese migration. His works include Early Maltese Emigration 1900-1914 and The Great Exodus 1918-1939.

ANTHONY BONANNO is Full Professor and Head of the Department of Classics and Archaeology at the University of Malta. His works include Roman Malta and The Archaeological Heritage of the Maltese Islands.

ALEXANDER BORG is a dialectologist and ethnolinguist with a special interest in Semitic studies. He has worked mainly in Israel from where he has co-edited the Mediterranean Language Review. Works include Cypriot Arabic (1985).

LINO BRIGUGLIO, Associate Professor in Economics, is Director of the Islands and Small States Institute at the Foundation for International Studies and of the University Gozo Centre. Works include The Maltese Economy (1988).

PAUL CASSAR, a medical doctor, has lectured in medicine and law an~ written extensively in the areas of medical and social history. Works include Medical (1965) and La Sacra lnfermeria (2nd ed. 1994).

GUZE CASSAR PULLICINO is a folklorist and has published numerous works on Maltese language and history. His books include Il-Folklor Malti, Papers in , Il-Bennejja tal-Folk/or Malti.

ANTONIO ESPINOSA RODRIGUEZ is Curator of Fine Arts in the Malta Museums Department and directs the Maritime Museum in Vittoriosa. His works include Paintings at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Malta (1990).

HENRY FRENDO is Professor of History at the University of Malta and since 1970 ha-s· had several books published on ~... 1altese history and politics. A former newspaper editor and UN diplomat, he chairs the European Cultural Foundation's Malta committee.

OLIVER FRIGGIERI is Full Professor of Literature and Head of the Department of Maltese at the University of Malta. His numerous books and studies have been published in Malta and in various countries.

271 HUGH W. HARDING is a retired Chief Justice, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. His works include History of Roman Law in Malta and Maltese Legal History under British Rule 1801-1836.

LEONARD MAHONEY (1928-1993), an architect and civil engineer, served with Malta's Public Works Department for thirty years, retiring as Chief Engineec Works include A History of Maltese Architecture (1988) and a voluminous sequel to it due to be published posthumously.

PATRICK SCHEMBRI is Full Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Malta. His research interests are marine benthic ecology, faunistics of the Maltese Islands. He has authored several papers in scientific journals.

JOSEPH VELLA is Associated Professor of Music at the University of Malta. He is the composer of numerous works, including oratorios and cantatas and was the first to edit and perform old Maltese music.

272