Gozo (State)

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Stat ta 'Għawdex
State of Gozo
1798–1800
navigation
languages Maltese , English , Italian
Capital Ir-Rabat Għawdex
Form of government Republic ( de jure )
Provisional ( de facto )
Government system Provisionally
Head of state Archpriest
surface 70.5 km²
population approx. 16,000
Population density approx. 226 inhabitants per km²
currency Maltese Scudo and others
Existence period October 28, 1798 - September 4, 1800
map
Satellite image: Gozo, Comino and Cominotto

The state of Gozo ( mlt .: Stat ta 'Għawdex ) was a very short-lived independent state that existed on the Mediterranean island of Gozo at the end of the 18th century .

historical development

prehistory

Since about 1525 ruled on the Maltese Islands, the Maltese . Your various grandmasters initially resided in Birgu and then in Valletta on the main island. With clever political moves they led the country into an unimagined prosperity. After the victory against the Turks in 1565 , the knights of the order relocated their seat of government to the magnificent palace of the Grand Masters in the new capital Valletta.

The military defense power of the order fell behind the armies of Europe by the end of the 18th century. The victorious 1st Great Siege of Malta was more than two centuries ago. When Napoléon Bonaparte I reached the island with his troops in June 1798, after a short siege he was able to take Malta without any noteworthy acts of war. However, the circumstances of the surrender of the Order of Malta in this context have not been fully clarified. This ended the rule of the grand masters.

independence

However, the Gozitans offered much more resistance to the invaders. In September 1798 there was a popular uprising against the occupiers on Gozo, in the course of which the French troops were imprisoned in the citadel of the capital Ir-Rabat Għawdex . After negotiations by Alexander Ball and due to a lack of food and drinking water, the 217 French soldiers finally agreed on October 28th to surrender without a fight and to hand over the island to the British - with all fortifications, 24 cannons, a large supply of ammunition and 3200 sacks of flour . Ferdinand I of Sicily made formal claims to the archipelago, but did not attempt to enforce it. The first measure of the new political leadership was the distribution of the stolen food to the population. A day later, the country officially declared independence as a separate state.

On September 4, 1800, the French garrison in Valletta surrendered to the British, who on the same day placed the entire archipelago under their protection and thus de facto annexed them. From then on, Gozo was also under British rule until Malta's independence on September 21, 1964.

economy and politics

Gozo was only independent for almost two years, but this period of independence was enough to build a reasonably flourishing economy . Due to the mild climate, intensive agriculture was practiced, the products of which were very popular in Malta and Sicily. In addition, the French were allowed, on an affidavit not to attack the small island nation again, to have their warships anchored in the port of Mġarr and overtaken there. In return, large amounts of money were sent to the capital every month.

In the political field, the Gozitans were less successful and were unable to set up a stable government. A transitional prime minister was appointed for three months , but the state was essentially without political leadership in the 23 months of its existence. The official head of state was Archpriest Saverio Cassar of the Matrice and Collegiate Church, who worked with a staff of British and Maltese officials. His first official act on October 29, 1798 was the demand for the creation of a separate diocese on the island. However, this request was not met until 1864 with the creation of the Diocese of Gozo .

literature

  • Joseph Bezzina: Religion and Politics in a Crown Colony. The Gozo-Malta Story, 1798-1864. Bugelli Publications, 1985 (English).
  • Godwin Vella: A Window onto the Day-to-Day running of the Nazione Gozitana. In: The Gozo Observer. No. 20, June 2009, p. 34 ( online, PDF ) (English).

Individual evidence

  1. Joseph Bezzina: The solemn entry of the first bishop of Gozo 150 years ago. In: Times of Malta. November 2, 2014, accessed October 10, 2019 .

Coordinates: 36 ° 3 ′  N , 14 ° 15 ′  E