Man has inhabited the Maltese Islands since Neolithic times. These first Maltese were extremely sophisticated and evidence of their civilization is still visible. Temples in which they worshipped their gods at Hagar Qim and Mnajdra are still remarkably well preserved and are said to be the oldest monuments on earth, even outdating the pyramids of ancient Egypt. The Neolithic period was followed by the Bronze Age and this, by the Phoenicians. These Semitic people from the Eastern Mediterranean colonised the Islands for a long period. They cast the die for Malta's sea-faring and merchant heritage and much more important they laid down the foundations for Malta's language and alphabet.


The Phoenicians were followed by the Romans. It was during the Roman occupation that Saint Paul was shipwrecked on Malta. It is said that St. Paul brought Christianity to the Islands.

The Roman era was superseded by a period of Arab rule. Then came the Normans, the Swabians, Angevines, Aragonese and Castellians... until in 1530 the Maltese Islands were given a gift by the King of Spain to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.

Having been driven from their base in Rhodes by the all conquering Ottoman army, the Knights presence in Malta made these islands the obvious target for the rampaging Turks. Thus in 1565... a date etched deep in the minds of the Maltese... the first great siege of Malta took place. The knights' Grand Master La Vallette with just six hundred Knights and twelve thousand Maltese men, women,

and children defied and eventually drove off the Turkish invasion force of some thirty eight thousand men.

The Knights ruled Malta for two hundred and sixty eight years. They were eventually expelled by the French under Napoleon Bonaparte... who succeeded where the Turks had failed. The French were, however, soon themselves driven out by British under Admiral Lord Nelson. Britain administered the Maltese Islands up until Malta gained Independence in 1964. During the Second World War Malta endured its other Great Siege but, once more the Islands and the people survived. King George VI, in recognition of the contribution and fortitude of the Maltese people, awarded the island the George Cross. This cross now adorns the national flag of red and white. The islands of Malta and Gozo now comprise an Independent Republic within the Commonwealth.