To What Extent Was the Treaty of Amiens a Negation of All the Maltese Had Tried to Achieve During the Insurrection?

To what extent was the treaty of Amiens of 1802 the negation of all the Maltese had struggled for from 1798 to 1800? How did the Maltese political elite react to the Treaty?

Following the Order of St John's considerably lengthy sojourn in Malta, the French took over the islands on 9th June 1798, with the political aim of hindering British trade in the Mediterranean sea. The French were welcomed eagerly by the Maltese as a breath of relief from the problems brought about by the Order. However, due to the various reforms attacking Maltese culture and religion in particular, the reaction of the Maltese population to the French occupation on the Maltese islands changed drastically.

Barely had the French installed themselves in Malta, when Napoleon, along with the people he had entrusted to the administration of Malta, started introducing new laws and reforms, which would have a big impact on the Maltese population. Although some of the laws were accepted willingly, such as the liberty of political prisoners and the abolition of slavery, the majority of laws and reforms introduced rendered the Maltese extremely frustrated and irate.

The most unfavoured reforms were those regarding Church State relationships. First and foremost was the nationalisation of Church property, whose income was used to pay for the expedition to Egypt. The French were against the contemplative religious orders, so they ordered that there could only be one house or convent per order, and the property of the orders would be nationalised.  Secondly, the French would not tolerate rival jurisdictions, thus this meant that the Inquisitional Court, amongst others, would not function any more. There were also restrictions with regards to priests. All the non-Maltese priests were driven out of Malta, with the exception of Bishop Labini who was Calabrese. Apart from this, to be a priest one had to be at least 30 years old and have a job.

Apart from the clerical reforms, the Maltese had to be republicans and wear a blue, red and white coloured cockade, while also calling everyone citoyen. This was mainly to encourage the Maltese to be in favour of the French Revolution. Also, education was limited to secondary school level, with the top students who wished to continue their studies, having to study abroad. This was done with the aim of exposing them to the new revolutionary ideology and also with the political aim of creating a new elite which were pro-French.

The main problems with the manner that the French chose to run the Maltese Islands were that they had no idea of national popular will as to them, the Order's property was theirs, whilst also overlooking the fact that what was accepted in France might not be accepted in Malta. Due to this they threatened traditions, social stability, honour as a community and religion. The main disappointment of the Maltese population was that they were given things they didn't want while what they wanted didn't materialise.

As a result of these reforms the Maltese decided to protest, but only when the moment was right. The moment came about with the defeat of the French navy to the English at Abukir in Egypt in August 1798 ,which meant that the French troops were trapped in Egypt with the English controlling the seas. The Maltese population got to hear of this from the English, with whom they had close contact and shortly after, with the encouragement of the Maltese elites, they decided to take action.

The Maltese insurrection started in Rabat and Imdina on the 2nd of September 1798, which rapidly spread to the capital. The French soldiers quickly locked themselves in the towns around the Grand harbour, especially in Valletta. In the beginning of 1799, Dun Mikiel Xerri, along with a few of his friends, tried to break into Valletta. However, this was unsuccessful and they were shot. The Maltese asked for help especially from the British, to help them to drive away the French from the islands.

Eventually, on the 5th of September 1800, the French surrendered to the British and signed the Capitulation in which was stated that they could leave Malta with all the honours. The Maltese were finally content as they finally were under the rule they desired. British rule meant that they had insurance and security, due to the fact that Britain was the most important naval power in the world.

However, a few months after the British installed themselves in Malta, word started spreading that France and England were working towards a coalition. The Preliminaries of the treaty were written in October 1801 and the Treaty of Amiens was signed in March  1802. The agreement was that they would create the conditions for a restoration of the order of St. john in Malta. Following this peace treaty with France, the British were ready to give up Malta, showing that to the British, Malta was not really indispensable, but only a wartime occupation, while also implying that Malta was merely considered to be a bargain between France and England. These developments came as a big shock to the Maltese.