Malta in the nineteenth century : fortress, colony or nation?

Abstract

What makes a nation, says Renan, is not race, language, geography or religion, but 'the possession in common of a legacy of memories' and 'the desire to live together, the will to put to good use the heritage that has been received undivided'. Nationality, whether or not it coincides with state boundaries, is a spontaneous disposition, more emotional than rational but irresistable and unique: 'une nation est un ame, un principe spirituel'. I What people think about themselves is often more important than where their ancestors may have come from or even the language they happen to speak. In practice, community of sentiment may be strongly influenced by linguistic, religious and other agents of cultural transmission. 'La langue invite a se reunir; elle n'y force pas'. Was Malta in the nineteenth century a nation?