A mysterious book by Mikiel Anton Vassalli?

Abstract

An important book on Malta, published anonymously in Paris in 1798, may be the work of Mikiel Anton Vassalli, the father of Maltese nationhood. Shortly after Napoleon captured Malta in June 1798, a French editor, C.F. Cramer, printed a historical and political 'Michelin' of Malta: Recherches Historiques et Politiques sur Malte par···. There was a pressing need for such a publication, as very little about Malta was currently available in French at that time. The author, who was definitely Maltese, wanted with his book to demonstrate his "devotion and admiration for France, and his affection for his native land". Although Malta had not been legally incorporated into the French jurisdiction, he believed that, "in the common interest of the two nations, the Maltese would soon clamour for union with France. The identity of the anonymous author of these Recherches has remained shrouded in mystery. Charles Wilkinson, an intelligent visitor to Malta, writing in 1804, obviously admired the book and translated into English large portions of it, without hazarding a guess as to its authorship. So did many other authors