Malta's economy in the nineteenth century

Abstract

The economy of the Maltese Islands under Britain took the form of an artificial cycle determined not by the vicissitudes of the market, but by the exigencies of military security. War marked the upswings of the Maltese economic cycle; the return of peace was always the harbinger of a downswing. With the assumption of the Islands into the British Crown, the economic performance of the country became a function of Britain's demand for Malta's services as a fortress. It is proposed here to describe the unfolding and the evolution of that role since the departure of the Knights of the Order of Saint John. Malta's economic history makes little sense unless incorporated into the story of her political life. In interweaving both aspects of this period of the history of the Maltese, we hope we are working out a pattern that is more realistic than one that could be given by treating each aspect in isolation.