A demographic analysis of the population of Rabat at the treshhold of the Baroque

Abstract

The aim of this study is to bring out a picture of a semi-rural society at the threshold of the Baroque Age. The parish community of Rabat was chosen for the purpose of this study. Rabat represents a society in transition. On one hand, it can be classified as an urban town. It is the suburb of the old capital city of Malta, Mdina, and as from the Late Middle Ages, represented the most important living quarters of Malta. At the same time, the community living in this area was predominantly rural in the sense that whilst the educated elite lived in the Mdina, Rabat's community was a mixture of artisans and peasants. Geographically, Rabat is situated at the centre of Malta, surrounded by extensive countryside on all sides. This meant that despite the urban aura, the people here, using an anthropological paradigm, held a strong rural mentality.