of a Maltese Jewish family taken in
Valletta,
Malta , others at Tigne Barracks and
Maria Feodorovna, her daughter and their entourage stayed at
San Anton Palace in
Marsa, Malta in
Paola, Malta , second-generation Nigerian-Maltese The current
Maltese people, characterised by the use of the
Maltese language and by
Roman Catholicism, is the descendant - through much mixing and hybridation via different waves of immigration - of the
Siculo-Arabic colonists who repopulated the
Maltese islands in the beginning of the second millennium after a two-century lapse of depopulation that followed the Arab
conquest by the
Aghlabids in AD 870. A genetic study by Capelli et al. indicates that Malta was barely inhabited at the turn of the tenth century and was likely to have been repopulated by settlers from Sicily and Calabria who spoke
Siculo-Arabic, the progenitor of modern
Maltese. The Maltese islands remained largely Muslim-inhabited long after the end of Arab rule. The Arab administration was also kept in place and Muslims were allowed to practise their religion freely until the 13th century. As a result of this favourable environment, Muslims continued to demographically and economically dominate Malta for at least another 150 years after the Christian conquest. Between 1194 and 1530, the
Kingdom of Sicily ruled the Maltese islands and a process of full
latinisation started in Malta. The conquest of the Normans would lead to the gradual
Romanization and
Latinization of the Siculo-Arabic Muslim population of Malta, and the subsequent firm establishment of
Roman Catholicism. Until 1224, however, there remained a strong Muslim segment of society. By the end of the 15th century all Maltese Muslims would be forced to convert to Christianity and had to find ways to disguise their previous identities by Latinizing or adopting new surnames. After the
Norman conquest, the population of the Maltese islands kept growing mainly through immigration from the north (Sicily and Italy), with the exile to Malta of the entire male population of the town of
Celano (Italy) in 1223 (though most of them returned home few years later), the stationing of a Norman (
Swabian) and Sicilian garrison on Malta in 1240, the arrival of several thousands
Aragonese soldiers in 1283 to 1425, and the settlement in Malta of
noble families from Sicily and the Crown of
Aragon between 1372 and 1450. As a consequence of this, Capelli
et al. found in 2005 that "the contemporary males of Malta most likely originated from Southern Italy, including Sicily and up to Calabria." Malta was then ruled by the
Order of Saint John as a vassal state of the
Kingdom of Sicily from 1530 to 1798. For the next 275 years, these famous "Knights of Malta" made the island their domain and made the
Italian language official. The members of the Order came from the various noble families of Europe, thus providing Malta with a steady influx of affluent immigrants. Together with the Knights, in 1530, 400 (or up to several thousands according to other sources)
Rhodian sailors, soldiers and slaves moved to Malta, possibly bringing along the few Byzantine words in Maltese language. Further immigration of several thousand Greek-rite Christians from Sicily in 1551 and again in 1566 may also have helped. The 19th and first half of the 20th century were for Malta marked by membership in the
British Empire. Its excellent harbours became a prized asset for the British, especially after the opening of the
Suez Canal in 1869. The island became a military and naval fortress, the headquarters of the British Mediterranean fleet, with some 22,000
British servicemen posted in Malta from 1807 to 1979, as well as other British and Irish that settled in Malta over the decades. The islands also saw a steady influx of labourers from the other parts of the Empire, such as Indian textile traders from
Sindh (see:
Indians in Malta). In the same period, the learned class of Maltese society often identified with the Italians, particularly from the late 19th century
Risorgimento period up to the
Second World War (see:
Italian irredentism in Malta). Up to 891
Italian exiles also sought refuge in Malta in the late 19th century. At the same time, overpopulation and poverty pushed the Maltese to emigrate well into the 1960s and 70s, particularly to other British colonies such as
Australia,
South Africa,
Canada and
Egypt, but also to
Great Britain,
Gibraltar,
Corfu and the
United States. The late 20th century saw the independence of Malta. Since this period, retired British servicemen and their families constitute the greatest part of foreign residents in Malta. Since 1959, Malta's British governor started to pursue a plan of economic development based on promoting
tourism and
tax competition, particularly offering very low tax rates on pensions, royalties and dividends to attract retired British settlers (referred to as 'sixpenny settlers') from other former colonies of the Empire. Malta saw a large influx of Britons from
Rhodesia after 1967. Closer links to Qaddafi's
Libya since the 1970s saw a growth of
Libyans in Malta, while around 800
Ugandan Indians were resettled in Malta after they had been expelled by
Idi Amin in 1972. In the early 1990s Malta was a first stop for refugees from
Iraq and
Kuwait during the first
Gulf War, later often resettled to
North America. The arrival of African asylum seekers grew from 2001 onwards, particularly of citizens of
Somalia,
Nigeria, and
Eritrea. Membership of the
European Union in 2004 led to the growth of a community of Maltese in Belgium, while skilled workers from other EU (
Italy,
Bulgaria,
Germany,
Sweden) and non-EU countries (
Serbia,
Pakistan) moved to Malta to contribute to the growing industries, from construction to hotel services, banking and ICT. Malta's EU accession also prompted a renewed public discussion about Maltese identity and its role of bridge between Europe and the Mediterranean. As noted by Schembri in 2004, the Maltese tended to stress their belonging to Europe as a way of distinguishing themselves from North Africans, and the public debate on immigration has reflected entrenched xenophobic stereotypes. The public attitudes of the Maltese towards both North Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans - including refugees and asylum seekers - have worsened over time, paralleled by the government's strict detention policies for irregular migrants. including 300 persons (45 families) stemming from the town of
Hyderabad, Sindh (in today's
Pakistan). They are Maltese citizens and reside in Malta since British times, originally as textile traders. • The Arab community counted around 3,000 persons in 2007, mostly originally from
Libya and today Maltese citizens. The presence of the Libyans in Malta, with the only mosque of the island (
Mariam Al-Batool Mosque in
Paola, Malta), amounts to the good relations between the Qaddafi and Mintoff governments in the 1970s and 1980s. • The
Albanians in Malta are a small community, originally arriving as refugees in 1999, when UNHCR resettled 110 persons from
Kosovo to Malta. •
Nigerians in Malta are one of the most visible communities of recent immigration, despite their relatively low number. Several of them are football players in the island's over 50 football clubs. (see
Ndubisi Chukunyere and his daughter
Destiny) == Legislation ==