Malta Protectorate

British Protectorate of Malta
Protettorato di Malta (Italian) Protettorat ta' Malta (Maltese)
Part of the Kingdom of Sicily under British protection
1800–1813
Flag
Map of Malta and Sicily, 1808
Capital		Valletta
Languages		Italian, Maltese
Religion		Roman Catholicism
Government		Protectorate
King
•	1800–1802	Ferdinand III
•	1802–1813	George III
Civil Commissioner
•	1799–1801	Alexander Ball
•	1801	Henry Pigot
•	1801–1802	Charles Cameron
•	1802–1809	Alexander Ball
•	1810–1813	Hildebrand Oakes
Historical era		Napoleonic Wars
•	British presence	9 February 1799
•	Established	4 September 1800
•	Disestablished	23 July 1813
Area
•	1807	316 km² (122 sq mi)
Population
•	1807 est.	93,054
Density		294.5 /km²  (762.7 /sq mi)
Currency		Maltese scudo
Preceded by Succeeded by French occupation of Malta Gozo (independent state) Crown Colony of Malta
Area and population excluding Lampedusa. Source

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Malta Protectorate was the political term for Malta because it was officially part of the Kingdom of Sicily, while under British protection. This protectorate happened between the capitulation of the French forces in Malta in 1800 and the transformation of the islands to a crown colony in 1813.

During the Maltese uprising against the French, the Maltese people formed a National Assembly as a provisional government. Messengers were sent to the British fleet in Sicily for help, and a British convoy consisting of 13 battered ships under Captain Sir James Saumarez appeared off the island in late September 1798. In October Sir Alexander Ball arrived in Malta, and a year later he was appointed as Civil Commissioner.

The French garrison under General Vaubois had been driven to Valletta, and finally surrendered on 4 September 1800. Malta therefore became a British Protectorate. In August 1801, the Civil Commissioner, Charles Cameron, appointed Emmanuel Vitale as Governor of Gozo instead of Saverio Cassar. This effectively brought an end to Gozo's independence as la Nazione Gozitana.