History of Malta

Malta has been inhabited since 6400 BC initially by Mesolithic hunter gatherers, who were replaced by Neolithic farmers from Sicily around 5400 BC. These farmers practiced mixed farming after clearing most of the existing conifer forest that dominated the islands, but their agricultural methods degraded the soil until the islands became uninhabitable. The islands were repopulated around 3850 BC by a civilization that at its peak built the Megalithic Temples, which today are among the oldest surviving buildings in the world. Their civilization collapsed in around 2350 BC; the islands were repopulated by Bronze Age warriors soon afterwards.

Malta's prehistory ends in around 700 BC, when the islands were colonized by the Phoenicians. They ruled the islands until they fell in 218 BC to the Roman Republic. The island was acquired by the Eastern Romans or Byzantines in the 6th century AD, who were expelled by Aghlabids following a siege in 870 AD. Malta may have been sparsely populated for a few centuries until being repopulated by Arabs in the 11th century. The islands were invaded by the Norman County of Sicily in 1091, and a gradual re-Christianization of the islands followed. At this point, the islands became part of the Kingdom of Sicily and were dominated by successive feudal rulers, including the Swabians, the Aragonese, and eventually the Spanish. The islands were given to the Order of St. John in 1530, which ruled them as a vassal state of Sicily. In 1565, the Ottoman Empire attempted to take the islands in the Great Siege of Malta, but the invasion was repelled. The Order continued to rule Malta for over two centuries, and this period was characterized by a flourishing of the arts and architecture and an overall improvement in the social order. The Order was expelled after the French First Republic invaded the islands in 1798, marking the beginning of the French occupation of Malta.

After a few months of French rule, the Maltese rebelled and the French were expelled in 1800. Malta became a British protectorate, becoming a de facto colony in 1813. The islands became an important naval base for the British, serving as the headquarters of the Mediterranean Fleet. During the last quarter of the 19th century, there were advancements in technology and finance. In subsequent years, the Anglo-Egyptian Bank was established in 1882 and the Malta Railway began operating in 1883. In 1921, London granted self-government to Malta. This resulted in the establishment of a bicameral parliament consisting of a Senate (which was later eliminated in 1949) and an elected Legislative Assembly. The Crown Colony of Malta was self-governing in 1921–1933, 1947–1958, and 1962–1964.

During World War II British forces in Malta were heavily attacked by Italian and German air power, but the British held firm. In 1942 the island was awarded the George Cross, which today appears on Malta's flag and coat of arms.

In 1964 Malta became an independent Commonwealth realm known as the State of Malta, and in 1974 it became a republic while remaining in the Commonwealth. Since 2004 the country has been a member state of the European Union.

Some caverns in Malta containing sediments of Pleistocene age have revealed bones of dwarf elephants, and dwarf hippopotamuses, as well as other extinct animals, which are thought to have crossed over from Sicily (and ultimately from mainland Italy) due to a submarine plateau that was exposed as dry land connecting Malta and Sicily during glacial periods. Although it has been claimed that Neanderthals were present on the island, because molar teeth were found in Ghar Dalam cave exhibiting taurodonty, this feature is also found among some modern human teeth and is thus not a definitive indicator that the teeth belong to Neanderthals, and the context of the finds is unclear, so this claim is not widely accepted. ^{Supplementary material}

Malta has been inhabited from at least circa 6500 BC, with the arrival of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers likely originating from Sicily. Discoveries at Latnija Cave led by the Maltese archaeologist Eleanor Scerri included the remains of hearths, stone tools and an abundant and diverse range of animal bones. These included indigenous red deer that are now extinct, fish and marine mammals, as well as abundant edible marine gastropods. To arrive on Malta, these hunter-gatherers had to cross around 100 km of open water, documenting the longest yet-known sea crossing by hunter-gatherers in the Mediterranean. The extinction of the dwarf hippos, giant swans and dwarf elephants has historically been linked to the earliest arrival of humans on Malta. However this seems unlikely since recent work suggests these animals went extinct many thousands of years before the arrival of the first people, and no such animals were found in association with the earliest known Mesolithic hunter-gatherers.

Neolithic Farmers from Sicily arrived on Malta by around 5400 BC, replacing the pre-existing hunter-gatherer population.