Rupture in the “Fortress Island”

This evening I presented my paper at the Malta Historical Society History Week 2021: Rupture - A Historical Perspective. The paper was titled "Rupture in the “Fortress Island”: Malta and the Suez Crisis (1956)."

1956 is a pivotal year, both within the British Empire and in the Maltese context. In Malta, the referendum for integration won convincingly, though the final result was open to various interpretations. The subsequent discussions proved to be tortuous and complex, leading, ultimately, to failure.

Meanwhile, the nationalisation of the Suez Canal and Britain’s inability to retain control over this vital waterway proved to be disastrous for the British Empire. This paper agrees with Smith (2007) and argues that the Suez Crisis had little to do with the failure of Integration – if anything, Britain viewed closer links to Malta as being more essential during the crisis. Nonetheless, the Suez Crisis still brought about rapture in Malta’s political dynamic and a realisation that the nature of the ‘Fortress Island’ was changing irrevocably.

History Week continues until the 29th October 2021. Click here for more information.