One of the very earliest marks of civilization in the Maltese Island is the temple of Ħaġar Qim, which dates from between 3200 and 2500 BC. Another remarkable temple site, Mnajdra, can be found adjacent to it. The oldest of all the megalithic temples on the Islands is Ġgantija in Gozo, dating back to before 3500 BC. The society that built these structures eventually died out or at any rate disappeared. Phoenicians colonise the Islands around 700 BC using them as an outpost from which they expanded sea explorations and trade in the Mediterranean.

The Islands later came under control of Carthage in 400 BC and then of Rome in 218 BC. The Islands prospered under Roman rule, during which time they were considered a Municipium and a Foederata Civitas. Many Roman antiquities still exist, testifying to the close link between the Maltese inhabitants and the people of Rome. In AD 60, the Islands were visited by St. Paul, who is said to have been shipwrecked on the shores of the aptly-named St. Paul’s Bay.

After a period of Byzantine rule and a probable sack by the Vandals, the Islands were conquered by the Arabs in AD 870 who introduced the cultivation of citrus fruits and cotton, and irrigation systems. The Arab rule lasted until 1091, when the Islands were taken by the Sicilian Normans. A century later the last Norman king, Tancred of Lecce, appointed Margaritus of Brindisi the first Count of Malta. Subsequent rulers reconstituted a Country of Malta in 1283. The Maltese nobility was established during this period, some of it dating back to 1400.

In 1530, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain gave the Islands to the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in perpetual lease. These knights, a military religious order now known as the Knights of Malta, had been driven out of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire in 1522. They withstood a full-blown siege by the Ottoman Turks in 1565. The Turks at that time were considered to be a great power. After this, they decided to increase the fortifications, particularly in the inner-harbour area, where now lies Valletta, named after the Grand Master Jen de la Vallette.

Their reign ended when Malta was captured by Napoleon en-route to his expedition of Egypt during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1798. The occupying French forces were unpopular; their financial and religious reforms did not go down well with the citizens. The Maltese rebelled against them, and the French were forced behind the fortifications. Great Britain, along with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, sent munitions and aid to the rebels. The isolated French forces surrendered in 1800 and the island became a British protectorate.

In 1814, Malta officially became a part of the British Empire, and was used as a shipping way-station and fleet headquarters. Malta’s position half-way between Gibraltar and the Suez-Canal proved to be its main asset during these years, and it was considered to be a most important stop on the way to India.

In the early 1930s, the British Mediterranean Fleet was moved to Alexandria as an economy measure. Malta played an important role during World War II. The bravery of the Maltese people in their long struggle against enemy attack moved H.M. King George VI to award the George Cross to Malta. A replica of the George Cross now appears in the upper hoist corner of the Flag of Malta, outlined in red.

After the war, Malta was granted independence on September 21, 1964. Malta initially retained Queen Elizabeth II as Queen of Malta, with a Governor-General exercising executive authority on her behalf. On December 13, 1974, however, it became a republic within the Commonwealth, with the President as head of state. A defence agreement signed soon after independence expired on March 31 1979, when the British military forces were withdrawn. Malta adopted an official policy of neutrality in 1980 and, for a brief period was a member of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. In 1989, Malta was the venue of an important summit between US President Bush and Soviet leader Gorbachev, which signaled the end of the Cold War.