|
|
Description and Holding Information
|
|
|
Appeals by Maltese to G.B. for Fulfillment of Annexation Conditions, 1811
|
|
The appeals of the nobility and people of Malta, to the justice, public faith, and policy of the British Government for the fulfillment of the
conditions upon which they gave up their island to the King; Namely their ancient rights, under a free constitution: n.a., viii+108p, London, pr. by Henry
Reynell, 1811. (While a few pages are in Italian, the local language, most of the text is in English. Lacks TOC & index. One of the principal
objections underlying this appeal was the fact that the British authorities, after gaining control of Malta from Napoleon’s forces in 1800, probably with the
best of will, abolished the new-fangled Napoleonic Code, and reinstituted the Code Rohan, the immediately previous legal regime. Then, the Treaty of
Amiens in 1802, which marked a breather in the Napoleonic Wars, briefly restored Malta to French rule. The Maltese protested renewed imposition of
French rule and petitioned for union with England. The war against Napoleon having been renewed, the British happily agreed, but again proposed that Malta
be governed under the Code Rohan. However, the Code Rohan itself was of recent vintage, having been imposed only in 1774. In the view of the authors
of this petition, if the British were going to “restore” anything, it should be the system of “real ancient rights” that had been supplanted by
successive Knight Hospitaller codes. The Maltese arguments, inter alia, provide a detailed description of the historical development of law on Malta in the
days prior to the arrival of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in 1530. Over the next three centuries, the relations between the native Maltese and
the Knights were distant. There was little social or economic contact. The lack of integration meant that the native citizens continued to yearn for
the return of their previous legal system, which was based on Roman law with an overlay of local law and custom. They had high hopes that the fresh
British regime would provide them with the opportunity to reverse three centuries of detested history. The print text of this title was scanned from
Lincoln’s Inn Library pamphlet volume CPC 18.)
|
|
|
Title:
The appeals of the nobility and people of Malta to the justice, public faith and policy of the British Government for the fulfilment of the conditions upon which they gave up their island to the King, namely, their ancient rights, under a free consitution.
|
|
|
OCLC Number:
681295914
|
|
|
|
|
|
Available Volumes
|
|
| Name | Fiche Count | Online | Paper Backup |
| Vol. 1 | | Yes | No |
|
|
|