Emigration from Malta or the Maltese diaspora consists of Maltese people and their lineal descendants who emigrated from Malta. It was an important demographic phenomenon throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, leading to the creation of large diasporas concentrated in English-speaking countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
History
Nineteenth century
Mass emigration picked up in the 19th century. Migration was initially to North African countries (particularly Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt); later Maltese migrants headed towards the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia. There only traces left of the Maltese communities in North Africa, most of them having been displaced, after the rise of independence movements, to places like Marseille, the United Kingdom or Australia.
Malta has always been a maritime nation and for centuries, there has been extensive interaction between Maltese sailors and fishermen and their counterparts around the Mediterranean and into the Atlantic Ocean. More significantly, by the mid-19th century the Maltese already had a long history of migration to various places, including Egypt, Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria, Cyprus, the Ionian Islands, Greece, Sicily and Lampedusa. Intermarriage with other nationals (especially Italians and Sicilians) was not uncommon. Migrants would periodically return to Malta, bringing with them new customs and traditions that over time have been absorbed into mainstream Maltese culture.
In 1842, the total number of Maltese emigrants was estimated at 20,000, or 15 percent of the population of Malta. These numbers increased steadily throughout the 19th century. However, these early migration patterns were unstable and repatriation occurred frequently. For example, many Maltese emigrants rushed back to their homeland due to an outbreak of plague in Egypt in 1835 and again in 1840 during the Anglo-Egyptian crisis (see: London Straits Convention).Mgr. Philip Calleja, Statistics and History of Maltese Migration Movements, Study Session I of the Maltese Migrants' Convention (Malta), 1969. According to Cassar Pullicino: in spite of a certain amount of isolation there must have been a measure of adaptation by Maltese emigrants to local customs, food and dress. Besides, the frequent comings and goings of the Maltese in the 19th century must have facilitated the assimilation of at least some folklore material from North Africa that still needs to be identified.J. Cassar Pullicino, "Determining the Semitic Element in Maltese Folklore", in Studies in Maltese Folklore, Malta University Press (1992), pp. 73–4.
In the nineteenth century, most migration from Malta was to North Africa (particularly Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt), although rates of return migration to Malta were high. Nonetheless, Maltese communities formed in these regions. By 1900, for example, British consular estimates suggest that there were 15,326 Maltese in Tunisia. There is little trace left of the Maltese communities in North Africa, most of them having been displaced, after the rise of independence movements, to places like Marseille, the United Kingdom or Australia. In the years preceding Tunisia's declaration of independence in 1956, most of the Maltese community left the country to settle in Marseille, France, which retains the biggest Maltese community in France.
NUMBER OF MALTESE EMIGRANTS IN N. AFRICASource: Mgr. Philip Calleja, Statistics and History of Maltese Migration Movements, Study Session I of the Maltese Migrants' Convention (Malta), 1969. Country Year – 1842 Year – 1865 Year – 1880s Algeria (Algiers, Philipville and Bône) 5,000 10,000 15,000 Tunisia (Tunis) 3,000 7,000 11,000 Egypt 2,000 5,000 7,000
Twentieth century
Malta experienced significant emigration as a result of the collapse of a construction boom in 1907 and after World War II, when the birth rate increased significantly, but in the twentieth century most emigrants went to destinations in the New World, particularly the United States and Australia.
There was heavy migration from Malta in the early 20th century and again after World War II until the early 1980s; however the destinations of choice during this period tended to be more distant, English-speaking countries rather than the traditional, Mediterranean littoral. Over 10,000 Maltese settled in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States between 1918 and 1920, followed by another 90,000 – or 30 percent of the population of Malta – between 1948 and 1967. By 1996, the net emigration from Malta during the 20th century exceeded 120,000, or 33.5% of the population of Malta.
From 1919 to the 1920s, British colonial authorities in Malta spoke favourably about Maltese emigration to Palestine, specifically to Haifa, Jerusalem and the area around Mount Carmel. These efforts were supported by Governor of Malta Lord Methuen, Admiral Somerset Gough-Calthorpe and English Catholic Archbishop Francis Bourne, but the idea was ultimately unsuccessful as the British offered no financial incentives, support for the project in Malta was limited and emigration to Palestine was increasingly dominated by Zionism.
After World War II, Malta's Emigration Department would assist emigrants with the cost of their travel. Between 1948 and 1967, 30 per cent of the population emigrated. Between 1946 and the late 1970s, over 140,000 people left Malta on the assisted passage scheme, with 57.6 per cent migrating to Australia, 22 per cent to the United Kingdom, 13 per cent to Canada and 7 per cent to the United States. (See also Maltese Australians; Maltese people in the United Kingdom; Maltese in France; and Maltese in Greece).
Emigration dropped dramatically after the mid-1970's and has since ceased to be a social phenomenon of significance. Familiarity with the English language assisted Maltese migrants to assimilate in the host countries and the incidence of intermarriage with local foreigners is reputedly higher among Maltese emigrants than other ethnic communities. Extensive interaction between Maltese emigrants in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States and their relatives in Malta, has brought Maltese culture closer to the English speaking world. Many Maltese emigrants and second generation Maltese Australians, Maltese Americans and Maltese Canadians returned to their homeland in the 1990s and recent years have seen an increase in the number of foreign expatriates moving to Malta, especially British retirees.
In 1995, a section of Toronto's Junction neighborhood was given the name "Malta Village" in recognition of the strong Maltese community that remains to this day. It is believed to be the largest Maltese community in North America.
SUMMARY OF MALTESE MIGRATION PATTERNS (1946–1996) Country To From Net migration Return % Australia 86,787 17,847 68,940 21.56 Canada 19,792 4,798 14,997 24.24 UK 31,489 12,659 18,830 40.20 U.S.A. 11,601 2,580 9,021 22.24 Other 1,647 907 740 55.07 Total 155,060 39,087 115,973 25.21
Twenty-first century
46,998 Maltese-born residents were recorded by the 2001 Australian Census, 30,178 by the 2001 UK Census, 9,525 by the 2001 Canadian Census and 9,080 by the 2000 United States census.
Since Malta joined the EU in 2004 expatriate communities emerged in a number of European countries particularly in Belgium and Luxembourg. At the same time, Malta is becoming more and more attractive for communities of immigrants, both from Western and Northern Europe (Italians, British Maltese and French Maltese) and from Eastern Europe (Bulgarians, Serbians and Maltese Greeks).
Following the Convention for Maltese Living Abroad in 2010, the Federation of Maltese Living Abroad (FMLA) was formally established, with representatives from various countries. In 2011, the Council for Maltese Living Abroad was set up. The Council for Maltese Living Abroad is made up of representatives of Maltese communities as well as experts in the field of migration and it was set up with the approval of the House of Representatives. The council is represented by 5 experts from Australia, Canada, UK, Europe and Malta and council members from Australia, USA, Canada, Europe and Malta. The council will also strive to set up a Maltese Cultural Institute.
Maltese diaspora communities
Australia
According to the 2011 Australian census, there were 163,990 people of Maltese descent and 41,274 Maltese-born people living in Australia; these numbers represented a decline of 5.6% from the 2006 census. The largest Maltese-Australian community in Australia is located in the state of Victoria, numbering at approximately 19,730 people.
The first Maltese to arrive in Australia was possibly inmate John Pace in June 1790, though it is not clear if he was sent from Malta or if he was Maltese at all. The first certain Maltese to arrive in Australia were convicts around 1810. The first Maltese immigrant (as opposed to convict or bonded servant) is thought to have been Antonio Azzopardi who arrived in 1838. Many attempts were made at organised mass migration throughout the 19th century but it was only in 1883 the first group of 70 labourers (and nine stowaways) arrived. The Australian government's 1901 Immigration Restriction Act kept the number of Maltese arrivals low in the early 20th century. Group and mass migration gradually picked up, first, to Queensland and, after World War I, to Sydney whose automobile industry drew many. A quota system for Maltese immigrants was introduced in 1920, but British pressure resulted in the quota being raised in 1923 and 395 Malta-born people lived in Victoria by 1933. While most emigrated to Australia from Malta, a number came from the United Kingdom where they had settled after having been expelled from Egypt, as holders of British passports, during the Suez Crisis. Maltese immigration to Australia reached its peak during the 1960s. The majority of Maltese immigrants reside in Melbourne's western suburbs of Sunshine (especially on Glengala Rd) and St Albans and in Sydney's western suburbs of Greystanes and Horsley Park. The Maltese, as in their home country, are predominantly Roman Catholic.
259 Maltese boys and 51 Maltese girls were sent alone to Catholic institutions in Western and South Australia between 1950 and 1965, following negotiations between the Maltese and Western Australian governments which had started in 1928 when Perth-based Maltese priest Father Raphael Pace urged the Christian Brothers to include Maltese children in its emerging migration scheme. Instead of receiving an education, many of them were exploited for building works and were never scholarised in English, while also forgetting their own Maltese language.
Belgium Before 2003, the Maltese in Belgium were mostly people married to Belgians who had emigrated to the country or Maltese diplomats. In 2003 the employment of Maltese nationals with the European Union (EU) started in earnest in view of Malta's membership of the organisation. Most of the Maltese are in Belgium because of their employment with the EU. It is in fact estimated that of the 324 Maltese employed with the EU in 2010, around 250 worked in Belgium. This is why they consider themselves to expatriates rather than emigrants as was the case with the Maltese Diaspora in the demographic movements of previous generations. This also explains why most Maltese in Belgium either live in the Brussels-Capital Region or the municipalities bordering this region, in the area in and around the Brussels Ring. The 2008 statistics indicate a community that's more or less evenly balanced between the sexes and whose members are predominantly in the 25-40 age groups.
Brazil