Maltese Military History -- Forts

For this blog project, I wanted to look into the aspects of Maltese history that truly define the island and its culture, particularly in ways that still persist today.  Arguably the most visible reminder of Malta’s history are the physical fortifications that continue to dominate the shoreline of Valletta’s Grand Harbor.  Throughout the island’s history, its importance as a strategic naval base and as a heavily fortified port reappear again and again as reasons why Malta is relevant to the wider historical narrative.  

Starting as far back as the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage in the third century BCE, historical accounts place Malta as an important strategic prize, and ruins near the modern city of Mdina indicate that forts and walled cities have existed on the island since then — more than 2000 years ago.  Through Byzantine, Arab, and Norman rule, the rulers of Malta continued to fortify the cities and natural harbors of the entire archipelago until the Knights Hospitaller finished the massive and dominating system of forts around the Grand Harbor that still exist today in the 16th century.  The Great Siege of Malta in 1565 revolved around these forts and was a decisive engagement in the centuries-long struggle between Christian and Muslim factions for control of the Mediterranean.  

As we drove into Valletta yesterday, I was struck by how much I was surprised by the formidable size and construction of the system of forts along the waterfront.  I had previously read about how fortified the harbor is, but I instinctively felt that anyone trying to directly assault those forts would be in for an almost definitive death sentence.  In my future engagement with Maltese history, I hope to learn more about how people in Malta view the island’s history and whether the huge visibility of Valletta’s military heritage colors the way locals view the city.  

-Russell

Malta Temples Preliminary Research

Some of the temples found on Malta are some of the earliest built constructions in the world. They date back as far as 3500 - 2500 BC. Maltese folklore suggests that these temples were all built by giants because of their size and the period of time in which they were built.

There are over fifty known temples found on the island of Malta. Some of the temples are essentially calendars that make use of the summer and winter solstice as well as the spring and fall equinox. The temple known as the Mnajdra temple has a slit above different chambers which allows light to pas through on these specific days in order to produce and image. These temples are evidence that people of this prehistoric time had an enough understanding of the sun to use it to create a calendar.

Maltese Food - Preliminary Research

Whilst in Malta, I’m particularly interested in looking into Maltese food and the culture/significance
behind it.  I think this is really interesting because while food is obviously delicious, it also has
a huge cultural importance and can be super telling of a culture’s history.  

In the twentieth century, Malta was under French and than British rule; it also has very strong
cultural influences from Spain and Sicily.  That being said, let’s dive into the food! Malta is
generally known for its savoury dishes, and fish is a very popular dish there, due to its
location in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.  Fish is usually best to get from a traditional
fish market, like the Marsaxlokk fish market, which serves up seasonal fishes. However,
rabbit, beef, and pork are also rather popular in traditional Maltese cuisine.  

Outside influences are still very apparent throughout Maltese dishes; one popular example
of the French influence on Malta is Kapunata, which is a Maltese version of ratatouille.  Malta
also has their own version of the French dish bouillabaisse, which is called aljotta and is a
herby, garlic-filled fish broth. Another example of cultural influence Malta is the kannolis,
crunchy pastries with sweet filling, that closely resembles the cannolis you’d find in Sicily.

Malta also has some fairly unique dishes.  One example is stuffat tal-fenek, which is
stewed rabbit; this dish has big cultural significance because it is symbolic of the hunting
restrictions imposed by the Knights of St. John.

Overall, Maltese cuisine comes from a wide variety of other Mediterranean
cultures, and I’m excited to try all the different flavors of Malta!

Current Topics in Maltese Economics - Preliminary Research

The unique geographical features and positioning of Malta and a recent over-indulgence in NPR’s Planet Money has motivated me to select the Maltese economy as the focus for the non-technical portion of my ICEX experience. Of course the economy of any nation is a broad and complex subject, so as we arrive in the country I will be looking for opportunities to narrow the scope to a more specific story that I can explore in person. During my preliminary research I found a couple areas of interest to use as a jumping off point in the meantime.

Malta’s inherent limitations on space and natural resources makes complete subsistence unrealistic, so trade is critical to the Maltese economy. Malta satisfies about three quarters of their food and fresh water needs by import. Likewise, although they are in the process of updating their electrical grid and attempting to meet EU targets for renewable energy, they are still reliant almost entirely on imported oil. Conversely, their biggest sources of GDP are in retail, service, and administrative industries.

In recent years two of the most emphasized industries have been online gaming (primarily gambling) and Information Communication and Technology (ICT). Both industries are well suited for the nation as they more reliant on a skilled workforce than physical resources and real estate. ICT has become a major focus for Malta for these reasons, and they’ve made significant political and economic investments in an effort to make Malta a more digitally advanced nation. Meanwhile online gambling has become a boon for the Maltese economy, flourishing in recent years due to the overall low cost of operating out of Malta. However Malta’s success in this area is not uncontroversial, as they face accusations of having lax regulations allowing money laundering and tax evasion. Furthermore, proposed EU tax reforms threaten to increase taxation on all digital companies in the EU and introduce new rules and regulations that could jeopardize Malta’s position as the most appealing destination for online gaming companies.

I plan to try and learn more about both of these topics during my stay in Malta. In particular I curious to see how many of the locals perceive their own economy, and how they have personally felt the effects of these influences within their communities.

- Kolton Yager

Knights of Malta - Preliminary Research

The Knights of Malta or the Knights Hospitaller is the oldest surviving Catholic military order. It arose in the eleventh century in Jerusalem when they established a hospital for pilgrims and refugees. The  Knights Hospitaller have been officially recognized by the Catholic church since 1133. They moved to Rhodes in 1309, but were forced to leave in 1522 after it was invaded by the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

The Knights Hospitaller moved to Malta in 1530. In Malta, they initially fended off attacks from the Ottoman Empire, then took on the role of policing the Mediterranean (especially from the Muslim Barbary pirates). In this capacity, they brought resources and wealth to the island. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Malta on his way to Egypt, permanently dispersing the knights throughout Europe.

Today, though only 38 maintain the traditional practices, thousands of people claim a secular connection to the order. The Knights Hospitallar continue their commitment to service through humanitarian projects throughout the world.

Sources:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07477a.htm
https://www.orderofmalta.int/sovereign-order-of-malta/knights-of-malta/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Hospitaller#Knights_of_Malta
https://www.maltauncovered.com/malta-history/knights-of-malta/

AUV Training/Visit to HMC

Hi!

The school year is slowly coming to an end here at Mudd, which is pretty exciting because it means we can all (finally) begin working full time on our research!  We have all been working on our parts of the project throughout the semester, while also getting to know how to operate the Iver AUV.  A couple weeks ago, our fellow ICEX teammates from Cal Poly SLO came down to Harvey Mudd for the weekend to learn more about operating the AUV.  We first tested the AUV in the lab, doing drive by wire tests and looking at some sonar data.  Then, we took the Iver out the Bernard Field Station and ran dive and surface missions with and without sonar.

Unfortunately, some buoys in the middle of the lake kept us from getting a full dive mission in, but overall the deployments were pretty successful!  After lots of good work with the Iver, we all went out to dinner to bond some more and took some pretty great photos (featuring jazz hands).

The next morning, we all went out to breakfast, and then met up with Ambereen to talk about the history and culture of Malta more.  I think we are all really excited to learn more about Maltese culture!

Overall, it was a super fun weekend; can't wait to see everyone again in Malta!

AUV Training at Harvey Mudd College

Hello!

 This last weekend, Cal Poly students traveled to Harvey Mudd College (HMC) to meet with HMC team members and participate in AUV training. We started the weekend off with some bonding experience over lunch. Over the course of the meal we learned of each others interests and aspirations for the project as well as interests outside of school. After lunch, the HMC students were kind enough to show us the AUV and how it operated. We were each able to individually perform a drive by wire test before taking the AUV out for a test drive. Using a previous mission plan the HMC students created, we were able to perform an above water mission, an above water with sonar mission, and an underwater sonar mission. It took myself and my other Cal Poly team members a couple of attempts to get the hang of the AUV steering. After the mission, we all got to enjoy a nice dinner and some more bonding experience. After breakfast the following morning, Ambereen helped us understand the culture of Malta better as well as help us decide on cultural research topics for the trip. Overall, this trip definitely helped with the cohesion of the team and was a fun and knowledgable experience.