The centenary of the Sette Giugno riots was a milestone in Malta’s political history, giving the island its Legislative Assembly, which later became the modern-day parliament.

In commemoration of the event, Heritage Malta, in collaboration with the National Archives, is currently holding an exhibition entitled Culhat al Belt: 1919-2019.

The context of the exhibition is the end of World War I – a time of great expectations and also of great disillusions. A new philosophy of freedom and national self-determination was pushing for considerable changes. Britain began to deal with increasing pressure for self-government from colonised territories. Although it was clear that the empire had to be reformed to reflect the new 20th-century requirements in order to be sustainable, Britain wanted to ensure that it did not endanger in any way the imperial interests, while also retaining final ultimate power.

Meanwhile, colonialism had started turning full circle. Europeans had conquered most of the globe with the excuse of spreading Western culture, supposedly superior to that of the conquered territories. This was in fact so successful that conquered territories adopted Western values and principles such as self-determination and human rights. During the 20th century, they started claiming equality with their conquerors in the name of those very same values.

This new movement also reached Maltese shores. An increasing sense of patriotism among the Maltese bred a need for more political rights and a demand for a self-government Constitution. Yet the British rulers were not ready to let go of their ‘fortress island’ that easily.

Mass protests were held in Valletta while Maltese leaders during a National Assembly discussed a new Constitution for Malta.

Revolutionary messages which urged people to claim their rights, the arrest and court martial of leading figure Enrico Mizzi, censorship of the press, the strike and protests of university students, a strong feeling of exploitation and disregard by the foreign authorities, the different treatment and salaries between Maltese and English workers in the dockyard, dismissals from the dockyard, the great scarcity and inflated prices for essential foodstuffs, such as bread, and the imposition of new taxes were bringing the Maltese to a boiling point.

As Giuseppe Mizzi had observed in the newspaper Malta following the first meeting of the Assemblea of February 25, 1919, “only a spark is required for the fire to break out”.

Heritage Malta’s exhibition follows the intriguing factors which eventually led to the revolt of the Maltese people against the British rulers and those considered as their sympathisers on June 7, 1919. It also highlights some of the consequences which emerged once this decisive action was taken.

The exhibition is being held at the Parliament building in Valletta until August 31, after which it will move to the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta until the end of the year.