Russian princes, emancipated slaves and Sicilian revolutionaries were among those who once sought refuge in Malta, documents exhibited at the National Archives show.
Reminiscent of contemporary times, the Romanovs landed here on April 20 of 1919, fleeing the Red Army in Russia. Prominent at the top of the list seeking clearance to enter the Grand Harbour is the Empress Maria Fyodorovna, mother of slain Nicholas II.
There was also her fourth child, the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna, and a number of Xenia’s own children – princes Feodor, Nikita, Dmitri, Rostislav and Vasili.
Prince Feliks Yusupov, who also landed here, was one of the conspirators who killed Grigori Rasputin – the self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the Russian royal family – in 1916.
He reportedly boasted about this act during the voyage from Crimea to Malta.
The Romanovs were not the only ones to flee the communist regime: that same week, another ship arrived carrying over 500 people, many of whom were White Russian refugees. They were joined by thousands of others within a few years.
The story of the Romanovs is one of several micro-stories that shaped Europe, and which is being told through 47 documents from 22 archives in nine countries at the Exiles, Migratory Flows and Solidarity exhibition, currently set up at the archives’ headquarters in Rabat.
Emancipated slaves
Connecting Europe, Africa and Asia, the Mediterranean has long acted as a trade route for goods of all kinds, including the highly lucrative slave trade.
In correspondence at the archives between the British Governor Richard More O’Ferrall and Colonial Secretary Henry Grey in 1848, the two discuss the shipment from Malta to Tripoli of a group of 12 emancipated slaves.
The 11 women and one man had been aboard a Turkish vessel bound from Tripoli to Constantinople which had been seized by the British at the Greek island of Zante.
They were sent to Malta and in what seems to be a repeat of history they were “allowed” to return to Tripoli in 1847, where slavery was not yet abolished.
O’Ferrall acknowledges that in future, similar circumstances, they should instead be sent to Tunis where there would be no chance of their being reclaimed as slaves.
Italian political thinkers
A few years before the correspondence about the emancipated slaves, Malta had become an important refuge for a number of Italian political thinkers and revolutionaries.
These did not draw as much empathy as the emancipated slaves had.
In 1841, the British Governor of Malta Sir Henry Bouverie informs the Colonial Secretary Lord Edward Stanley that a Sicilian official had demanded the expulsion of certain Sicilian refugees as they were “abusing the liberty of the press by publishing articles tending to excite revolt in the dominions of his Sicilian Majesty”.
According to the correspondence, there were two particular newspapers – the Aristide and Il Corriere Maltese – that should be censored as they were run by two such refugees.
Read more about these risorgimento refugees and others at the exhibition that will remain open until July 28 between 9am and 1pm from Monday to Friday, and also on Thursdays between 3pm and 6pm. This exhibition forms part of the project European Digital Treasures co-financed by the Creative European Programme of the European Union.
The index card of Willy Brandt - who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his efforts to strengthen cooperation in western Europe and achieve reconciliation between West Germany and Eastern Europe. Credit: National Archives of Norway.
The index card of Willy Brandt - who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his efforts to strengthen cooperation in western Europe and achieve reconciliation between West Germany and Eastern Europe. Credit: National Archives of Norway.
The exhibition also tells the story of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky’s sojourn in Norway. The breakdown of relations between him and Joseph Stalin emerging leader of the Soviet Union, resulted in permanent exile for him. Here he is seen enjoying the summer by the seaside in the Southern part of Norway. Credit: National Archives of Norway – Regional State Archives in Kristiansand