After France expelled the Hospitallers and occupied Malta in 1798, an attempt was made to introduce French into Maltese society and it became an official language, but this ceased after France surrendered Malta to the British in 1800. At the time, the islands were regarded by many as part of Italy, with British Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball referring to Malta's capital Valletta as "the most tranquill City in Italy." During the 19th century, British colonial authorities introduced English on the islands, resulting in disagreements between those who favoured English and those who favoured Italian. This dispute became known as the Language Question.