page_title: Malta Protectorate
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Malta Protectorate / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: Rear-Admiral Alexander John Ball (1757-1809) oil on canvas 127 x 101.6 cm
context_page_description: Malta Protectorate was the political term for Malta when it was officially part of the Kingdom of Sicily but under British protection. This protectorate happened between the capitulation of the French forces in Malta in 1800 and the transformation of the islands to a Crown colony in 1813.
context_section_description: During the Maltese uprising against the French, the Maltese people formed a National Assembly as a provisional government. Messengers were sent to the British fleet in Sicily for help, and a British convoy consisting of 13 battered ships under Captain Sir James Saumarez appeared off the island in late September 1798. In October Sir Alexander Ball arrived in Malta, and a year later he was appointed as Civil Commissioner.
  The French garrison under General Vaubois had been driven to Valletta, and finally surrendered on 4 September 1800. Malta therefore became a British Protectorate. In August 1801, the Civil Commissioner, Charles Cameron, appointed Emmanuel Vitale as Governor of Gozo instead of Saverio Cassar. This effectively brought an end to Gozo's independence as la Nazione Gozitana.
  Under the terms of the 1802 Treaty of Amiens, Britain was supposed to evacuate the islands, but failed to keep this obligation — one of several mutual cases of non-adherence to the treaty, which eventually led to its collapse and the resumption of war between Britain and France.
caption: Sir Alexander Ball, Civil Commissioner of Malta 1799-1801 and 1802-1809
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Rear-Admiral Alexander John Ball (1757-1809) \n*oil on canvas \n*127 x 101.6 cm \n*1805-1809", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "26", "Image YResolution": "26", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "GIMP 2.6.12", "Image DateTime": "2012:07:12 00:41:33", "Image Artist": "Henry William Pickersgill", "Image Copyright": "http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/14002.html", "Image ExifOffset": "358", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "494", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6210", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1001", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1280"}