Malta Protectorate

The Malta Protectorate was the political arrangement under which Malta was governed as a British protectorate between 1800 and 1813. French forces had occupied the islands in 1798, and the Maltese rose against them with British and Neapolitan support. The French garrison surrendered on 4 September 1800, and Britain took control while recognising Maltese institutions. A National Assembly and a series of civil commissioners ran the islands from Valletta, and the Declaration of Rights of 1802 set out the relationship between the inhabitants and the British crown. Malta's position was confirmed by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, though war soon resumed, and the islands became an important naval base during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1813 the protectorate was transformed into the Crown Colony of Malta, and the Treaty of Paris of 1814 formally assigned the islands to Britain. Valletta remained the capital and the centre of administration throughout the period.