Malta Independence Day marks on September 21 as the day in 1964 when Malta gained independence from Great Britain. The day is called 'Jum 1-Indipendenza'.
History of Malta's Independence Day
Malta's position in the Mediterranean Sea has made it a strategically vital site from ancient times, with the islands changing from one monarch to the next over the centuries.
In 1800, the British helped Malta remove its occupying French soldiers, and the Maltese people requested to become a sovereign nation inside the British Empire. In 1815, the Treaty of Paris recognised this.
As a consequence of Malta's courageous battle against the Italian and German armies during World War II, British King George VI promised that self-government would be restored at the end of the war if the Maltese people desired it, which was granted in 1947.
The drive for independence gathered traction after self-rule was given, and despite a few false starts, including a close vote that would have left Malta part of the United Kingdom, independence was ultimately granted on September 21, 1964.
Ten years later, Malta became a republic.
