Some of the letters appearing in the media on the French period tempt me to heed Thomas Gray’s words: where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise. On the other hand, having followed academic research, I cannot help myself righting so many myths and falsehoods which are still propped up, wittingly or unwittingly, by people who opt to put pen to paper before accessing documented knowledge. A case in point is the contribution by Charles Attard about the memory of true patriots (The Sunday Times of Malta, July 26).

Allow me to address two points worthy of some comment:

During the 19th century, authors and historians referred to the countryside uprising of September 2, 1798 in Mdina as it was: the peasants’ revolt.

These included Barone Azzopardi describing it as the rivoluzione della campagna in 1836 and Gaetano Gauci as the ribellione dè contadini in 1899, to mention examples from two published titles.

In 1907, at the height of the language question, historian Alfredo Mifsud preferred to call it a Maltese insurrection to give the 1798 event a higher degree of nationalism while defending Italianate identity against British hegemony.

Various sources confirm that about 40 per cent of the Maltese population in 1798 did not revolt as they were living in the harbour cities.

The French arrival was supported by thousands of Maltese, including Malta’s foremost patriot and linguist Mikiel Anton Vassalli.

Sixty-eight local administrators and two French officials planned to usher the islands into the modern world. Public education was given priority, while the Church was invited to use St John’s Cathedral in Valletta.

Secularisation was resisted by traditional privileged forces, including countryside traders and ecclesiastics. Malta had to wait at least another century before new ‘democratic’ concepts became a reality. May I ask: who are the true patriots – the Jacobins or the counter-rebels? A monument to all would honour the memory of those who lost their lives for the causes they believed in.

As regards comparisons between Napoleon Bonaparte and World War II Axis leaders Hitler and Mussolini, your contributor should read some serious biographies before forwarding any opinions.

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