With reference to Henry Frendo’s letter (The Sunday Times, December 5), I wish to clarify that the “octogenarian” remarks made in my November 28 reaction to Joe Bugeja’s ‘The role of British colonialism in Malta’ (November 14) were never intended to criticise the author’s advanced age but only his overtly patronising conclusion that he knew better than the rest of us because of his age.

Prof. Frendo claims that I was hoist by my own petard for “roundly dismissing critics of colonialism as yet another stereotypical rant of our old-fashioned anti-British brigade”. I beg to differ.

From his tone, he seems to have been irked by my statement. Yet in all sincerity, I never thought of him, or any member of academia at that, as belonging to that category. I consider Prof. Frendo as the country’s foremost and perhaps bravest scholar who valiantly delved into a period of our history which remains so explosive despite the passage of time and the changing world and which many, especially members of our academia, prefer to steer away from.

To me, those pertaining to the anti-British brigade are not our academics or amateur historians but all those who for one reason or another, mostly due to their personal passion and political antipathy, write about our colonial past without paying any attention to historical truth. I am all for unreserved academic criticism and that was the whole point of my reaction to Mr Bugeja’s article.

With regard to Britain “almost bartering” these islands to Italy, one should clearly differentiate between a country’s official policy and mere suggestions made by individuals even if they held high office, groups or lobbies. Indeed, there were high-powered British politicians who in the 1930s explored all possible ways at keeping Italy out of the war, like Lord Halifax, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, and senior members of the armed forces, but none of their suggestions were ever taken on board by the government, let alone acted upon.

There was an even stronger lobby to keep Malta British and this included the Royal Navy. Insisting otherwise would be erroneous and historically untrue.

As for Nerik Mizzi’s recommendation that British Malta be exchanged with Italian Eritrea, made early in his political career, this can only be judged within the context of the time and political circumstances of the era devoid of modern partisan-political connotations.

I fully agree that any form of colonialism is wrong and condemnable. No state, race, group or class has any right to colonise other people or territories, whether politically, economically or militarily. Yet, our island was colonised up to recent times and we have to make peace with that.

Throughout this very long history there were good and bad times for us, and whenever we reminisce, speak or write about it let us all be true to the facts. History is what it is – the study of the past. This ought to be presented as it happened and not through any rose-tinted spectacles – naturally, warts and all – but no passions, distortions or invention, please!