MATSEC SEC History cheat sheet

History (MATSEC SEC syllabus content domains not enumerated in source)

• The MATSEC SEC History syllabus is organised chronologically and thematically: prehistory and the ancient Mediterranean world, the medieval period, the early modern period (including the Order of St John in Malta, 1530–1798), the British period (1800–1964), and independent Malta (1964 to the present), with a parallel strand on historical skills and source analysis.

• Maltese prehistory is dated by pottery typology: Għar Dalam phase (c. 5200–4500 BC), Grey Skorba, Red Skorba, Żebbuġ, Mġarr, Ġgantija (c. 3600–3000 BC), Saflieni, Tarxien Cemetery, Borġ in-Nadur and Baħrija phases; the temples are UNESCO World Heritage since 1980.

• Key prehistoric monuments: Ġgantija temples on Gozo (among the world's oldest free-standing stone structures), Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum (underground necropolis, Paola), Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra (Qrendi), Tarxien Temples, and the Xagħra Stone Circle; the 'Sleeping Lady' figurine comes from the Hypogeum.

• Classical and medieval sequence: Phoenician and Carthaginian trading posts, Roman rule from 218 BC (incorporation into Sicilia), Byzantine period, Arab conquest c. 870, Norman conquest under Count Roger I in 1091, then Swabian, Angevin, Aragonese and Castilian rule; the Maltese nobility and the Università developed under these rulers.

• The Order of St John ruled Malta 1530–1798 after Charles V granted the islands; the Great Siege of 1565 (Ottoman forces under Dragut and Mustafa Pasha versus Grand Master Jean de la Valette) ended in an Ottoman withdrawal, and Valletta was founded in 1566.

• British Malta: occupation in 1800 after the Maltese uprising against the French (1798–1800), formal cession by the Treaty of Paris 1814, the 1921 self-government constitution, the 1933–39 constitutional crises, the award of the George Cross in 1942, the 1947 constitution restoring self-government, and independence on 21 September 1964.

• Post-independence milestones: Malta became a republic on 13 December 1974, closed the British defence base on 31 March 1979 (Freedom Day), joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, and adopted the euro on 1 January 2008.

• Source skills tested: distinguishing primary from secondary sources, assessing provenance, bias and purpose, corroborating two sources, and evaluating reliability in the context of a specific enquiry question rather than in the abstract.