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{{Short description|Maltese holiday commemorating the massacre of protestors by the British in 1919}}
{{Infobox holiday |
|holiday_name=Sette Giugno
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}}
'''Sette Giugno''' (from [[Italian language|Italian]] for "Seventh of June") is a [[Malta|Maltese]] national holiday celebrated annually on 7 June. It commemorates events which occurred on that day in 1919 when, following a series of riots by the Maltese population, British troops fired into the crowd, killing four people. This led to increased resistance to the colonial government and support for the [[Italian irredentism in Malta|pro-Italian irredentists]] that had challenged the [[Crown Colony of Malta|British presence on the island]].
==Historical setting==
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The cost of living increased dramatically after the war. Imports were limited, and as food became scarce prices rose; this made the fortune of farmers and merchants with surpluses to trade. The [[dockyard]] and government workers found that wage increases were not keeping up with the increase in the cost of food. The dockyard workers formed a union in 1916, and in 1917 organised a strike after being offered a 10% pay increase which was generally regarded as failing to keep up with the cost of living. Some segments of the society did well economically. There was a widespread belief amongst the populace that grain importers and flour millers were making excessive profits over the price of bread. Merchants controlling other commodities also made large profits from the war, in spite of price regulations.<ref>Blouet, p. 190</ref>
Political developments were also a fundamental cause of the uprising. The first meeting of the National Assembly, held on 25 February 1919, approved a resolution which reserved for Malta all the rights given to other nations by the [[Paris Peace Conference, 1919|Versailles peace conference]]; this would have meant independence from the [[British Empire]]. This resolution, tabled by the nationalist faction led by [[Enrico Mizzi|Dr. Enrico Mizzi]], was opposed to an original resolution by Dr. Filippo Sceberras<ref>Farrugia Randon, Robert, ''Sir Filippo Sceberras; His life and times
factions.<ref>Ganado, p. 216</ref>
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==The ''Sette Giugno''==
{{
{{Infobox civil conflict
A few days before the 7 June National Assembly meeting, the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] had informed Dr. Sceberras that the incoming governor for the islands, [[Lord Plumer]], was to study the situation and report to London with regards to the possibility of giving the Maltese a larger say in the administration of their country. The followers of Enrico Mizzi stated that the Imperial government could not be trusted. Resultantly, the two currents of thought were also reflected in the crowds outside. University students were mostly linked to the extremist camp, and these had staged a protest of their own on 16 May 1919. The police forces were threatening strikes, as were the postal employees.▼
| partof = the [[Revolutions of 1917–1923]]
| date = {{Start date|1919|6|7}}{{spaced en dash}}{{end date|1919|6|11}}<br>
'''Valletta Riots:'''<br>{{Start date|1919|6|7}}{{spaced en dash}}{{end date|1919|6|8}}<br>'''Sacking of Farrugia Factory, Ħamrun:'''<br>8 June 1919; at around 8:30pm<br>'''Sackings of mills, shops and police stations in Marsa, Żejtun, Luqa, Qormi and Rabat'''<br>{{Start date|1919|6|9}}{{spaced en dash}}{{Start date|1919|6|11}}
| place = Valletta (7–8 June);<br>sporadically until 11 June<br>{{flagicon|Malta|1898}} [[Crown Colony of Malta]]
| concessions = Newly arrived [[Governor of Malta|Governor]] [[Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer|Plumer]] meets with Maltese political representatives and in turn recommends to the Minister of the Colonies that the Maltese are fit to have a more responsible constitution. Way for Amery-Milner Constitution to be granted in 1921 is paved.
| causes = *Disgruntlement amongst dockyard worker's after handing of notices and firings
**Action to agitation by politician [[Enrico Mizzi]] and to a lesser extent, activist [[Manuel Dimech]], by 1914 already deported to [[Sicily (island)|Sicily]] to be later further deported and finally exiled to [[Alexandria, Egypt|Alexandria]]
**Further grievance of British dockyard workers having more pay and bonus rates than the Maltese workers.
*Ongoing National Assembly meetings{{efn|The Assembly members had asked for people to go to Valletta to observe and support the National Assembly's proceedings.}}
*General hunger in the [[Maltese Islands]]
*Change of University of Malta Senate by-laws adding a thesis requirement in addition to the two exams to the courses of Medicine, Law, and Theology.
| methods = *Ransacking of mills, the University and houses belonging to businessmen.
*Burning and/or lowering of British Flags.
| status =
| result = *''Status quo ante bellum'' except for concessions.
*Censorship re-introduced in the Maltese newspapers for several months after the riots.
| side1 = {{nowrap|{{flagicon image|Unofficial Flag of Malta (pre-1943).svg}} Maltese Protestors}}:<br>
*Drydock workers
*Maltese supporters of Italian irredentism
*University students (Law, Medicine and Theology)
| side2 = {{nowrap|{{flagicon image|Unofficial Flag of Malta (pre-1943).svg}} National Assembly Members}}:<br>
*Moderates
*Radicals
| side3 = {{nowrap|{{marines|United Kingdom|name=British Marines}}}}
[[Malta Police Force]]
| leadfigures1 = ''No centralised leadership''
| leadfigures2 = *Camillo Sceberras
*[[Enrico Mizzi]]
*[[Alfredo Caruana Gatto]]
*[[Joseph De Piro|Mons. Joseph De Piro]]
*Mons. Enrico Dandria
| leadfigures3 = *'''Governor of Malta'''<br>[[Herbert Plumer, 1st Viscount Plumer|Gov.Herbert Plumer]]{{efn|Arrived in Malta on 8 June}} <br>
*'''Lt. Gov. of Malta'''{{efn|No governor was present during the riots as a transitionary period was in place}}<br>[[William Charles Fleming Robertson|William C. F. Robertson]]
*Mjr. General W.C. Hunter-Blair
| units2 = Nil
| units3 = '''7 June:'''<br>
*198 Maltese policemen
*64 British soldiers, possibly Marines
'''8 June:'''
*unknown quantity of [[Royal Malta Artillery]] soldiers{{efn|The [[Royal Malta Artillery|RMA]] soldiers never took part in the conflict and simply onlooked.}}
*140 marines
| howmany1 = thousands of civilians
| howmany2 = around two hundred assemblymen
| howmany3 = 262 (7 June)
140 + RMA (8 June)
| casualties1 = 4 civilians dead as a direct result of the riots
hundreds wounded
| casualties2 = Nil
| casualties3 = 1 British soldier dead
1 wounded
▲}}A few days before the 7 June National Assembly meeting, the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] had informed Dr. Sceberras that the incoming governor for the islands, [[Lord Plumer]], was to study the situation and report to London with regards to the possibility of giving the Maltese a larger say in the administration of their country. The followers of Enrico Mizzi stated that the Imperial government could not be trusted. Resultantly, the two currents of thought were also reflected in the crowds outside. University students were mostly linked to the extremist camp, and these had staged a protest of their own on 16 May 1919. The police forces were threatening strikes, as were the postal employees.
On Saturday 7 June 1919 the National Assembly was to meet for the second time in the ''Giovine Malta'' building. The police had foreseen the possibility of unrest, and on 5 June asked for a number of soldiers to be posted in [[Auberge de Castille|Castille]]. As stated later by the Commission inquiring on 7 June uprisings, "
The first spark of unrest centred on the Maltese flag [[Defacement (flag)|defaced]]{{Ref_label|A|a|none}} with the Union Jack flying above the "
The crowd moved on to the meteorological offices, housed in a [[Royal Air Force]] turret. After breaking the glass panes, the mob entered the offices ransacking and destroying everything inside. Some individuals climbed onto the turret, removing the [[Union Jack]] and throwing it into the street. The crowd burned the flag along with furniture taken from the offices nearby.
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At that moment, as eyewitnesses reported, one of the soldiers shot a round into the crowd, with the rest of the troop following. The first victim of the uprising, Manwel Attard, fell in front of the Cassar Torregiani house. Other individuals were injured. Ġużè Bajada was hit near Strada Teatro, and fell on top of the Maltese flag he was carrying. The officer in charge began shouting for the firing to cease. Meanwhile, in the Chronicle offices, Lieutenant Shields ordered his men outside, since there was an evident smell of gas in the building. Shields feared making the soldiers exit the office one by one, since the crowd outside would certainly attack them; on the other hand, they could not remain inside. To clear a way out, Shields ordered a soldier to shoot low, away from the crowd. This shot hit Lorenzo Dyer, who tried to run away. Since the injury was serious, he was lifted by the crowd and carried to Palace square. During this initial uprising, three died and 50 were injured.
The proceedings in the National Assembly were interrupted as persons injured in the streets were brought inside. Some of the delegates left the buildings, while others ran to the balcony. The Assembly passed a quick motion in order to have a resolution to present to the Imperial government. Count [[Alfredo Caruana Gatto]] then addressed the crowds, asking them to restrain themselves from further violence. The Assembly then sent a delegation to the Lieutenant Governor, asking for the troops to be removed for the crowds to retreat. The Governor accepted, and Caruana Gatto addressed the crowd again, which complied and began to fall back.
Disturbances continued the next day, with crowds attacking [[Palazzo Ferreria|the palace of Colonel Francia]], who also owned a flour-milling machine. [[Royal Malta Artillery]] soldiers were used to protect Francia's house, but they were loath to use force against their own countrymen. The crowd forced its way in and threw furniture, silverware, and other objects outside. In the evening, 140 navy marines arrived, clearing the house and street of crowds. Carmelo Abela was in one of the side doorways of Francia's house, calling for his son. Two marines proceeded to arrest him, and when he resisted, a marine ran him through the stomach with a bayonet. Abela died on 16 June.<ref>Ganado, p. 227</ref>
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On 7 June 1986, the Sette Giugno monument was inaugurated at St George Square (Palace Square), Valletta. The Maltese Parliament declared the day to be one of the five national days of the island, on 21 March 1989, with the first official remembrance of the day occurring on 7 June 1989.
==Relocation of
Recently, following the renovation of St. George Square (Palace Square), the monument was removed from the square and kept stored for quite some time. Due to great public appeal against the storage of such a nationally important monument, it was recently placed in [[Hastings Gardens]], [[Valletta]].
On 3 December 2016, the monument was returned to St George's Square in Valletta.<ref>{{cite news|title=Sette Giugno monument back in St George's Square|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20161203/local/sette-giugno-monument-back-in-st-georges-square.632765|work=[[Times of Malta]]|date=December 3, 2016|access-date=December 6, 2016}}</ref> Following a public consultation,<ref>{{cite news|title=Where should the Sette Giugno monument be placed?|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20160603/local/where-should-the-sette-giugno-monument-be-placed.614205|work=[[Times of Malta]]|date=June 3, 2016|access-date=December 6, 2016}}</ref> the government decided to return it to the original place in front of the Palace.
==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|last1=Cauchi|first1=Jacqueline Azzopardi|last2=Knepper|first2=Paul|title=The Empire, the police, and the introduction of fingerprint technology in Malta|journal=Criminology & Criminal Justice|volume=9|issue=1|pages=78|date=February 1, 2009|publisher=Sage|location=London|doi=10.1177/1748895808099181|citeseerx=10.1.1.896.3771|s2cid=146525063|issn=1748-8958|oclc=746934116}}
*[http://www.holobooks.co.uk/MaltaItineraryChapter17.pdf Sette Giugno]
*Scicluna, Frank L. (January 2014). [http://ozmalta.com/wp-content/uploads/NEWS25.pdf Sette Giugno]. ''ozmalta.com''. Consulate of Malta in South Australia Newsletter. p. 8. Retrieved on October 12, 2016.
== See also ==
* [[Blood on the Crown]] (2021 film).
* Documentary in 4 parts by [[Public Broadcasting Services|Public Broadcasting Service's]] [[Television Malta]] in 2019 called 'Culhatt al Belt' (old Maltese spelling of ''Kulħadd għall-Belt!'', in English meaning "Everyone to Valletta!") from primary sources in the [[National Archives of Malta]] available freely on YouTube:
** Part 1 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCiZgWbCMUs&pp=ygUOY3VsaGF0IGFsIGJlbHQ%3D
** Part 2 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5QELEL4t6U&pp=ygUOY3VsaGF0IGFsIGJlbHQ%3D
** Part 3 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i-MessRvoc&pp=ygUOY3VsaGF0IGFsIGJlbHQ%3D
** Part 4 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En4Z-JqCx14&pp=ygUOY3VsaGF0IGFsIGJlbHQ%3D
==Notes==
{{
==Citations==
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==Bibliography==
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==External links==
* [http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20090605/local/sette-giugno-remembered Sette Giugno remembered] ''Times of Malta'' article on the Sette Giugno remembrance ceremony, 2009.
* [http://www.doi.gov.mt/en/press_releases/2009/06/Diskors%20sette%20giugno.pdf Speech by the deputy speaker of the Maltese Parliament] {{in lang|mt}}
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