William Zammit | Deep down, humanity changes very little

Could you tell us about your trajectory as a writer or researcher?

My research career goes back a good thirty years when I had my first studies published. Since then, I have published five books and a large number of academic papers and conference presentations, as well as co-authoring and editing other monographs and serials. My research interests include all form of communication, whether of a written, spoken or a visual nature, particularly during the period 1600 to 1800. As such, my academic publications vary from studies on the availability and circulation of prohibited literature to Carnival as a means of communicating power. In 2008, I published my first substantial book, Printing in Malta: 1642-1839: Its Cultural Role from Inception to Freedom of the Press. I have also specialized in Melitensia, namely all publications which in any way are related to the Maltese islands.

What was the process of crafting your award-winning book like?

My award-winning book was really born out of coincidence, as is sometimes the case in academia. While undertaking research in the Vatican archives, I came across new and original information regarding the little-studied attempt at slave rebellion in Malta in 1749. The Vatican archives still hold the original correspondence of the Inquisitors of Malta, and this was to provide the primary source material for my book. Other local and foreign sources were identified and included in my study. Particularly time-consuming was the identification of the large number of books, pamphlets and newspaper reports about the Plot that were published during or shortly after the event. One such report was discovered in a newspaper published in 1750, as far away as Peru. The visual element in this book is also particularly important: This mainly consists of the collection of 19 coloured drawings showing different episodes from the 1749 Plot and which constitutes an invaluable primary source, complementing the written sources. My discovery of an ex-voto painting in the Marian sanctuary of Messina and which also relates to the Plot, was a highlight.

How did it feel to win the National Book Prize in 2023?

One, of course, feels that one’s work and efforts are recognized. Notwithstanding many constraints, an amazing quantity of Malta-related research gets published annually. Moreover, much of it is of high quality, which - given the right exposure and marketing - would prove of interest on an international level. This is indeed something which our research and publishing communities, I feel, sorely needs. The Malta National Book Prize is thus always highly competitive, and winning certainly gives a great deal of satisfaction, even more so when the quality of some of the competing publications is indeed very high.

Who are some of your favourite Maltese authors working today?

It is a real pleasure and satisfaction to see budding researchers, but also Maltese writers of fiction and poetry who are contributing to the enrichment of our country’s publishing scene. Particularly healthy in this respect is the increasing number of seasoned female scholars. These include such favorite ones of mine as, among other, Prof. Vick-Ann Cremona, Dr Joan Abela and Dr Christine Muscat, all of whom have researched and published on areas which up till a few years ago were practically untouched.

What does 'Slavery, Treason And Blood: The 1749 Plot Of The Slaves In Malta' reveal about the historical context of Malta in the 18th century and the significance of the slave revolt within that specific societal backdrop?

The book goes well beyond the specifics of the 1749 Plot and its failure. Eighteenth-Century Maltese society was a highly cosmopolitan one, with a sizable non-Catholic and unfree slave community. The nature of the interaction between the free and the unfree, the Catholic and the Muslim and the privileged versus the oppressed comes out, I hope, clearly at least in the opening chapters of the book. In that context I also tried to explore the typology, nature and characteristics of protest and rebellion in early modern Malta: not just of the slave community bit also of the Maltese themselves. Unless one opts for a purely factual account of such an event, providing such a context for what took place in 1749, I feel, was indispensable.

On another level, the reactions of the Maltese, as well as those of the local and foreign power-wielding institutions, were worth studying. An attempt at overthrowing not just a secular ruler, but also an entire religion and culture by an oppressed minority, and which would result in a terrible retribution on the plotters. Then, of course there is the diplomatic behind-the-scenes interplay going on and which effectively results in the main organizer of the Plot being released scot-free. Overall, it’s a very moving story, one full of emotions, and which, I think, reflects how, deep down, humanity changes very little indeed.

What’s next for you?

My various in-the-pipeline projects include more work on Melitensia and probably another spine-chilling book on crime in early modern Malta. The latter will be massively interesting; well at least that’s what all of us writers (and researchers) hope, dream and, at times, wishful think about!

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In collaboration with the National Book Council, MaltaToday will be interviewing the winners of the 2023 National Book Prize and Terramaxka Prize for children and young adults. More information regarding the awards can be found at ktieb.org.mt/