Dr. Michael Refalo LL.D., will deliver the talk “The Venial Sins of the Common People. Petty Offences and other Misdemeanours on Gozo in the late Nineteenth Century” on Friday, the 25th of March 2011 at 8.00 p.m. at the premises of the “Circolo Gozitano,” 6 Sir Adrian Dingli Street, in Victoria.

The talk will concentrate upon the minor infractions reported by the police on Gozo during the last decade of the nineteenth century. It will give examples of such offences, the locality where these occurred, and the weapons used in the case of offences against the person. The considerable number and variety of such reports will show that beneath the peaceful image of the island of Gozo that is so often presented, many of the people were resistant to attempts at imposing order and discipline. These instances will provide tentative analytical considerations which could serve as bases for a more detailed analysis of the sources.

The discussion will be foregrounded against a theoretical discussion of the ‘subaltern,’ namely that part of the population which has traditionally been sidelined in most historical accounts of nineteenth-century Malta. It will argue that despite the widespread illiteracy on Gozo during that period, one can still perceive instances of protest and of resistance which, if incapable of being categorised within the accepted meaning of political, can still be read into a ‘politics of the people.’ This is done through the utilisation of sources – the Police Minute Books – which have been given scarce attention by historians.

This talk forms part of the ongoing programme of activities being organised the Circolo Gozitano.

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