X'kien ġara tassew? (What really happened?) this week tackles one of the thorniest episodes in recent Maltese history.

The programme will investigate the visit to Malta by General Bonaparte in 1798 and his fast-track attempt to taking the Island out of a feudal despotic system under the Order of St John into a republican reality, fresh from the French Revolution.

The documentary will question the many historic distortions propagated by the British in Malta, who followed the French, and by several political priests in defence of their centuries-old privileges. Today's edition tries to find out what really happened during the turbulent brief period of the French in Malta by delving into several details rarely told.

Presented and coordinated by Dr Charles Xuereb, the series is produced by DeeMedia.tv Limited, and will be aired on TVM on Monday at 8.50pm.