Hospitaller Malta

Hospitaller Malta, known in Maltese history as the

Knights' Period (Maltese: Żmien il-Kavallieri,[7][8] Monastic State of the Order of
lit. 'Time of the Knights'), was a de facto state which Saint John of Jerusalem[a]
existed between 1530 and 1798 when the 1530–1798
Mediterranean islands of Malta and Gozo were ruled
by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. It was formally
a vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily, and it came
into being when Emperor Charles V granted the islands
as well as the city of Tripoli in modern Libya to the
Order, following the latter's loss of Rhodes in 1522. Flag
Hospitaller Tripoli was lost to the Ottoman Empire in Coat of arms
1551, but an Ottoman attempt to take Malta in 1565
failed.

Following the 1565 siege, the Order decided to settle

permanently in Malta and began to construct a new
capital city, Valletta. For the next two centuries, Malta
went through a Golden Age, characterized by a
flourishing of the arts, architecture, and an overall
improvement in Maltese society.[9] In the mid-17th
century, the Order was the de jure proprietor over some
islands in the Caribbean,[10] making it the smallest
state to colonize the Americas.

The Order began to decline in the 1770s, and was

severely weakened by the French Revolution in 1792.
In 1798, French forces under Napoleon invaded Malta
and expelled the Order, resulting in the French Map of Malta and Gozo in relation to Sicily
and Hospitaller Tripoli
occupation of Malta. The Maltese eventually rebelled
against the French, and the islands became a British
protectorate in 1800. Malta was to be returned to the
Order by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, but the British
remained in control and the islands formally became a
British colony by the Treaty of Paris in 1814.

Map of the Order's territories in the Caribbean

Status Tributary state of
the Kingdom of
Sicily (until 1753)[1]
Sovereign state
(1753–1800)
 Capital Birgu (1530–1571)
Sixteenth century Valletta (1571–1798)

Common languages Official languages:

Latin[2][3]
Early years Italian[4]
The Order of Saint John was expelled from its base in French (spoken;
used in documents,
Rhodes during the Ottoman siege of 1522. After seven
maps, and plans)[4]
years of moving from place to place in Europe, the
Vernacular
Knights became established in 1530 when Emperor language:
Charles V, as King of Sicily, gave them Malta,[11] Maltese (spoken by
Gozo and the North African port of Tripoli in perpetual the majority)
fiefdom in exchange for an annual fee of a single
Religion Roman Catholicism
Maltese falcon, which they were to send on All Souls'
Day to the King's representative, the Viceroy of Demonym Maltese
Sicily.[12] Government Theocratic elective
monarchy
The Order settled in the town of Birgu and made it Grand Master
their capital.[13] The ancient fortress known as • 1530–1534 Philippe Villiers de
Castrum Maris was rebuilt as Fort Saint Angelo, the L'Isle-Adam (first)
town's defences were strengthened, and many new • 1797–1798 Ferdinand von
buildings were constructed. The Order soon began to Hompesch zu
Bolheim (last)
mint its own coins as it settled in Malta.[6]
Historical era Early modern period
The Hospitallers continued their actions against the • Agreement 24 March 1530
Muslims and especially the Barbary pirates. Although • Established 26 October 1530
they had only a few ships, they quickly drew the ire of • Loss of Tripoli 15 August 1551
the Ottomans, who were unhappy to see the order • Purchase of 21 May 1651
resettled. In July 1551, Ottoman forces attempted to Caribbean territories
take over Fort Saint Angelo and later Mdina but saw • Sale of Caribbean 1665
territories
that they were outnumbered and invaded Gozo several
• Proclamation of 1753
days later. They sailed to Tripoli and captured the city sovereignty
in August. Following these attacks, the Order tried to • Capitulation to the 12 June 1798
repopulate Gozo and strengthen the Grand Harbour French
fortifications. Several forts including Saint Elmo and Area
Saint Michael were built, and the city of Senglea began • Total 316 km2 (122 sq mi)
to develop around the latter fort.
Population
Sometime between 1551 and 1556, a tornado hit • 1530 (estimate)[5] 33,000
Malta, destroyed at least four of the Order's galleys, • 1632 (census)[5] 51,750
and killed 600 people. This is the worst natural disaster • 1741 (estimate)[5] 110,000
that ever occurred on Malta and one of the deadliest Currency Maltese scudo[6]
tornadoes in recorded history.[14] Other currencies
Spanish
In 1553, Charles V offered a third possession to the
dollars/doubloons
Order, the city of Mahdia in modern Tunisia. However, Venetian zecchini
the Order refused to take control of the city since the Livournine
commission that was set up decided that it would be
too expensive to maintain. Therefore, the emperor Genovine
Louis d'or
ordered the Viceroy of Sicily, Juan de Vega, to destroy
Mehdia to prevent Muslim occupation.[15] De Vega ISO 3166 code MT
burnt Mehdia, but retaliated against Malta for not
accepting the city, and prohibited exportation of wheat Preceded by Succeeded by
to the island. To combat this, Grandmaster Sengle Kingdom of French
brought the engineer Vincenzo Vogo to Malta to Sicily occupation
upgrade the mills so the population would not Habsburg of Malta
Spain Ottoman
starve.[16] Authors such as Giovanni Francesco Abela
Company of Tripolitania
claim that, following the Battle of Verbia in 1561, the the American French West
Order may have gained a puppet state in Moldavia, Islands India
which was ruled by the Malta native Iacob Heraclid Company
until 1563; their assessment remains disputed.[17] Sovereign
Military
Order of
Malta
Great Siege and aftermath
In 1565 Suleiman sent an invasion force of about Area and population excluding Tripoli and the
40,000 men to besiege the 700 knights and 8,000 Caribbean islands
soldiers and expel them from Malta and gain a new
base from which to possibly launch another assault on Europe.[11] At first the battle went as badly for the
Hospitallers as Rhodes had: most of the cities were destroyed and about half the knights killed. On 18
August the position of the besieged was becoming desperate: dwindling daily in numbers, they were
becoming too feeble to hold the long line of fortifications. But when his council suggested the
abandonment of Birgu and Senglea and withdrawal to Fort St. Angelo, Grand Master Jean Parisot de
Valette refused.

The Viceroy of Sicily had not sent help; possibly the Viceroy's orders from Philip II of Spain were so
obscurely worded as to put on his own shoulders the burden of the decision whether to help the Knights
at the expense of his own defences. A wrong decision could mean defeat and exposing Sicily and Naples
to the Ottomans. He had left his own son with de Valette, so he could hardly be indifferent to the fate of
the fortress. Whatever may have been the cause of his delay, the Viceroy hesitated until the battle had
almost been decided by the unaided efforts of the Knights, before being forced to move by the
indignation of his own officers.

On 23 August came yet another grand assault, the last serious

effort, as it proved, of the besiegers. It was thrown back with
the greatest difficulty, even the wounded taking part in the
defence. The plight of the Turkish forces, however, was now
desperate. With the exception of Fort Saint Elmo, the
fortifications were still intact. Working night and day the
garrison had repaired the breaches, and the capture of Malta
seemed more and more impossible. Many of the Ottoman
troops in crowded quarters had fallen ill over the terrible
summer months. Ammunition and food were beginning to run
Re-enactment of military drills of the short, and the Ottoman troops were becoming increasingly
Knights at Fort Saint Elmo in 2005. dispirited by the failure of their attacks and their losses. The
death on 23 June of skilled commander Dragut, a corsair and
admiral of the Ottoman fleet, was a serious blow. The Turkish commanders, Piyale Pasha and Mustafa
Pasha, were careless. They had a huge fleet which they used with effect on only one occasion. They
neglected their communications with the African coast and made no attempt to watch and intercept
Sicilian reinforcements.

On 1 September they made their last effort, but the morale of

the Ottoman troops had deteriorated seriously and the attack
was feeble, to the great encouragement of the besieged who
now began to see hopes of deliverance. The perplexed and
indecisive Ottomans heard of the arrival of Sicilian
reinforcements in Mellieħa Bay. Unaware that the force was
very small, they broke off the siege and left on 8 September.
The Great Siege of Malta may have been the last action in
which a force of knights won a decisive victory.[18] Great Siege of Malta frescos at the
Grandmaster's Palace
When the Ottomans departed, the Hospitallers had but 600
men able to bear arms. The most reliable estimate puts the
number of the Ottoman army at its height at some 40,000 men, of whom 15,000 eventually returned to
Constantinople. The siege is portrayed vividly in the frescoes of Matteo Perez d'Aleccio in the Hall of St.
Michael and St. George, also known as the Throne Room, in the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta; four of
the original modellos, painted in oils by Perez d'Aleccio between 1576 and 1581, can be found in the
Cube Room of the Queen's House at Greenwich, London.

After the siege a new city was built, Valletta, which was
named in memory of the Grand Master who had withstood
the siege. It became the Order's headquarters in 1571 and
remains Malta's capital city to this day.[19]

In 1574, the Roman Inquisition was established in Malta

when Pope Gregory XIII sent Pietro Dusina as mediator
between the Grandmaster and the Bishop. This inquisition
replaced the old medieval inquisition in Malta that had been
View of Fort Saint Angelo.
run by the Bishop of Palermo.[20]

In 1581, there was a crisis between the General Convent of

the Order and the Grandmaster, Jean de la Cassière. This escalated into a mutiny in which la Cassière was
confined in Fort St Angelo and the knight Mathurin Romegas was elected Grandmaster. Pope Gregory
XIII sent the envoy Gaspare Visconti to settle the dispute, and la Cassière and Romegas were summoned
to Rome to explain and plead the case. Romegas died within a week of arriving in Rome, and la Cassière
was restored to his position as Grandmaster. However, he too died within a month in Rome thus ending
the dispute. In January 1582, Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle was elected Grandmaster.[21][22]
Seventeenth century

Main projects
Between 1610 and 1615, the Wignacourt Aqueduct was built
to carry water from Dingli and Rabat to the capital Valletta.
This aqueduct remained in use until the early 20th century,
and most of its arches still survive.[23]

Throughout the course of the seventeenth century, Malta's

fortifications were also improved. Large parts of Gozo's
Cittadella were completely rebuilt between 1599 and 1622.
The Grand Harbour area was strengthened by the construction
of the Floriana Lines and Santa Margherita Lines in the 1630s
Wignacourt Aqueduct at Birkirkara
and 1640s, which encircled the land front of Valletta and that
of Birgu and Senglea. Later on, the Cottonera Lines were
built around the Santa Margherita Lines between 1670 and 1680. Due to a lack of funds, the Santa
Margherita and Cottonera Lines remained unfinished for many years before being completed. In the late
seventeenth century, Fort Ricasoli was also built to protect the entrance to the Grand Harbour, while Fort
Saint Elmo and Fort Saint Angelo were strengthened.

Despite the significant fortifications in the harbour area, by

the early seventeenth century, most of the remaining coastline
was still largely undefended. In 1605, Garzes Tower was built
on the island of Gozo. In the following years, Alof de
Wignacourt continued upgrading the coastal fortifications by
building the Wignacourt towers, a series of six bastioned
watch towers. During Grandmaster Lascaris' reign, a number
of smaller towers were also built. His successor de Redin
once again built a series of similar towers. The last coastal
Wignacourt Tower, the oldest surviving
watchtower in Malta.
tower to be built was Isopu Tower, which was constructed in
1667 during the reign of Nicolas Cotoner.[24]

In 1693, an earthquake damaged many buildings in Malta, particularly in the former capital of Mdina.
The cathedral, which had been built during the Norman occupation of Malta, was subsequently
demolished and a new Baroque cathedral was built in its place starting from 1697.[25]

In the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, the Order's navy was at its peak. The Order, usually along
with other European navies, engaged in naval battles against the Ottomans such as the action of 28
September 1644, or the Battle of the Dardanelles in 1656. They had also participated in the Battle of
Lepanto in 1571 under the command of John of Austria. Corsairing also became an important part of the
Maltese economy until the early 1700s.[26]
Maltese Corso
From 1530 to 1798 the Order of Malta waged a long-standing
naval operation harassing Ottoman ships in the
Mediterranean, reaching its peak from 1660 to 1675.[7] It was
an important source of income for the Order and employment
for the local Maltese, profiting from plundered booty and the
capture of Muslim slaves.

Colonization
The Order also took part in the colonization of the Americas.
Hospitaller galleys capturing an Ottoman
On 21 May 1651, it acquired four islands in the Caribbean: vessel in the Malta Channel in 1652.
Saint Barthélemy, Saint Christopher, Saint Croix and Saint
Martin. These were purchased from the French Company of
the American Islands which had just been dissolved. The
Order controlled the islands under the governorship of
Phillippe de Longvilliers de Poincy until his death, and in
1665 the four islands were sold to the French West India
Company. This marked the end of the Order's influence
outside the Mediterranean.[27]

A Maltese cross is featured on the coat of

arms of Saint Barthélemy, a legacy of the
Hospitaller colonization of the island

Eighteenth century

Beginning of the century to Pinto's reign

At the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 granted Sicily from Spain
to the Duke of Savoy, becoming the new sovereign of Malta until seven years later, when Treaty of The
Hague reunited Naples and Sicily to the Emperor Charles VI. In 1735, during the War of the Polish
Succession, Charles, Duke of Parma, defeated the occupying Austrians and became Charles VII of Naples
and V of Sicily.

From 1714 onwards, about 52 batteries and redoubts, along with several entrenchments, were built
around the coasts of Malta and Gozo.[28] Other major fortifications of the 18th century include Fort
Chambray on Gozo, which was built between 1749 and the 1760s, and Fort Tigné in Marsamxett, which
was built between 1792 and 1795.
Throughout the eighteenth century, Baroque architecture was
popular in Malta. This is mostly associated with the
Grandmasters António Manoel de Vilhena and Manuel Pinto
da Fonseca, both of whom were Portuguese. During de
Vilhena's reign, the city of Mdina was significantly
remodelled in the Baroque style.[29] Other significant
Baroque structures built during de Vilhena's reign include
Fort Manoel and the Manoel Theatre. The town of Floriana
also began to be developed around this era between the
Floriana Lines and Valletta, and it was given the title of Borgo
Vilhena by the Grandmaster. During Pinto's reign, which A naval battle between the Ottoman navy
lasted from 1741 to 1773, the Baroque style was still going and the Order's fleet in 1719.
strong. Typical buildings from this era include Auberge de
Castille and the Valletta Waterfront.[30]

In 1749, there was the Conspiracy of the Slaves, in which

Turkish slaves were planning to revolt and assassinate Pinto,
but this was suppressed before it started due to their plans
leaking out to the Order.

In 1753, Pinto proclaimed the sovereignty of the Order on

The Grand Harbour in 1750. Malta and a dispute started with the Kingdom of Sicily under
King Charles V. The dispute eventually ended a year later on
26 November 1754 when Sicily and the Order returned to
normal relations. Despite this Sicily no longer had any control over the Maltese islands and Malta under
the Order effectively became a sovereign state.[31]

Decline
In the last three decades of the eighteenth century, the Order experienced a steady decline. This was a
result of a number of factors, including the bankruptcy that was a result of Pinto's lavish rule, which
drained the finances of the Order. Due to this, the Order also became unpopular with the Maltese.

In 1775, during the reign of Francisco Ximénez de Tejada, a revolt known as the Rising of the Priests
occurred. Rebels managed to capture Fort St Elmo and Saint James Cavalier, but the revolt was
suppressed and some of the leaders were executed while others were imprisoned or exiled.[32]

In 1792, the Order's possessions in France were seized by the state due to the French Revolution, which
led the already bankrupt Order into an even greater financial crisis. When Napoleon landed in Malta in
June 1798, the knights could have withstood a long siege, but they surrendered the island almost without
a fight.[33] The French then occupied Malta until 1800, when they were ousted by Maltese revolutionaries
aided by Great Britain. Malta became a British protectorate and although the Treaty of Amiens stated that
they should be handed back to the Order, nothing materialized. When the new Grandmaster Giovanni
Tommasi demanded that the British Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball hand back the Grandmaster's
Palace in Valletta, Ball replied that Britain was authorised to continue basing troops on the island since
some powers were still not recognising Malta's independence and that the government palace could not
be vacated.
Malta eventually became a British colony in 1813 and remained as such until independence in 1964. The
Order itself became dispersed throughout Europe, but in the early 19th century it redirected itself toward
humanitarian and religious causes. In 1834, the Order, which became known as the Sovereign Military
Order of Malta, established its headquarters in its former embassy in Rome, where it remains to this day.

See also
Hospitaller Rhodes
Kingdom of Sicily
List of Knights Hospitaller sites
Principality of Heitersheim

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Retrieved from "[Link]