Malta is not known for its revolutions. Unlike many other countries, the people have preferred other ways of changing history. This doesn’t mean there wasn’t any revolting.
Background
In the 18th century, the Knights had governed Malta for almost 200 years. Sources report about 8 000 Muslim slaves living in the Maltese islands. The Knights were no longer at war with the Ottoman Empire and the prisoners had relaxed living conditions. They could congregate for prayers, they worked as merchants and could sell their wares in the fortified city of Valletta. They were not supposed to interact with the Maltese, but this was rarely enforced.
In February 1748, Christian slaves1 2 aboard the Ottoman flagship Lupa2 revolted. They took the 150-strong crew captive2 landing in Malta on 2 February 1748. There they showed off their prize prisoner – Mustafa, Pasha of Rhodes2.
The Knights enslaved all the prisoners except Mustafa. France stepped in to protect its Franco-Ottoman alliance. They wanted him freed3 but the Knights compromised and placed him under house arrest.
Mustafa converted to Christianity, married a Maltese woman and lived in Valletta3. He seemed to be well-integrated and they allowed him to communicate with the rest of the world1.
The plot
Mustafa started to plan a revolt for 29 June 17491. This was – and still is – a feast day in Malta dedicated to Sts Peter and Paul. In their honour, the Grandmaster organised a lavish banquet at the Palace in Valletta3. Mustafa was in touch with Constantinople who promised support1 in this nefarious endeavour.
Mustafa wanted to poison the food in the banquet. His co-conspirators would do the same in the Knights’ auberges and palaces too to create a nation-wide attack. After this, palace slaves planned3 to assassinate Grandmaster Manuel Pinto de Fonseca3. They hoped to free prisoners and ransack the armouries at Fort St Elmo.3.
Mustafa had also exchanged secret messages with the Ottoman beys – or leaders – of Tunis, Tripoli and Algiers. An Ottoman ship of corsairs2 was going to be close to Malta, ready to invade once the slaves gave the right signal3.
The Knights had a tower keeping an eye on the harbour, so it’s unclear how the slaves thought they’d get to the Ottoman ship.
Discovery
On 6 June 1749, three slaves met in a coffee shop3 in Valletta to try to win over one of the Grandmaster’s Maltese guards1. The four of them quarrelled. This escalated into a public brawl1 which attracted the attention of the shop owner. He was a neophyte – a Jew who had converted to Christianity – called Giuseppe Cohen2 3. He reported their conversation to the Grandmaster2 3, leading to these slaves’ arrest3.
The guards tortured them on the rack3 so they confessed to the entire plot. The Knights arrested and tried the 38 slave leaders3. They took the guily ones in an open mule-drawn cart to Floriana3 to hang3, quarter and behead them1 3 4.
Hoping for forgiveness some of the slaves converted to Christianity on their deathbed3. They hanged another 125 conspirators in Palace Square in Valletta, and branded 8 more with the letter R on their forehead3 (R for rebels), condemning them to life on the Knights’ galleys3.
France intervened once more and to make sure the Knights exiled Mustafa to Rhodes2. He left on a French vessel soon after2.
Consequences
Grandmaster Pinto reported this plot to his ambassadors in Europe3. Given the tensions with the Ottoman Empire, this alarmed Europe’s capitals. In Malta, rules around slaves were tightened3. They no longer had the freedom to move around as much as they previously had3, they no longer could leave the city3 and they could not approach the fortifications3. The only exception was the Slaves prison which was the only place they could sleep in3.
On 14 August 17495 Giuseppe Cohen was rewarded with a pension of 300 scudi from the Order3, and an annual 200 scudi reward from the University3. The University also gave him the building it used to be housed in5. He lived there till 17785.
The next revolution in Malta happened in 1773 and was a priests’ revolution.
This revolution didn’t work out. In 50 years’ time, rather than revolt, the Maltese people chose to align themselves with a foreign power to help them get rid of the unloved French administration.
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- Very rare contemporary account of an abortive Muslim slave revolt in Malta; FREIRE, Manuel Tomás da Silva; 1749; (Retrieved 2019-09-11) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- The Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta; Dennis Angelo Castillo; 2006[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- The Decline of the Order of St John in the 18th century; Sandro Sciberras; (Retrieved 2019-09-11) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Patriotism, deception and censorship; Robert Thake; 2013[↩]
- Houses in Merchants’ Street, Valletta; Victor F. Denaro; Melitensiawth.com; (Retrieved 2019-09-11) [↩][↩][↩]