Slavery in Malta

Last updated June 07, 2022

Slavery in Malta existed and was recognised from classical antiquity until the early modern period, as was the case in many countries around the Mediterranean Sea. The system reached its apex under Hospitaller rule, when it took on unprecedented proportions, largely to provide galley slaves for the galleys of the Order, as well as other Christian countries. Commerce raids, which were the backbone of the Knights' economic military system helped to maintain this system, partly through creating the demand for slaves to maintain the military fleet, but also due to the influx of Muslim prisoners when battles were won. Thus Malta became the hub of slavery in Christian Europe. Slavery was abolished in Malta by Napoléon Bonaparte during his invasion of the Maltese archipelago on 16 June 1798.

Before 1530

Slavery in Malta starts in ancient times. All the successive powers in the archipelago used slave labour, from the Romans to the Byzantines, Arabs, Sicilians, until the Knights Hospitallers of the Order of Malta.

At the end of the medieval period pirates, the Genoese and the Maltese added human captives to their loot, these people were often enslaved black Africans.^[1] This type of banditry was practised across the Mediterranean coast.

Maltese documents report the presence of domestic slaves throughout the 13th and 14th centuries. A Greek slave called Catherina, for example, was emancipated by an official decree dated from the 23 January 1324.^[2] However, it seems that before 1530, the majority of domestic slaves had been black Africans,^[3] captured by North Africans at the southern border of their territories.^[1] At the end of the fifteenth century, such slaves are found with the rich families of Mdina, but also in the countryside and in Gozo, for example when the priest Peitru Mannara sold his slave Ferha to a fellow countryman. Usual practice seemed to be that slaves would be baptised upon their arrival to the island.^[3]

In official deeds, slaves were designated according to their role, their origin, or their religion. They could thus be designated casanaticii (household slaves) or scavi ad usum maghazeni; ethiopes, sylvestri, mauri, greci; or saraceni, christiani ou judei. Beyond domestic tasks they could also be employed for construction work or landscaping.^[1]

Emancipation was a relatively commonplace practice, probably depending on human relationships. The emancipated slave would usually take the name of their former master, adding a mark of provenance to avoid any ambiguity: for example, it would be understood that Franciscus de Vaccaro had been emancipated by the Vaccaro family, or Giorgius de Mazarra by the Mazarra family.^[1]

This private slavery would continue for a long time after the arrival of the Knights, even if they tried to limit the practice to gain exclusivity. From the 16th century the Order would shift slavery towards its need for rowers on its galleys.

Slave demographics

Slave numbers

Largely taken from the work of Anne Brogini:^[4]^[5]^[6]

Year	Total number of slaves	Maltese population	Relationship slaves/population
1548	less than 400	20,000	2%
1569	around 400	11,970	3.3%
1575	400	around 16,000	2.5%
1582	800	22,000	3.6%
1590	1,405	32,310	4.3%
1599	around 1,800	environ 21,000	8.5%
1632	2,046	43,000	4.7%
1669	2,390	around 40,000	5.9%
1710	3,000^[7]	around 50,000	6%
1741	2,500^[8]	around 60,000	4.2%
1769	2,500^[8]	around 70,000^[9]	3.5%
1798	around 2,000^[10]	around 100,000^[11]	2%

Sex and age

The majority of slaves working in Malta were men who could manage the extreme strain of the galleys. During the Inquisition in Malta, only 10% of slaves were women, who primarily worked on domestic tasks.^[12] However, women and children could be victims of raids on the shores of North Africa.^[13]

The exact age of slaves is rarely known, apart from those registered during the Inquisition in Malta. A series of studies from the 17th century determined an average age of 31.^[12]

Slave origin

Approximately 80% of slaves were Muslim or Jewish. They were often captured during military conflicts by the Order and later during pirate raids. Muslim slaves were largely Turks, Moors, or Barbary pirates - as well as limited numbers of sub-Saharan Africans. Jews came from the Levant, the Aegean Islands, Rhodes, Crete, or Venice.^[12]

Around 20% were Christian, who came from Greece, the Middle East or Central Europe and may have already been slaves at the time of their capture. They would have to prove their religion before being freed from servitude, but they may have also remained slaves. Over time and according and dictated by need, Greeks were captured and held in slavery as schismatics,^[14] or on the pretext that they would trade with the Turks.^[15]

This group also included new, former Muslim converts (they were not liberated for converting), as well as renegades who had already changed their faith.^[12]

Upon their arrival

Like all travellers arriving from the sea, captives spent their quarantine upon the ship or in the Lazzaretto of Manoel Island. They were then triaged according to their sex, their age, their robustness, with all these qualities counting towards their market value. If the slaves were captured by a ship belonging to the Order, the knights decided their respective destinations: the galleys, domestic service, gift or sale. If they had been captured by a licensed ship, the captain would pay the Order a certain percentage before disposing the balance as he pleased.^[1] The slave was considered to be the total property of their owner.

Those who had not yet found a definitive owner were taken to the public slave market in Valletta, situated on San Giorgio square, (today known as Misrah San Gorg), in front of the Palace of Justice.^[11]

In around 1660, for example, more than 700 slaves disembarked, of whom 538 were quickly sold for an average price of 142 Maltese écus or scudi for a man, and 159 écus for a woman.^[16] Prices would increase until the beginning of the 18th century, then stabilising as demand decreased, in particular with the continued disbanding of galleys by the great powers (in around 1750 in the French Navy), even if their usage would continue in Malta.^[13]

Different functions

The vast majority of slaves belonged to the order. They were divided into numerous types, with the most robust being destined for the galleys, while the others remained on land and worked in domestic service, as knights' servants, cooks, and workers.

Private slavery also persisted, with every free man being able to buy a slave at the market. These slaves were destined for domestic or agricultural work. This form of private slavery remained restricted by the Order (accounting for about 200 slaves in number for the entire period).^[12]

Slaves in Malta were entirely objectified as people, they were turned into saleable objects, as included in the penal code of 1724.^[17]

Hospitaller rule

There were a number of female Muslim slaves in Malta during the 18th century. They do not seem to have been intimidated by their status as slaves, and some are known to have openly quarreled or insulted Maltese women, including their own mistresses.^[18]

Revolts

Revolt of 1531

On 29 June 1531,^[19] the Order had hardly been in Malta for a month. 16 slaves escaped the ramparts of Fort St. Angelo and then opened the doors of the prisons and killed the guards. After a short combat, the two leaders, named Cara Saïm et Cara Mustafa were killed and their bodies left exposed on pikes at the entrance of the Grand Harbour on a strip of land known since then as Punta delle Forche or Gallow's Point, (where Fort Ricasoli was later built).^[20] Even if the archives do not mention this revolt, the Order decided upon the construction of a slave prison in 1531. The memory of the event may have remained with the slaves as they were particularly surveilled on the day of the anniversary of the revolt.^[19]

This revolt is not mentioned in the Order's archives, and its authenticity is disputed. It is only known from the writings of Giacomo Bosio.

Revolt of 1596

The second known revolt happened in February 1596, and was not discovered until recently as it was almost entirely concealed in the archives.^[12] Several slaves suddenly refused to go back to their prisons in Valletta and Città Vittoriosa. They managed to seize the keys of the gates of Valletta and escaped leaving the doors of the city wide open. They reached the Maltese countryside where they roamed for some days in search of a ship to flee the isle, not without trying to rally slaves whom they met along the way. The escapees were eventually caught and condemned.

This incident created a raw feeling at the heart of the Order, not only because of the security breaches in the prisons, but even more so because of the nighttime opening of the city doors. This episode was traumatic because it demonstrated the vulnerability of the island to an organised Ottoman attack, which had been an obsession since the Great Siege of 1565. It also marked the realisation of security problems presented by the growing number of slaves living on the isle, who, considered a potential support, presented a Trojan horse for new Islamic attacks.^[20] The 1749 plot proved the reality of this menace.

The Grand Master Martin Garzez immediately ordered the increased surveillance of prisons. From 1602 onwards, his successor, Alof de Wignacourt promoted new regulation of the management of slaves in Malta. From this point onwards, slaves could not engage in paid activity or engage in trade, except for small sums under the direct surveillance of the Order. The slaves could not rent lodgings either.^[5] This regulation would continue with few modifications for the entirety of the 17th century.^[12]

Revolt of 1749

In 1749, an extraordinary plot hoping to seize power in Malta through slaves was fomented by the Pasha of Rhodes, who had recently been captured after mutiny on his galley. Thanks to the great liberty he was allowed in Malta, he managed to assemble multiple Muslim slaves around a conspiracy to assassinate the Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca and many knights during a religious festival in order to conquer Malta. The plot was discovered before his execution which had been scheduled for the 22 June 1749. More than 200 slaves were tried and executed, including the chamber maid of the Grand Master. The Pasha was sent back to Constantinople. The surveillance of slaves was further increased.^[21]

Abolition

Slavery was abolished in 1798 during the French occupation of Malta and confirmed later during the Crown Colony of Malta.

Related Research Articles

Bagnio is a loan word into several languages. In English, French, and so on, it has developed varying meanings: typically a brothel, bath-house, or prison for slaves.

Marcel Trudel was a Canadian historian, university professor (1947–1982) and author who published more than 40 books on the history of New France. He brought academic rigour to an area that had been marked by nationalistic and religious biases. His work was part of the marked changes to Quebec society during the Quiet Revolution. Trudel's work has been honoured with major awards, including the Governor General's Literary Award for French Non-Fiction in 1966, and a second nomination for the award in 1987.

The Society of the Friends of the Blacks was a French abolitionist society founded during the late 18th century. The society's aim was to abolish both the institution of slavery in the France's overseas colonies and French involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. The society was founded in Paris in 1788, and remained active until 1793, during the midst of the French Revolution. It was led by Jacques Pierre Brissot, who frequently received advice from British abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, who led the abolitionist movement in Great Britain. At the beginning of 1789, the Society had 141 members.

Henry Joseph Frendo is a professor of Modern History, teaching at the University of Malta since 1992. Frendo has previously worked with the UNHCR, and was stationed in Switzerland, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Papua New Guinea. His main areas of research and interest are related to history since 1798; related to imperialism, nationalism, decolonization, postcolonialism, journalism, migration and ethnicity - in Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean and MENA. Other areas of his interest are languages, culture and statehood.He is from Floriana and is brother of Michael Frendo.

The Code noir was a decree passed by the French King Louis XIV in 1685 defining the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire. The decree restricted the activities of free people of color, mandated the conversion of all enslaved people throughout the empire to Roman Catholicism, defined the punishments meted out to slaves, and ordered the expulsion of all Jews from France's colonies.

A Corsican autonomy referendum was held on 6 July 2003. Voters were asked whether or not they approved the restructuring of the system of administration on Corsica. Had the referendum been successful, the two départements on the island would have been abolished leaving only the Corsican Assembly which would be granted additional functions including some limited powers on raising and spending taxes. The suggestion was not approved, albeit by a very small margin. 51% voted against the proposal, with 49% supporting it. The difference between the yes and no vote was 2,190 votes.

La Mulâtresse Solitude was a historical figure and heroine in the fight against slavery on French Guadeloupe. She has been the subject of legends and a symbol of women's resistance in the struggle against slavery in the history of the island.

The French occupation of Malta lasted from 1798 to 1800. It was established when the Order of Saint John surrendered to Napoleon Bonaparte following the French landing in June 1798. In Malta, the French established a constitutional tradition in Maltese history, granted free education for all, and theoretically established freedom of the press, although only the pro-French newspaper Journal de Malte was actually published during the occupation.

Greeks have a long presence in Malta, which may lead back to ancient times. The archipelago was intensely Hellenized beginning in the 3rd century BC, a process which intertwined with the Christianization of Malta after the 1st century AD. The Byzantine presence was overturned by the Arab conquest of 870, and the surviving Greek community was Islamified. Maltese Christianity of the Byzantine Rite was only preserved in some parts of the country, being especially important in Gozo. These groups formed the basis for a local branch of the Orthodox Church, revived following Norman conquest in the 1120s. Although marginalized by Catholicism, which became the dominant faith, a Greek-speaking Orthodox community survived into the 15th century.

Slavery in Tunisia was a specific manifestation of the Arab slave trade, which was abolished on 23 January 1846 by Ahmed I Bey. Tunisia was in a similar position to that of Algeria, with a geographic position which linked it the main Trans-Saharan routes. It received caravans from Fezzan and Ghadamès, which consisted solely, in the eighteenth century, of gold powder and slaves, according to contemporary witnesses. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, slaves arrived annually in numbers ranging between 500 and 1,200. From Tunisia they were carried on to the ports of the Levant.

The Conspiracy of the Slaves was a failed plot by Muslim slaves in Hospitaller-ruled Malta to rebel, assassinate Grand Master Manuel Pinto da Fonseca and take over the island. The revolt was to have taken place on 29 June 1749, but plans were leaked to the order before it began; the plotters were arrested and most were later executed.

Jeanne de Flandreysy French author and literary critic

Jeanne de Flandreysy, born Jeanne Mellier was a French author and literary critic. She was the author of many books about Provence, and she promoted Franco-Italian cultural exchanges.

The Tuchin revolt was a tax revolt of "workers and artisans" in Southern France between 1378 and 1384.

The Church of St. Louis of the French is a Roman Catholic church in Moscow, built 1790–91. It is located in the neighborhood of the Lubyanka, in the city center. The church was founded by and belongs to the French parish of the same name.

The Nantes slave trade resulted in the deportation, from the late 17th to the beginning of the 19th century, of more than 500,000 black African slaves into French ownership in the Americas, mainly in the Antilles. With 1,744 slave voyages, Nantes, France, was the principal French slave-trading port for the duration of this period. The Slave Trade was explicitly encouraged by the royal family and described by the church as an "ordinary occupation."

The Bastion de France was a trading post founded in the sixteenth century by French merchants of Corsican origin who had established themselves in North Africa near Annaba. It developed important commercial links with Marseille, especially in the valuable coral trade. It was demolished and rebuilt a number of times.

Spanish Oran was a territory of the Spanish Empire as a result of the Conquest of Oran.

Al Pouessi, baptized Marthe Adélaïde Modeste Testas and known under the name of Modeste Testas (1765-1870) was an Ethiopian woman who was enslaved, purchased by Bordeaux merchants and subsequently freed after living on three continents. One of her descendants is a former president of Haiti, François Denys Légitime.

Joseph-Marie-Antoine Delaville Le Roulx was a French historian specializing on the Knights Hospitaller. He was a knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.

The naval battle of Damietta was fought on 16 August 1732 between the ships of a convoy of the Ottoman Empire and a small fleet of the Order of Malta under the command of Jacques-François de Chambray, off the coast of Damietta, Egypt. The Order emerged victorious and managed to liberate the Christian slaves held by the Ottomans.

References

1 2 3 4 5 Moureau, François (2008). "Captifs en Méditerranée (XVI-XVIIIe siècles): histoires, récits et légendes". In Fiorini, Stanley (ed.). Aspects de l'esclavage à Malte au tournant du XVe. Presses Paris Sorbonne. p. 141. ISBN 978-2-84050-583-9.
↑ Dalli, Charles (2006). Malta, The Medieval Millennium. Malta's Living Heritage. Malta: Midsea Books Ltd. p. 320. ISBN 99932-7-103-9.
1 2 Wettinger, Godrey (2008). "Esclaves noirs à Malte". In Moureau, François (ed.). Captifs en Méditerranée (XVI-XVIIIe siècles): histoires, récits et légendes (in French). Paris: Presses Paris Sorbonne. p. 163. ISBN 978-2-84050-583-9.
↑ Brogini, Anne (2002). "L'esclavage au quotidien à Malte au XVI". Cahiers de la Méditerranée (in French). 65: 137–158. doi:10.4000/cdlm.26.
1 2 Brogini, Anne (2013). "Une activité sous contrôle : l'esclavage à Malte à l'époque moderne". Cahiers de la Méditerranée (in French). 87 (87): 49–61. doi:10.4000/cdlm.7155.
↑ Brogini, Anne (2004). "La population de Malte au XVII, reflet d'une modernité". Cahiers de la Méditerranée (in French). 68: 17–36. doi:10.4000/cdlm.641.
↑ Cini, George (3 July 2015). "Horrible torture on streets of Valletta".
1 2 Pasquale, Carmen (2008). "Quelques aspects de l'esclavage à Malte au XVIII". In Moureau, François (ed.). Captifs en Méditerranée (XVI-XVIIIe siècles): histoires, récits et légendes (in French). Presses Paris Sorbonne. p. 181. ISBN 978-2-84050-583-9.
↑ Brian, Blouet (1989). The Story of Malta. Progress Press Publication.
↑ Ghazali, Maria (2002). "La régence de Tunis et l'esclavage en Méditerranée à la fin du XVIII d'après les sources consulaires espagnoles". Cahiers de la Méditerranée (in French). 65: 77–98. doi: 10.4000/cdlm.43 .
1 2 Freller, Thomas; Cilia, Daniel (2010). Malta, the Order of St John. Midsea Books. p. 172. ISBN 978-99932-7-298-4.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Brogini, Anne (2002). "L'esclavage au quotidien à Malte au XVI". Cahiers de la Méditerranée. 65: 137–158. doi:10.4000/cdlm.26.
1 2 Mathiex, Jean (1954). "Trafic et prix de l'homme en Méditerranée aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles". Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations (in French). 9 (2): 157–164. doi:10.3406/ahess.1954.2260.
↑ Botte, Roger; Stella, Alessandro (2012). Couleurs de l'esclavage sur les deux rives de la Méditerranée (Moyen Âge-XXe siècle) (in French). Karthala Edition. p. 203. ISBN 9782811108007.
↑ Gugliuzzo, Elina (2013). "Être esclave à Malte à l'époque moderne". Cahiers de la Méditerranée (in French). 87 (87): 63–76. doi: 10.4000/cdlm.7161 .
↑ Fontenay, Michel (2002). "Pour une géographie de l'esclavage méditerranéen aux temps modernes". Cahiers de la Méditerranée (in French). 65 (65): 17–52. doi: 10.4000/cdlm.42 .
↑ Cassar, Paul (July 1968). "A medical service for slaves in Malta during the rule of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem". Med Hist. 12 (3): 270–277. doi:10.1017/s0025727300013314. PMC 1033829 . PMID 4875614.
↑ "18th century nun had sought abortion". Times of Malta . 6 November 2017. Archived from the original on 6 November 2017.
1 2 Acciard, Michele (September 1755). "Mustapha Bacha de Rhodes, esclave à Malte, ou sa conjuration contre cette isle". Journal étranger (in French). 12 (3): 25.
1 2 Brogini, Anne (2005). Malte, frontière de chrétienté (1530-1670) (in French). Publications de l’École française de Rome. pp. 663–664. ISBN 9782728307425.
↑ de Viguier, Paul Antoine (1749). Relation de la conspiration tramée par le Bacha de Rhodes contre l'isle de Malthe (in French). Bullot. p. 335.