A concise naval history of the Order of St John at Malta, described in ten artefacts from the Malta Maritime Museum.

In the Mediterranean, the galley was the one sea craft that withstood the test of time for over 2,500 years. The Phoenicians, the great mariners of antiquity, used the galley, calling it navis lunga.

For centuries, Mediterranean seafarers shared, irrespective of faith, a common belief in God and His dominion over the sea, the weather and the outcome of journeys and naval engagement.

Artifacts from the underwater excavation in galley creek

Malta’s location at the centre of the Mediterranean Sea determined much of its destiny. Boasting a harbour so large that it could service any fleet, by the mid-18th century, the available facilities could assist commerce, work and corsairing. When the knights arrived in Malta in 1530, the local population, with the help of foreign interests, turned the inner harbour area of Birgu into a small but effective base in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

Grand Master Alof de Wignacourt (1601-1622) had finally solved the problem of acquiring a bronze cannon for the Order by erecting a foundry at Valletta, commonly referred to as the Funderia. The Flemish Bastainao Vos was engaged as the first master founder working at least from 1607 up to 1620.

This Maltese utterance invokes Saint Barbara to ward off danger from thunderstorms. The relationship between Santa Barbara and thunder is rooted in her martyrdom. Santa Barbara lived during the turbulent times of the early years of Christianity. Her father, who was overly protective of her, sealed her in a tower, hence why she is often depicted next to a stone fortification. His protectiveness did not deter Barbara from becoming a Christian. Her own father denounced the faith

To the northwest of Malta, Tunis is strategically placed commanding the straits leading to the Western Mediterranean. With a rich hinterland, the city has been thriving since the days of Carthage. Her history is as tumultuous as any. In the 1750s, the reigning bey of the regency, a vassal of the sultan in Istanbul, was a friend to Grand Master Pinto, regardless of the religious animosity between the two. The bey had provided food, especially beef to hunger-stricken Malta in i

The Order of St. John’s Nautical school was established in the old university building on Merchant Street. There, apart from a host of navigational equipment and instruments, were a number of instruction models. The only known items to survive pertaining to the school are two instruction models both of third-rate ships of the line preserved at the Malta Maritime Museum dating to the mid-18th century. One is known as the “Working Vaxxell instruction model” and the other as the

Amongst the museum’s growing collection of rare books and manuscripts is the so-called Spinola Signaling Manual. An illuminated manuscript, it is one of just three known of similar size and detail. Due to the attention and detail in such manuals, it could be surmised that such manuals were not just a period copy distributed to each of the Order’s galleys so that captains of the galley squadron could decipher signals but was in fact the Captain General’s own copy. The title on

The island of Malta was a home base not only for the Order of St John corsairs, but for many other European nations. These included Britain, Naples, Spain and France. During the Seven Years’ War, Malta was used heavily. Maltese men were recruited to serve with English and French ships. Heads of European states questioned Maltese neutrality. English corsair ships anchored at Kalkara Bay (now found in contemporary maps as English Creek, whilst the French anchored in French Cree

A saber with an ebony hilt, carved with fish scales, brass mounted, chiselled and gilded is a unique treasure in the national collection. Presented by Napoleon Bonaparte himself to Rear-Admiral Decres in year nine of the revolution, the sword is a symbol of valour and seamanship. Its story unfolds through the diary of Sir Alexander Ball, one of Nelson’s Band of Brothers. Ball was in charge of the naval blockade of Malta. Republican France had command of the fortifications of

It all starts with Mikiel Anton Vassalli, author of the first Maltese dictionary, and considered to be the father of the Maltese language. Vassalli at the time was in Rome living in the same house as the exiled Maltese Jacobin lawyer Elia Pace. Vassalli soon escaped from Rome, fearing for his life. His dictionary was printed in so much haste that no index was ever printed as the tricolor was seen advancing towards the bastions of St Peter. When Vassalli arrived in Malta, he f