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Many
hundreds of years after the Neolithic period and precisely in 1530,
the Knights of the Order of St. John brought about another epoch
of great cultural significance to the island. This is not to say
that between the sudden disappearance of the Neolithic culture and
the arrival of the Knights nothing had happened. Quite the contrary.
Many relics and remains witness to important historical events in
this period. However, no unique or individual culture had originated
from the many peoples - the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans,
Arabs, Normans and Castillians - who colonised the island in this
prolonged interval.
The
history of the Knights of St. John begins in the middle of the eleventh
century in the Holy Land. The Order’s original duties were
to care for the sick and wounded Christian pilgrims to the Holy
Land and to help the poor. But very soon their duties expanded;
the fight against the infidels became of equal or
even greater importance. The Knights became Soldiers of Christ.
They acquired and maintained huge estates and castles in the Holy
Land and finally owned a large fleet.
With
the loss of Acre to the Moslems in 1291, however, the fate of the
Knights was sealed. They withdrew to Rhodes and acted as a shield
against the Turks for two centuries until 1522 when Suleiman the
Magnificent ousted the Knights from Rhodes. They now needed a new
homeland and, in 1530, moved to Malta, which was given to them by
Emperor Charles V.
The
Knights quickly improved trade and commerce on the islands, built
new hospitals and, most important, erected new strong fortifications.
But Suleiman wanted to destroy the Order completely and use Malta
as a base from which to attack Southern Europe. In 1565 he set out
with a strong fleet to drive the Knights out of Malta.
The
siege, which his navy laid on Malta, referred to by the Maltese
as the Great Siege of 1565, lasted four months with fighting of
almost unimaginable ferocity. Although heavily outnumbered, the
Knights stood firm and finally won, assisted by the Maltese people
and by last minute reinforcements from Sicily. The Turks had no
alternative but to beat retreat leaving behind them an impressive
number of dead amongst whom the feared corsair Dragut.
The
Knights of St. John had successfully protected Southern Europe and
Christendom.
After
their victory against the Turks, the Knights turned enthusiastically
to the further development of Malta and Gozo. A golden era in culture,
architecture and the arts followed. Many of Malta’s most attractive
buildings were built during this period. A new fortress city, Valletta,
was built and named in honour of the Grand Master Jean Parisot de
La Valette under whose inspired guidance the knights and the Maltese
had defied the Turkish onslaught. Valletta is one of the earliest
examples of a planned city built on the grid system. The Knights
of St. John, coming as they did from the richest families in Europe,
could afford to hire the best talent available. Thus the buildings
of Valletta, its’ fortifications and the art treasures in
its museums and churches are the work of the best European engineers
and artists of the time. It was the magnificence of its palaces
and other treasures that led Sir Walter Scott to describe Valletta
as "The city built by gentlemen for gentlemen"
The
fall of the Ottoman Empire marked the beginning of the end of the
military vocation of the Order. The absence of a serious military
threat to the Order’s existence, increasing wealth, arrogance,
lack of discipline and debauchery ate into the moral fabric of the
Order.
Thus
when, in 1798, Napoleon, on his way to Egypt, dropped anchor outside
Grand Harbour on the pretext that his expedition needed fresh water
supplies, he found an Order which had lost its morale. Not surprisingly,
the French Navy did not have to fire a single shot to secure Malta’s
surrender from the Knights. On the 12th June, Napoleon entered Valletta
bringing to an end 268 years of rule by the Knights of St. John.
Napoleon spent six eventful days in Malta during which, through
numerous edicts, he tried to transform the island into a typical
"Department" of France.
However,
French rule in Malta was short-lived. By 1800 the Maltese, with
the help of Nelson, managed to drive the French garrison out of
Malta and sought the protection of the British throne. That was
to mark the beginning of a close association between Malta and Britain
lasting over 160 years, Malta became independent in 1964 and adopted
a Republican Constitution in 1974.
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