In 1749 there was a famous slave revolt that took place in Malta. In the history of Malta it is betrayed as a terrible conspiracy where slaves were planning to slaughter the local inhabitants. The slaves are portrayed as a violent murderers willing to slaughter their masters to gain freedom. Here is a typical account of the event.
“A plot of the most dangerous character, and one that threatened the direst disaster to the Christian inhabitants of the island, was, however, discovered on the 6th June 1749. At the head of this conspiracy was the Pascha Mustafa, Governor of Rhodes, then a prisoner of war in Malta. This dignitary, while on his way to Rhodes, had been captured by the Christian slaves who manned his galley. The mutineers, after having murdered their officers and become masters of the vessel, made for Malta, where they arrived on the 2nd February 1748.
The Pascha, instead of being looked upon as an ordinary prisoner of war, was treated by the Order with every mark of respect. From the moment of his arrival Mustafa devised the detestable plot of massacring the whole Christian population of Malta with the assistance of the Turkish slaves in the island, who at the time numbered about 1,500, and then annexing Malta to the Ottoman Empire. Continual promises of support from Constantinople emboldened the conspirators, and the 29th June, the festival of St. Peter and St. Paul was selected as the date on which their atrocious designs were to be carried out. As on that day the city would be practically deserted the majority of the inhabitants being away at the festivities at Notabile. Had it not been for an accidental quarrel that led to the betrayal of the plot, a wholesale massacre would have most undoubtedly ensued.
The quarrel originated in a tavern where two of the conspirators had gone to endeavour to enlist as a confederate a young Maltese soldier of Pinto's bodyguard. Enraged by his continual refusals to join their ranks, they attempted to stab him. He would have been torn to pieces had it not been for the timely interference of the innkeeper, who, on learning the motive of the quarrel, lost no time in revealing this dangerous plot to the Grand Master himself. Several of the conspirators were at once seized and subjected to torture, under the extreme agonies of which a complete confession was extorted and some sixty of the ringleaders were put to death. The honest innkeeper, Cohen, was handsomely rewarded, and the faithful young soldier, Cassar, for his unflinching devotedness to his colours, was promoted from the ranks and given the command of Pinto's bodyguard, known as the " Guardia Urbana." On the anniversary of the discovery of the plot, the Knights of Malta regularly held a thanksgiving service in the church of St. John in commemoration of this providential escape from massacre."
However, if you examine the life of slaves in the world at that time there were many changes happening. In the Caribbean on the island of Saint John in 1733 there was an uprising of the slaves to try and obtain freedom. In South Carolina in 1739 there was also a slave revolt. In 1747 Africans rose up on the Rhode Island ship (Captain Beers) which was off the Cape Coast in Ghana. It is important to remember that off the millions transported to America in slavery, over a period of 300 years almost 40% died on that journey. Many fortunes were made, it was seen as a strictly economic endeavour with the human beings simply a product to be sold. Many aristocratic estates all over the world, many of our rich today gained fortunes on the back of slavery.
But the tide on slavery was beginning to turn and many people were speaking out against this trade. Legislation was soon to be in place that would gradually make it illegal in various parts of the world. It is unfortunate that long after the African American slavery route was halted, African European slavery continued. So, it is important to understand what conditions were like for slaves in Malta at that time. The seaborne crusade demanded a largely unarmed and coerced labour force. The Knights of St John needed captives. They needed them as oarsmen in the galleys and labourers in the docks. Whether they were prisoners of war, victims of shipwreck or persons kidnapped, they were a vital resource. There were simply not enough crew or convicts to man the ships that the knights needed without slaves. Ottoman cities remained multi religious while most of western Christendom was purged of its Jews and Muslims. After the Reformation it was also purged of even if its Christian dissenters. While Catholic merchants and consuls who lived in Istanbul Alexandra or Tripoli could practice their faith and find a small community of practising Catholics, supported by Rome, there were no such parallel infrastructures for Moslems in Christendom. In fact between 1609 and the late 19th century no free community of Muslims, including those converted to Christianity, resided within Western Europe. The Knights of St John Malta would target all non-Catholics, Orthodox Christians, Muslims and Jews alike and enslave them. They would seize the cargo of Jews, even those with permits and passports, and send them to the slave market in Valletta. Within the Mediterranean, the numbers of east and sub Sahara African inhabitants sold into bondage outnumbered the numbers of either Western Christians or Mediterranean Muslims. As long as galley fleets were used for transport slavery persisted. It was only when wind powered vessels came into being that the need for slaves on board was reduced somewhat.
Being condemned to the galleys was a dreadful form of punishment for even the convicts. What was supposed to be a short-term at sea, for them, could become a death sentence. Many men would maim themselves rather than face the ordeal. After a few weeks of confinement on ships the stench of human sweat and excrement was overwhelming. The oarsman who were chained to the benches could not change their clothing or even move to relieve themselves. For weeks they might have only brief sleep periods. Many slaves died on these ships; the plague of 1720 carried off one fifth of France’s rowing force. A small amount of galley slaves survived for decades some remaining at the oars into their 60s and 70s. They were not permitted to marry . Given its role as one of the chief traffickers of non-Catholic slaves within the Mediterranean, Maltese cities held more than 1000 Muslims in slavery at the end of the 18th century. In battle or if the boat foundered the slaves chained to the benches, not the captain, would go down with the ship. At the end of the sailing season Muslims slaves would be pressed into the construction of public works such as bridges and walls in the Maltese cities of Valetta and Senglea. In the mid 18 century, 639 of the 782 men at the oars were enslaved Muslims. Muslim slaves in Malta complained that unlike the practices in Istanbul or North African ports they were not allowed to eat or drink their purchases of food inside shops or taverns were forced to eat outside on the street. Their heads were shaved except for a distinctive pigtail, they wore a roughly woven woollen cape with a hood. Converted slaves and Muslims alike carried a 1 to 2 pound lock around the ankle.
With this knowledge, it is not hard to see that many desired freedom. If they could arrange for relatives, back home, to provide a ransom then there was a hope freedom could be purchased. However, for many poor slaves this was not an option. It is important to note that slavery was common place at this time across the world and practised by most nations. With the advantage of hindsight we can observe the whole machinery of enslavement through horrified eyes. The loss of lives was heavy, the mistreatment and torture of human beings intolerable. Perhaps, it is a salutary lesson of the past that all it took was a different religion/sect or race to enable us to feel righteous and noble in enslaving them.
There are perhaps parallels in today’s world where we will allow people to starve to death, drown in our seas, fester in refuge camps and still manage to feel disengaged from their suffering. The slave trade was ultimately economically driven, so too we must ensure that economic considerations are not driving nations into despair,destitution and a new modern form of slavery.
Worth a read - puts the topic in perspective today
A Persistent Evil: The Global Problem of Slavery, a report published by the Harvard International Review in 2002, Richard Re suggested: "Conservative estimates indicate that at least 27 million people, in places as diverse as Nigeria, Indonesia, and Brazil, live in conditions of forced bondage"
