The bulwark in the 'middle of the world'

For thousands of years, ever since man took to the sea, our island's geographical position in the middle of a sea that in itself bears the name Mediterranean, "middle of the world", became a strategic position of great importance. We have always been at the heart of global events, marking the ebb and flow of great powers, dynasties, empires and movements. Our rocks have registered the footsteps of history with such presences as the Phoenicians, the Romans, St Paul, the Arabs, the Knights of St John, the French and the British, who all left their imprint and a legacy making up our chequered past and healthy mix of cultures.

This position and history has also brought with it more than a fair share of strife and turmoil, and today, June 23, marks one of those days in our history when, although not celebrated or commemorated, the name of Malta was spread far and wide across Europe.

Today marks the fall of the Fort of St Elmo after a siege that lasted 29 days. This fort had been expected to fall to the Ottoman onslaught after only a few days, and, yet, its heroic defence has been described as a beacon that spread its light across the Christian world, resulting in the defeat of the invasion force and giving Suleiman the Magnificent his first defeat, effectively halting the Ottoman advance northwards and westwards.

I do not write as a Nationalist politician, but more as a nationalist citizen, proud of my Maltese roots and heritage. I am no historian, and would not aspire to be compared with researchers and historians of the ilk of Arnold Cassola and Giovanni Bonello, who have studied deep and researched widely in our past glories. And, yet, I feel that, all too often, we tend to play down ourselves as a nation and not acknowledge and respect our past. We Maltese have always played our role, and contributed to world affairs at levels far above our size, and the Great Siege, particularly the heroic defence of St Elmo, is but one such occasion. I was prompted to write this piece by two occurrences.

First of all, these past couple of years the reading world was regaled with the publishing of no fewer than three novels based on the events of the Great Siege, namely The Sword And The Scimitar, The Religion and the more recent Bloodrock. The four-month Great Siege is often described as one of the great military epics of history, and it is therefore no wonder that two of these novels have already achieved best-seller status, with the third well on its way there. They have also been translated into many other languages and I had the occasion to see the French language version of the first one, La Prisonnière de Malte, prominently displayed as the centrepiece attraction in a major book store in Brussels.

The second was a visit by a friend of mine to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, who described to me how, in the 16th century section of 22 maritime history paintings, a set of eight named The Siege Of Malta, by Matteo Perez d'Aleccio, originally from the collection of Charles I, dominate the exhibition. These paintings present an almost contemporary view of the events of the summer of 1565, and as a whole is a version of the larger series still in place in the Council Chamber of the Palace, in Valletta.

I have therefore penned this short piece as a commemoration of a day in our history when Malta stood alone in defiance of the then threat to the softer underbelly of Europe.

St Elmo fell after 29 days of bitter, hand-to-hand fighting against overwhelming odds. It was this heroic resistance that provided the spark that spread like wildfire across the European continent and which generated the public response that finally made the Princes of Europe heed the desperate pleas for assistance and send the long-awaited relief force that lifted the siege on September 8.

The Maltese were at the forefront of this prolonged battle and the story of the legendary swimmer Toni Bajada still evokes the hero worship among schoolchildren who listen enthralled to tales of his exploits. Certain sources, and again I am not aspiring to be a historian, claim that the population of Malta was reduced by a third due to the casualties suffered during the siege.

On this day, 442 years later, I remember this date with pride and respect for those "few" heroic and valiant Maltese, who, side by side with the Knights and other soldiers, fought and died for what they believed in, and who served as the bulwark for the defence of the European mainland. For the occasion, in honour of these our "Few", I borrow Winston Churchill's words after the Battle of Britain, when he honoured the gallant pilots of the Royal Air Force so: Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.