Friday, 5th September 2008
More on the Portuguese intervention
It was an interesting article (September 2) about the "Portuguese squadron at Malta". Further information might be of interest.
The Portuguese arrival at Malta came about when the Maltese sent Publio Camilleri with nine men in a boat from Marsascala to Naples to ask King Ferdinand IV for help after the Maltese rebelled on September 2, 1798, but, while en route, an English ship, the 16-gun cutter Earl St Vincent under Captain Retalick, met up with the Maltese vessel.
When told that the Maltese had rebelled and French warships that had escaped from the Battle of the Nile were in Malta harbour, Captain Retalick reported the meeting to Nelson when he met up with the 74-gun flagship Vanguard 120 miles off Messina.
The Vanguard, in bad need of a refit, was unable to go to the assistance of the Maltese, but on September 13, 1798, when Nelson arrived at Messina he found at anchor Marquis de Niza commanding a Portuguese squadron which had been sent in to the Mediterranean to join Nelson's squadron. Nelson, therefore, immediately ordered the Portuguese squadron to sail for Malta and blockade the harbour where at anchor lay the French 80-gun ship Guillaume Tell and also two 40-gun frigates, Diane and Justice which had escaped from the Nile.
The Portuguese squadron that was sent to Malta consisted of Principe-Real (Rear Admiral the Marquis de Niza and Captain Puysigur), Rainha-de-Portugal (Captain Stone), San Sebastian (Captain Mitchell), Alphonso-Albuquerque (Captain Campbell) all 74-gun ships, and a brig Falcao (Captain Duncan). Four of the Portuguese ships were under the command of English naval officers.
In company with the Portuguese squadron were two English ships, the 64-gun Lion (Captain Dixon) and the Incendiary fireship (Captain George Baker). It was at this time that Captain James Saumarez of the Orion and his squadron arrived off Malta on September 23 escorting six French prizes captured at the Battle of the Nile. Saumarez however was unable to spare any British arms from his ships when a Maltese delegation went on board to ask him for arms and assistance. He was able to supply the Maltese with 1,062 muskets and ball cartridges, and cartouche boxes with 200 barrels of gun powder from the French prizes. On September 27, Saumarez reported in detail to Nelson the arms landed for the Maltese, which, in a letter in reply dated September 29, Nelson supported.
Nelson arrived off Malta on October 24 and relieved the Portuguese squadron which he sent to Naples, Marquis de Niza having completed the work his ships had been sent to do by Nelson: Blockade the Malta harbour to prevent the French ships from escaping.
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Comments
It was Nelson who sent the first assistance to Malta not the Portugese Government.
That this limited assistance consisted mostly of Portugese and some British hardware is only a historically irrelevant detail. Portugal was not a player in events so I can not quite follow the import of 'Portugese'. The value of this fact is logistical not historical.
We do not refer to Roman Army achievments as Spanish, Gaul or German interventions. The Roman army consisted of a multitude of nationalities yet we consider all Roman achievements as Roman.
Neither of us can ascertain with any degree of hindsight, what turn of events might have transpired had the Portuguese not armed the insurrection with the means by which to harass, blockade the invading French, thereby paving the way for British rule under pretext of protection for insurgents, from Napoleon’s wrath.
I propose that Malta’s future was in fact sealed by Whitehall after the British naval victory over the Spanish fleet at Trafalgar. It was then apparent that Britain had cast its eyes on controlling the Mediterranean, in its eastward bid to build an empire. The Portuguese episode, as well as the fall of the Kingdom of Naples under Napoleon, were but two small blips in a greater scheme of events, which permitted European nations to colonize Asia, Africa and South America. Given its superb harbor, whosoever controlled Malta as a coaling station and military bastion, held the upper edge.
I propose the folowing historic landmarks and invite you or any interested person to correct as necessary:
The blockade of the French was started by the Maltese.
Nelson sent naval support consisting of a small Portugese squadron and two British ships to provide initial support to the Maltese in late 1798. I find this detail in many history books and can not understand why this event is being portrayed as one that was kept away from us.
Ball landed on Malta on October 12 1798.
British navy-support followed. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (a plaque for this episode too?) sent ammunition and aid to the Maltese.
The isolated French forces, under General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois, only surrendered in 1800.
The Kingdom of Naples was Malta's obvious new ruler yet Napoleaon’s troops succeeded in entering Naples itself, forcing King Ferdinand IV to flee the city.
The fear of the return of the Order of St John pushed Malta indirectly towards becoming a British protectorate.
Portugal never played a leading role and was not in any position to govern Malta.
In 1814, as part of the Treaty of Paris. Malta officially became a part of the Empire
In this regard it is well to remember that history is simply a version of events written by those who prevail. Truth often becomes victim to exagerration and fantasy, at the expense of objectivity. The old Roman adage of "caveat emptor" or buyer beware, is well to keep in mind when employing historic references.
That the history of Malta covering the British period is skewed in Britain’s favor has always been strongly suspected. This latest revelation leaves no doubt that other aspects of that extended and troubled relationship, between two people holding sharp contrasting values, should be closely re-examined for authenticity.
In 1798-1800 Portugal fitted out a small squadron to assist the British. This squadron, under the Marquis of Nisa, operated in the Mediterranean UNDER Horatio Nelson for nearly two years. It primarily assisted in the blockade of Malta.
The Portuguese navy was in decile. Till the 1760s, there was a constant stream of new ships coming on-line to replace natural wastage.
By 1770s there was a near-complete stop of naval construction due to difficulties with Portuguese national finance (Earthquake-Marquis of Pombal, and declining tax revenues from Brazilian gold mines.
In 1807 French armies invaded Portugal. In November of 1807 the fleet carried away the Portuguese royal family to Brazil. There remained little Portuguese naval activity in the remaining years of the war. Portugal was a battleground from 1808 to 1811, and every effort was devoted to building up a sizable army.
The Portugese role in the blockade of Malta was therefore primarily logistical and not political/military beyond its important contribution to Nelson's fleet.
The assertion that the British helped remove the French from Malta in 1800 is an exaggeration at best, if not an outright distortion of actual battle events. It amazes me that a venture of this magnitude should be so little known to the Maltese population at large. What other facets of our history have been deliberately hyped or hidden for the benefit of the British crown, remain legitimately open for question.
One lie serves as a stepping stone towards another. If none else this one episode raises serious doubts about the entire chapter of Malta under British rule, including their other fallacious claim of having been invited by the Maltese to rule. How best to justify having been invited as guests for dinner, but never left.
It would be opportune to mark the sites were many Maltese and their allies lost their lives during the siege of 1798-1800.
All the area around the Cottonera lines from Rinella in Kalkara to Notre Dame gate witnessed fierce assaults and attacks during these years. So did the area of Kordin and Gharghar. Portuguese marines and gunners were posted here to assist the Maltese. None of such areas have any form of commemorative reference for either the Maltese or foreigners who lost their lives there nor, were possible, the site is indicated, protected or otherwise interpreted.
These could well be part of a heritage trail, educational or commemorative battlefield walk for all to visit and help appreciate the sacrifices our forefathers paid for the liberation of the island. This period is neglected completely - there is no Museum in Malta which covers it.