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Alain Blondy, Malte et Marseille au XVIIIème siècle. Fondation de Malte, 2013. 618 pp.
So close were the commercial relations between Malta and Marseilles during the 18th century that Britain (whose traders at the time were also showing interest in the Mediterranean) considered Malta’s neutrality as playing too much in favour of the French.
In the 16th century, after the Great Siege of 1565, the Hospitaller government set out to build and fortify Valletta and its Grand Harbour in order to better resist the inevitable threats of the Ottoman Empire.
However, the following century, most military operations were entrusted to the Christian corso against Islamic vessels. In the 18th century, maritime activity took a more peaceful, enterprising role, this time transforming Valletta’s harbour into a commercial freeport serving the free movement of goods between the Levant and Europe.
On August 10, 1752, Grand Master Manoel Pinto inaugurated an imposing series of baroque-designed stores, complete with a chapel dedicated to the Flight to Egypt, in order to embellish the quays in the suburbs of the capital.
He set the pace for decades of intense mercantile merchandising that eventually made Malta the foremost harbour of the French commercial port of Marseilles.
Malta and Marseilles now seem to join forces again in a cultural effort to present their shared, dynamic maritime past in this publication by eminent French historian Alain Blondy. Spread over 600 pages, the book, published by the Fondation de Malte, carries 40 illustrations and details a researched historical documentation on how Marseilles developed into the main commercial harbour of France; Malta’s enterprising emergence during the 18th century; relations between the two Mediterranean ports, and the winding up of this partnership after the French Revolution. Prof. Blondy had the collaboration of Xavier Labat Saint Vincent regarding the island’s commercial ties with France.
In the mid-18th century, conscious of Malta’s importance in the commercial and military stakes in the Mediterranean, London decided to establish a consulate on the island, with John Dodsworth, followed by Angelo Rutter and later by William England.
Dodsworth, an Englishman from Leghorn, settled on the island. He rented three of the new wharves to accommodate his compatriots. This British diplomatic representation, like that of Russia, was also meant to balance the very strong presence of France’s chargé d’affaires.
The latter oversaw French interests, diplomatic strategy and surveillance of naval operations in the Mediterranean. The Marseilles Chamber of Commerce had its own agent representing its merchants in Valletta.
Inevitably, a number of incidents in Maltese territorial waters arose. One particular incident concerned the notorious British corsair Wright, who entered Grand Harbour with two French ships in tow, one captured near Sardinia and the other in Maltese waters.
Matters were further complicated when the British war vessel Jersey sailed into port. The Admiralty was secretly sent copies of letters between Wright and its captain, proposing to attack Maltese vessels.
Before his departure, Captain Burnaby protested about the Grand Master’s indiscriminate use of spying on the exchange of correspondence. At the time, British corsairs were seeking a shipping base in the Mediterranean, after the French took the port of Mahon in 1756. They were making their intentions somewhat clearer regarding Malta when, in the summer of 1760, they even considered a canon attack on Fort St Lucian in Marsaxlokk Bay.
However, Pinto, politically astute, reported the whole matter to King George II of England. The monarch not only responded by confirming Malta’s neutrality, but congratulated the Grand Master on his wise handling of affairs.
Eventually, Pinto had to remind foreign signatories to respect the Treaty of Utrecht, which allowed only four fighting or corsair armed ships in Malta’s port. This did not apply to mercantile shipping.
Intrigue in the Mediterranean waters never ceased. Conscious of British relations with North Africa, France showed renewed interest in the Barbary States as Malta’s harbours were conveniently close for French traders in Marseilles.
Readers of Malte et Marseille will obviously enjoy sections regarding the aftermath of the French Revolution. However, a more important happening was Malta becoming a republic for the first time under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1798. This strengthened the propitious commercial ties between these two Mediterranean harbours.
Browsing through the long list of names of Maltese refugees who went to France once the British settled in Malta is of great curiosity and interest. These lists include many Maltese ascendants of local families and a number of citizens who had supported the French.
As expected, it also includes French surnames of many merchants who had settled in Malta from Marseilles and surrounding port cities like Toulon.
Another precious section of this book includes some consular letters, preserved at the Cathedral Archives. The French chargé d’affaires in Malta received these from Marseilles between 1754 and 1793, and from Toulon for the period 1775 to 1791. A detailed name index makes this volume a veritable reference treasure on this period.