Four hundred and fifty years later, the Great Siege of Malta of 1565 is recognised by every-one as a seminal event in Maltese history.
Although historians have tended to give credit for this military victory to Grand Master Jean de Valette and the Knights he led, the reality is different and the brunt of the fighting was borne by the Maltese irregulars forming part of the defensive Christian force.
Furthermore, the Maltese fighting males were ably supported by their women and children so that this was nothing less than a national effort against the invaders.
Still, tangibly, the Great Siege brought little change to the lives of the Maltese of the time. They still were downtrodden by the Order of the Knights of St John and denied any meaningful say in the running of their country. Most Maltese lived in terrible conditions, and malnutrition, infant mortality, ignorance and superstition were everyday characteristics of life in those days.
The importance of the Great Siege lies instead in the fact that the collective memory of this event was to form the foundation stone of Malta’s road to independence.
From the end of the Great Siege onwards, the Maltese could always look back to an event when the collective national effort of the whole population helped to avert a catastrophe for the Maltese nation. The Great Siege in the collective memory became a point of referral, a source of pride, an event that illustrated the positive strengths of the Maltese as a nation.
As the years rolled by and the road towards independence became clearer, the Great Siege acquired even greater importance as a part of Maltese history. In the late 19th century, the Great Siege and its heroes started to feature prominently in the works of Maltese literature.
A prime example is the author Ġużé Muscat Azzopardi (1853-1927) who wrote historical novels centred around heroes of the Great Siege and with an element of nationalism in his writing.
Furthermore, in the 1920s and 1930s, the Great Siege also started to be invoked by Maltese politicians in their struggle against colonialism and their quest for self-determination. In 1923, September 8 started being commemorated as a national day.
Another manifestation of this importance given to 1565 was the inauguration of the Great Siege Monument, a work of the famous Maltese sculptor Antonio Sciortino, in Valletta on May 8, 1927.
This was also the year in which Dun Karm Psaila wrote his famous poem about the Great Siege entitled Il-Għanja tar-Rebħa.
After World War II (1939-45), the Great Siege of 1565 started tobe commemorated together with the siege endured by Malta in the struggle against fascism and Nazism.
There was nothing romantic about having boiling oil poured over you by the defenders
Still, its importance in the minds of the Maltese increased rather than decreased due to the introduction of compulsory education. The events of 1565 were given a prominent place in the history taught in schools and this helped in the dissemination of information about the Great Siege among the Maltese population.
With the advent of independence in 1964 and the introduction of mass tourism, the Great Siege has been used by successive Maltese governments to promote cultural tourism. This was helped by the publication, in Malta and abroad, of several books having the Great Siege as their main theme, both historical works as well as historical fiction.
Today, we look back at the Great Siege of 1565 from a different perspective compared to the recent past. At a time when tensions between East and West have reappeared, with the Islamic State advances in North Africa, we interpret the events of 1565 as a lesson in how important it is to promote intercultural dialogue, tolerance of different world views, respect for different religious beliefs, the search for peace in order to avoid war.
The romanticism ascribed to the Great Siege in the past is now seen for what it was: an empty and baseless assumption. There was nothing romantic about having boiling oil poured over you by the defenders or having your head almost severed from your body by an attacker’s scimitar stroke.
Even Grand Master de Valette is today seen in a diffferent light. He was indeed a great leader who saved Malta in its hour of peril but he was also a tyrant who deprived the Maltese of their legitimate rights.
Indeed, today we tend to give much less importance to the military aspects of the Order of the Knights of Saint John and concentrate more on their lasting contribution as hospitallers and as patrons of culture.
Perhaps, as Maltese, one of the most positive consequences of the Great Siege was the building of the capital city, Valletta, with its great architectural and artistic treasures such as St John’s Co-Cathedral.
450 years later, the Great Siege of 1565 remains a symbol for all Maltese of the beginning of the road to nationhood and a lasting tribute to the fortitude, depth of character, spirit of selfless sacrifice, resilience and patriotism of our ancestors.