The naval prowess of the Hospitaller Order of St John was renowned throughout Europe and the Mediterranean.

A paper entitled ‘The Warships of the Order of St John 1530-1798’, presented during History Week 1994, by Joseph Muscat, a historian who is considered one of the foremost authorities on Malta’s maritime history, described the role of the Order’s navy as follows:

“A policing role against all Muslim shipping was maintained by the warships of the Order in the Mediterranean Sea. The Knights insisted on the right of search on all ships sailing in all directions of the Mediterranean. It seems there was a tacit acceptance on the part of Christian shipping although English captains were always against such a practice. It must be pointed out that the fourth vow of the Knights obliged them to fight Muslim forces always and everywhere even when outnumbered by three to one.”

In the 16th and 17th century, the Order’s important warships were the galleys, oared vessels rowed by galley slaves. They were also rigged with the characteristic triangular lateen sails which were made use of in favourable wind conditions.

Before 1625 all the galleys were painted red while the parts below the waterline were white. In 1625 the practice was introduced of painting the flagship, or capitana, black. The galleys had very good maneuverability as they were not dependent on wind conditions, but lacked firepower since canon could not be fired from the ship’s sides because of the oars. They were used mostly in close skirmishes, often culminating in ramming and boarding the enemy vessels.

Up to the last years of the 18th century the galley squadron of the Order consisted of eight galleys, which were the scourge of Muslim shipping. However, it was felt that heavier warships were required to counter such warships which had come into service for the Muslim fleet. In 1700, Grand Master Ramon Perellos y Roccaful proposed the introduction of square-rigged galleons known as ‘third rates’ into the Order’s fleet. Four such galleons, known as vascelli, were commissioned and came into operation against Muslim shipping in 1705.

What the galleons lacked in maneuverability they gained in firepower since cannon could now be deployed to fire from the ship’s sides, which meant that they could engage enemy vessels from a considerable distance.

This article looks into the story behind some notable naval victories by the Order’s vessels. These encounters are depicted in a number of paintings displayed in the Piano Nobile of Palazzo Falson, the former Mdina residence of Capt. Olof Frederick Gollcher and the repository of his eclectic collections. The palazzo, also known as ‘Norman House’, was expertly converted into a magnificent ‘historic house museum’ by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti.

The fourth vow of the Knights obliged them to fight Muslim forces always and everywhere even when outnumbered by three to one

One of these paintings shows the launching of the ‘third rates’ in 1705. The four galleons were the San Giovanni and San Giacomo, which were built at Toulon in France, and the San Giuseppe and Santa Caterina, built at the newly developed ship arsenal at Senglea. These new additions to the Order’s fleet were placed under the command of Lieutenant General François de Castel de St Pierre. The launching was an event full of pomp and majesty, which was attended by the Grand Master himself.

The watercolour painting shows the four new galleons sailing in a circle and firing salutes. Numerous small boats are in the vicinity, belonging to Maltese boatmen, or barklori, who plied their trade supplying ships with food and other necessities. The Order’s lateen-rigged galleys are seen in the background in front of a hazy rendering of Valletta with the Grand Harbour and Marsamxett on either side.

The earliest battle depicted in the Piano Nobile paintings dates back to 1638 during the grand mastership of Juan de Lascaris-Castellar. It involved the Order’s galley squadron and three Tripolitanian vessels led by Becassa di Tripoli and took place off La Roccella in Calabria on June 20, 1638.

Six oared galleys of the Order engaged three much larger Muslim vessels (two vascelli and a pollacca, a sailing vessel with both lateen and square-rigged sails), and were eventually successful in capturing them. The watercolour painting shows one of the enemy ships being engaged by two of the Order’s lateen-rigged galleys in the foreground. The other two Tripolitanian ships appear further back, each being harried by two Maltese galleys. One of the galleys engaged in the attack depicted at right is the flagship, distinguished by its black colour, while the moorish vessel at left background is the pollacca.

The Order’s galleys are all being rowed furiously prior to ramming and boarding the enemy vessels, their lateen sails furled in order not to hinder the firing of their guns. The boarding parties can be seen at the ready in the prow of the galleys. A fleet of eight small vessels appears in the distance to the right of the Calabrian coastline.

A number of 17th- and 18th-century texts give further details about the encounter. ‘Becassa di Tripoli’ was the notorious Christian renegade, originally from Marseilles, who had switched allegiance from the Cross to the Crescent, after receiving his nautical training in the Maltese Corso. His valour and prowess in the Muslim navy earned him the title of ‘Ammiraglio di Barbaria’.

The Roccella incident started when the Order’s squadron received information that two vessels belonging to the Pasha of Tripoli were in the vicinity of La Roccella on the Calabrian coast. On proceeding to this location they found the two large Muslim vascelli and the pollacca. These carried between them 500 men-at arms and 45 cannon.

Battle was immediately engaged, and the Maltese galleys attacked in pairs and rammed the three Muslim vessels, as faithfully depicted in the painting. After furious onboard fighting the Muslim vessels eventually surrendered. Becassa was humbled and about 200 Muslims had perished, while the Order’s vessels lost only 40 men, including eight knights; 100 Christian slaves were liberated. The Order’s squadron returned triumphantly to Malta with their valuable prizes, entering the harbour with the flags of the conquered vessels fluttering in the wind above the stern of the victorious Christian galleys.

These encounters are depicted in a number of paintings displayed in Palazzo Falson, the former Mdina residence of Capt. Olof Frederick Gollcher

A large canvas (198cm by 272cm) in the Palazzo Falson reserve collection depicts a battle scene in which the Order’s galleys attack an Algerian vessel. The painting is by Niccolo Nasoni, a Tuscan artist who lived in Malta between 1723 and 1725 and is best known for his paintings in the corridors and ceilings of the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta.

The encounter depicted is probably that described at length by the Order’s historian Bartolomeo dal Pozzo in his Historia della Sacra Religione. Dal Pozzo recounts that the battle took place on January 19, 1668, and that the Order’s galley squadron was led by Commendatore Pappacoda. The partly legible legend on the painting refers to ‘Gaspare Papac…’ and the year 1668.

The ‘Galera Padrona’ was the first to attack and ram the Algerian corsair, and the San Pietro, San Nicola and San Giovanni soon joined in the fray. Eventually the battered enemy ship surrendered after it was boarded and a small arms skirmish took place.

Fr Gaston de Boisson Beauteville and Fr Tomaso Accarigi, who were at the forefront of the boarding party, were killed together with six men-at-arms; 25 of the Order’s men were wounded.

Dal Pozzo goes on to relate that 152 slaves were captured, including 17 renegades, while 40 Christian slaves were liberated. Among the latter was a “gentildonna Palermitana”. The booty included a number of chests containing a total of 4,000 Reali.

A naval encounter that took place at the turn of the century is represented by two paintings at Palazzo Falson, a faded watercolour and an oil painting on canvas that is in much better condition. They depict a famous victory by the Knights of St John, the capture of the Sultana Benghen, which took place off Lampedusa on October 15, 1700, during the reign of Grand Master Raymond Perellos y Roccafull.

The Maltese galleys, under the command of Bali Rafael Spinola, were cruising in the vicinity of Sousse in Tunisia when they encountered the Sultana, a large Tunisian vessel armed with 80 cannon.

The oil painting shows the Barbary vessel surrounded and engaged by four lateen-rigged galleys of the Order. The galley on the right is the capitana or flagship, distinguishable by its black colour.

This was a celebrated naval victory and is the subject of a number of works of art. Besides the two paintings mentioned above, the encounter is also depicted in one of the lunettes in the corridors of the Grand Master’s Palace. Another oil painting featuring this battle (in which the date of the encounter is erroneously given as October 8) was sold at auction in Portugal in 2006.

The Sultana Benghen episode is referred to by a number of 18th-century authors, including A. Paradisi in 1740, who, in a passage about Bali Paolo Rafael de Spinola, describes the en­counter in detail. He recounts how the Maltese squadron met the Sultana off Lampedusa and attacked with such great force that the Turks were forced to retreat.

Being assured of life and liberty, they surrendered, and Spinola proceeded to Malta with his prize in a blaze of glory, so much so that on arrival he was visited by both Grand Master Perellos, and the Inquisitor, Mgr Massarani, representing the Pope. He was also given the Comenda di Mazzara in recognition of this great victory.

Abbé Vertot, in his History of the Order of St John, gives other interesting details: “The engagement was long and the loss considerable on both sides, but at last the knights had the advantage and carried the ship with them to Malta. The Grand Master ordered the standard of it to be put in the church of St John at Aix, the birthplace of the Chevalier Richard, as a monument of the valour of that knight, who had chiefly contributed to the victory.”

The naval encounters to be discussed next all involve the square-rigged galleons of the Order which, as already indicated, came into service in 1705. These battle scenes are depicted in a set of four oil paintings on wood at Palazzo Falson.

In 1710, the third rates squadron, under the command of Fra Giuseppe Langon, was cruising in Spanish waters when they came across an Algerian vessel, the Capitana d’Algier. The Algerian ship was captured after a long battle with the Maltese galleon Santa Catarina, captained by Jean François Chevestre de Cintray, who was assisted by other galleons of the squadron.

The painting shows two Maltese vessels in close engagement with the Algerian ship, which has been dismasted and is on fire. Parts of the Algerian ship’s rigging can be seen floating in the water. Another Maltese vessel further away in the background fires its cannon, while a fourth vessel can be seen on the horizon. At right in the background is a promontory of land labeled ‘Costa di Granada’ and a single tower with the legend ‘Madrid’. The prize of the Capitana d’Algier resulted in the capture of 286 slaves, while 47 Christians were freed.

The celebrated knight Giuseppe de Langon lost his life during this naval battle. Sebastiano Paoli, in his 1737 Codice Diplomatico, records Langon’s death at the age of 41, as follows:

“The Order’s squadron was commanded by Fra Giuseppe de Langon, a knight of extraordinary prudence and courage, who, to the sadness of all, died during the capture of the Capitana d’Algieri in the waters of Malaga on April 18, 1710, hit by a musket ball which passed through his heart. His body was taken to Cartagena in Spain where it was interred beneath the main altar of the cathedral.” (Translated from Italian).

Perellos commemorated de Langon’s death with a Latin inscription at St John’s Co-Cathedral, where both de Langon and De Cintray, who captained the Santa Catarina, are buried.

De Cintray and Giuseppe’s brother Adriano de Langon would go on to participate in other notable naval victories by the Knights of Malta.

(To be concluded)