There was a time when Jews, Christians and Muslims put aside their religious differences and came together at the Vittoriosa harbour for the common good of Malta’s economy.

According to new research by maritime historian Joan Abela, these 16th century sworn enemies were absolved of their religious defence duties to trade goods.

“Theoretically, the Knights were the sworn enemy of Muslims and their subjects were not supposed to engage in trading with the Ottomans. In practice, however, the story was quite different,” Dr Abela told this newspaper ahead of the launch of a book to be published after four years of research.

Hospitaller Malta and the Mediterranean Economy in the Sixteenth Century is mostly based around the Vittoriosa harbour, which was back then the new city of the Hospitaller Order.

In view of Malta’s lack of resources and as an obvious move to attract new settlement on the island that would help improve economic activity and stability, in October 1530, the Order petitioned Pope Clement VII to grant newly-established traders the necessary permit to trade with Muslims.

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The Pope allowed the locals to deal in commodities such as wheat, wine, oil and pulses, with the region of Barbary, the Moors and the ‘infidels’ and the partnership agreements were immortalised in notarial acts. Documents show that various Christian, Muslim and Jewish slaves adopted means of negotiating their freedom with their masters through the services of redemption agents.

Muslim merchants used to request permission from the Grand Master to come to Malta to redeem Muslim slaves, and likewise, Christian merchants requested permission from the Ottoman authorities to redeem Christian slaves.

Extract from a typical letter patent issued by the Grand Master and given to Muslim traders so that they may travel freely between Malta and North Africa. Photo: National Library Malta

Once permission was granted, they took advantage of the privilege granted to them and traded in other commodities.

One such merchant was Mahometo Rayz who in the documents is described as ‘libero et franco turcho’.

In 1552, the Grand Master granted Rayz a one year safe-conduct permit, equivalent to today’s passport. During this time, he was to go to Djerba and redeem Christian slaves and on his return to Malta was allowed to import merchandise and exchange it for Muslim slaves. 

Dr Abela said that notarial documents have remained largely untapped. It is only in recent years that their historic value started being appreciated, especially in view that very sparse material is available for the initial years of the Knights’ rule.

Such deeds also prove useful for the study of women’s legal privileges and how these affected their involvement in economic transactions. Women were always a silent voice in history and therefore their activities were rarely recorded.

Notarial deeds formed the backbone of Dr Abela’s research, however they were complemented by other sources such as the Archives of the Order, Ecclesiastical Archives and the National Archives.

For history lecturer Charles Dalli, who will be addressing the launch of the new book, Dr Abela’s work is “an eminent example of what can be achieved through the careful exploitation of Maltese documentary collections”.

“Not only is this book a solid new reference point for Maltese history under early Hospitaller rule, but it is also a contribution to the wider and ever-growing field of Mediterranean history.”

Apart from the numerous findings and results, Dr Abela’s volume presents a framework for research into Malta’s early modern trade and institutions, Mr Dalli added.