https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/5568 Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:18:31 GMT 2026-04-15T13:18:31Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/75778 Title: The Republic of Ragusa and Hospitaller Malta : mercantile shipping to an order-state in the eighteenth-century Abstract: The purpose of this dissertation is to scrutinise the characteristics of Ragusan commercial endeavours with the Hospitaller island-headquarters in the turbulent eighteenth-century. Ragusa was experiencing decadence at that time and Malta was in an appalling financial situation which did not portend well. The preliminary hypothetical question motivating further research was: did Ragusan shipping visit Malta as a convenient port of call on the way to the coasts of the Barbary Regencies, or did they stop at the Order's citadel for the purpose of catering for the sophisticated demands of the Convent and its subjects in general? The covered time frame has been prescribed by the availability of primary sources and my own language skills. The informative Quarantine Registers present fully decipherable Italian just for the eighteenth-century and the manuscripts pertaining to the legal establishment known as the Consolato Del Mare commence from 1697. Dealing with a contained field of action granted me the necessary concentration and stimulus to carry out a qualitative, analytical study as opposed to the repetitive quantity-oriented alternative. This dissertation is built on five interwoven chapters: an introduction revolving around a familiarisation with Ragusa and her entrepreneurs in harmony with the better known Hospitaller and Maltese experiences; a literature review complemented by new comparative considerations; a thematic enquiry into the distinct eighteenth-century scenario highlighting inconveniences and opportunities shared by the two protagonists; a chapter devoted to archival data from the Quarantine Registers; lastly, a conclusion answering the question posed above, featuring cases presented to the Consolato and outgoing Magistral correspondence. Description: M.A.HOSPITALLER STUD. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/75778 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/73484 Title: King Louis XIV's investigations into nobility and their impact on the French langues : Provence, Auvergne and France of the Knights of the Order of St. John Abstract: What was the role of nobility in late seventeenth-century France under the rule of King Louis XIV? How did the old class of nobility, better known as the military nobility, reacted to the rise of the new class of nobility (robe nobility) in Europe? What are the views of different historians on the two classes of nobility? How was the Order of the Knights Hospitaller, especially its three French langues, influenced by the several edicts on nobility issued by Louis XIV between 1664 and 1715? What precautions did the Order of SL John take in order to preserve nobility in its institutions? All these questions will be analysed in this dissertation in order to reconstruct the relationship between the French monarchy, the nobility, and the Order in the late seventeenth century. Description: M.A.HOSPITALLER STUD. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/73484 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/73379 Title: Military defence matters and the Congregazione della Guerra regarding the protection of Hospitaller Malta 1636-1798 Abstract: In the formulation of this dissertation the writer has sought to focus holistically on the historical buildup of the Order of St. John as an independent military force, eventually basing itself on the Maltese Islands, behind its grand fortifications. The dissertation will concentrate on the direct defence of the Islands during the period 1636-1798, when the task was the direct responsibility of a central defence committee, the Congregazione de/la Guerra. The writer will not, however, be investigating the organization and great exploits of the Navy of the Order to any depth, which was the Order's prime policy instrument of war. The prime objective of the Order over the centuries, including the period 1636-1798 m particular, was the maintenance of an ongoing military and naval force for the protection of the Christian World through the curtailment of the military might of the Islamic World throughout the Mediterranean. The Order also fought as an ally of other Christian military forces against the common enemy - the Ottoman Empire and its North African satellites. The Order was structured to function offensively, to a limited capacity, by its navy, and functioned defensively through its garrison and its fortifications. Description: M.A.HOSPITALLER STUD. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/73379 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/72256 Title: The Order of St. John and social life on Malta and Gozo as seen through petitions to Grand Masters (1775-1798) Abstract: It was while reading 'The Birgu Phase of Hospitaller History' written by Victor Mallia-Milanes, that I was first inspired to conduct research into the social life of the inhabitants of the Maltese islands by delving further into the petitions submitted to the Grand Masters. On deciding to focus on the eighteenth century, I did not wish to limit my research to a particular area of the island nor to a particular aspect of social life, but rather I wanted to endeavour to throw light on as many aspects as possible which affected the social life of the inhabitants in both islands. I therefore began my research into the last twenty-three years of the Order's rule in Malta - that is during the magistracies of Grand Masters Emanuel de Rohan and Ferdinand von Hompesch - with the original intention of continuing to work backwards to include the magistracies of both Francisco Ximenes de Texada and Emanuel Pinto de Fonseca. I soon realised however that petitions hold a mine of information and, with the limitation on the number of words as set by the course requirements for the writing of the dissertation, the last two magistracies proved more than ample for this study. The dissertation firstly analyses the formulation of the petitions themselves and the petitioning process, followed by four chapters, each pertaining to different social aspects - earning a living; the standard of living; social and medical services; marriage and family - all which featured strongly in the petitions, as did the dependence of the inhabitants on the Grand Master. The petitions submitted to the Grand Master were the primary sources used to form the basis of this study. Numerous secondary sources were also utilized to provide further insights into the particular aspects dealt with in this dissertation. During my research seven of the eighteen 'Suppliche' volumes preserved in the Archives of the Order together with one of the four held in the Archives of Gozo were consulted, being these which covered the last two magistracies. Description: M.A.HOSPITALLER STUD. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/72256 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z