A medical service for slaves in Malta during the rule of the Order of St.John of Jerusalem

Abstract

It is not generally known that, apart from the Holy Infirmary and other medical institutions for civilian sick and the aged, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem also made special arrangements of a medical kind for its Moslem slaves during its domination over the Maltese Islands from 1530 to 1798. The subject has not received adequate treatment from historians possibly for two reasons: (a) the Holy Infirmary occupied such a pre-eminent place in the Order's organization that it has overshadowed the importance of other medical establishments; and (b) the fact that references to the medical condition of slaves are scarce and scattered in various volumes of the Order's archives has also contributed to obscure this subject of the Order's activities. The purpose of this paper is to trace and study as many sources of information as possible and to view the subject against the background of the customs and usages of the past and of the Order's economic structure and humanitarian ideals.