Towards an economic history of eighteenth century Malta : Buzzaccarini Gonzaga's correspondence to the Venetian Magistracy of Trade 1754-1776

Abstract

The restraining late medieval legacy of allegiance and dependency which the Knights of St. John inherited on settling in the tiny central Mediterranean island of Malta had never been compatible with the Order's grand aspirations. The history of Malta's foreign relations from 1530 to 1798 is the story of the Order's conscious and protracted efforts to remove the negative structural and institutional forces which debarred growth and development in order to mobilize the positive forces which would lead to economic progress. It was a difficult task to break away from the pattern of politico-economic subjection - to powers like France and Spain to conditions which would reduce Malta's complete dependence on traditional markets, manufactures and capital. Veneto-Maltese mutual economic approaches during the eighteenth century were just one outstanding example of this complex process of economic 'reorientation. It is my purpose here to examine these "approaches" within the broad framework of the island's economy as a whole and the conceptions of it entertained by the Venetian Magistracy of Trade - the Cinque Savi alla Mercanzia, My examination will draw heavily on the large collection of Massimiliano Buzzaccarini Gonzaga's orginal, manuscript despatches from Malta to the Cinque Savi.