Vincenzo Borg Brared 1773-1837 : a portrait of his political, cultural and personal life

Abstract

Vincenzo Borg occupies a prominent place in Maltese History, and often the aim of such studies is to study his role during the blockade and its significance. The purpose of this thesis was not only to analyse all this but also to go beyond this historical narrative. In this work I try to make the reader aware of Vincenzo Borg Brared’s personal life. By personal life, I intended his family and also his cultural and religious relevance. Therefore, I attempted to answer who this man was, what he stood for in life and what he achieved. Historians have written about him but none gave any consideration to his early childhood and teenage years or later years. The emphasis lay squarely with his participation in the blockade against the French and his contribution to help the British take over Malta. Yet, despite the importance of such a historical figure, even his date of birth is shrouded in mystery. I hope that through my research, I have succeeded in answering with certainty the year of his birth. Also, through the use of archival material, this study has unearthed a number of facts about Borg Brared’s exploits related to his political activities during the blockade of the French and the first decades of British rule in Malta.