The south coastal defences of Malta built during the Order of St. John, 1530-1798

Abstract

This dissertation traces the development of coastal defences in the Southern part of Malta during the period of the Order of St. John. The defence of the Northern part of Malta has already been treatied in another dissertation, and so this dissertation is meant to provide the continuation to the first one. The importance of coastal defences has been largely overlooked and underestimated by several ·writers and historians. Although the Order did not have a long-term plan to tackle coastal defences, in the end it became almost obsessed with it. This dissertation shows why these coastal fortifications were built, the reason for the different types of coastal defences that were adopted, together with the financing of these works. In studying the development of coastal defences in Malta, one has to deal also with the DEIMA - Malta's Militia - which played an important role in the defences of Malta's coast for centuries.