Malta's trade with the eastern Mediterranean 1770–1820

Abstract

The present dissertation consists of five chapters and a general conclusion. The first chapter lays out and examines the context of Maltese maritime historiography; it establishes the chronological and geographical boundaries of the study, describes and evaluates the primary sources, and explains the methodology. Malta and its port are parts of a much vaster whole – the Mediterranean world. As such they cannot be adequately understood unless they are placed firmly within the wider context. Chapter II does precisely that. It provides the wider canvas as it were, on which the details of the subsequent chapters are drawn. The international Mediterranean context is provided and closely followed by the perspective from Malta. The period under discussion was tumultuous not only on the international stage but also on the local one. Against the tumultuous backdrop of the French and Napoleonic wars three different dominions held Malta and the inevitable changes and continuities that ensued forged the history of the archipelago in the Middle Sea. In chapter III two chronological periods are identified (the decades spanning the end of the eighteenth century forming one period – Period A, while the opening years of the nineteenth century making up another – Period B), five maritime areas are delimited, ports of origin identified and grouped, and sailing routes analysed. The intensity of sea-borne traffic from the different maritime areas is analysed as are the types of voyages undertaken and the sea routes used. The impact of the weather on the sailing dynamic is also discussed. Chapter IV focuses on the fleets, and endeavours to explore the attributes of the ships, captains, passengers, crew and cargo that from the eastern destinations were finding themselves in Malta. It further explores the pattern of trade and analyses the frequency with which ships and their captains found themselves in the port of Malta. Plague and eastern maritime trade were inextricably entwined. Chapter V examines the impact of the fatal disease on the maritime dynamic. A narrative of how Mediterranean port cities fought this frightening scourge is complemented with an analysis of the quarantine and lazaretto setup in Malta. An analysis of the contents of the ships’ bill of health reveals several interesting elements. The last year under consideration, 1820, is a problematic year for reasons that will be elucidated below, and will be discussed separately at the end of the chapter. A general conclusion proposing some answers to the questions posed in the introduction together with suggestions for further research wraps up the thesis. The originality of this work lies in the detailed analysis of the QR as a source of Mediterranean maritime history, and in the uncovering of patterns during two contiguous yet distinct periods of Maltese history – in showing the movements of ships between the myriad nodes on the vast eastern Mediterranean shores and Malta and in bringing the actors – the ships and the men of the sea — into the limelight. The juxtaposition of the two periods creates a greater clarity in the continuities and changes of the patterns revealed. At this stage the aim of this work is to expose the patterns of shipping that enmeshed the port of Malta with the eastern Mediterranean.