The Order of St. John's ships-of-the-line at sea 1764-1770 : four log book accounts and case studies 1764-1770

Abstract

In my younger days I was intrigued by anything military; the parades, the uniforms, the pomp, the weapons and fortifications. This infatuation took a stronger and more solid form when I became part of an infantry regiment for six memorable years. Years later, I was drawn to an opportunity of studying and understanding of one of the most successful military orders of the early modem age - the Hospitallers. There was so much to explore, research and assimilate in the history of the Order of St. John and particularly from the military perspective. The knights' exploits in the Holy Land, Rhodes and Malta have been the inspiration for a myriad of books, research and documentation. Moreover, when the land forces became also a naval power this interest increased accordingly, aided undoubtedly by the literary works available. Excellent and exhaustive works have been produced dealing with the Order of St. John's fleet from many aspects. However, I was eager to assimilate more about the on board life on the Order's ships-of-the-line. The organisation of the Order of St. John's fleet in the eighteenth century is well documented in the similarly titled work by Dr. Joseph F. Grima. This tome provided me with the necessary background information needed to establish the backbone of the organisation and spurred me on to research the executive arm of the sailing ship squadron. Prior to consulting the primary sources for this dissertation I attempted to build as wide a knowledgeable base on the subject and its peripherals as possible. I searched for author and works beyond our shores in order to hopefully obtain information even from foreign sources. Background information was gleaned from Mons. Giacomo Scarabelli's work: La Squadra dei Vascelli dell 'Ordine di Malta agli inizi del Settecento. This work was inspired by another publication from Scarabelli in which he outlines the 1775 campaign in Algiers as described by Fra Giovanni Battista Tommasi in his Giornale di Borda. Cross-referencing information was obtained from Ettore Rossi's Storia della Marina dell'Ordine di San Giovanni and Ubaldino Mori Ubaldini's La Marina del Sovrano Militare Ordine di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme di Rodi e di Malta. Among other foreign authors consulted were Ezio Ferrante and Salvatore Bono.