Aspects of social life in Malta : 1700-1710

Abstract

By 1700 Malta had been under the rule of the Order for 170 years, governed for all that time by the Grand Master as its sovereign ruler, but still considered part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The eighteenth century itself opened with a Spanish Grand Master on the Magisterial throne, Raymond Perellos Y Roccaful, who did his best to revive the Order's prestige, especially, as Schermerhorn points out, by bringing its fleet into line with modern and improved methods of marine warfare. As in all other European countries, society was highly stratified and the contrast between rich and poor was very conspicuous. P. Chetcuti documents that the average Maltese led a frugal life in the eighteenth century, shoes and meals being things of the rich. Often the populace was wider-nourished, one particular man stating that his meals consisted of some bread and a glass of wine only. The social elite led a somewhat different life, and many of them took part in the cultural activities that went on in Malta, together with the Knights. The Medical School was founded a generation earlier by Grand Master Cottoner, Artists and architects, both foreign and Maltese, showed great skill.