Synopsis
Sponsored by the Alfred Mizzi Foundation. Security was probably the main benefit the Order of St John brought to these islands during its Maltese phase. Economic well-being was another, and equally important. Historians generally agree that Malta saw considerable progress in the seventeenth century, but two major disasters happening in less than twenty years during the last quarter of the century inevitably checked the progress of the islands. The plague of 1676 annihilated a fifth of the population, and the earthquake of 1693 caused considerable damage to numerous buildings but no known victims. Though the Order must have acquired a lot of experience in managing plague epidemics following two previous outbreaks during the same century, the time which the Order took to act decisively was so long that the effects were catastrophic. The Order however fared much better in the second calamity. For different reasons, both disasters were followed by the spectre of famine which, to its credit, the Order succeeded in resolving.
Speaker: Mario Sciriha
The Plague of 1676 and the Earthquake of 1693
Speaker: Mario Sciriha
Auberge de Castille, The Vaults, Valletta
The Plague of 1676 and the Earthquake of 1693