Malta
Data from the Maltese source material
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The Maltese Sources
Lying at the centre of the Mediterranean, the small island archipelago of Malta became an essential maritime and naval base for the British Empire during the nineteenth century. The British had gained power in Malta in 1800, using it to further the commercial, diplomatic, and political activities of the growing British Empire. Malta soon became an essential node for Britain's Mediterranean ambitions, and its importance further grew after the Suez Canal opened in 1869. Britain profited from Malta's proximity to the Levant where it was possible to coordinate exchanges between Odessa, Constantinople, Bombay, the Aegean Islands, Sicily, Trieste, and Alexandria. The staple of trade touching Malta was grain – directed to Leith, Cork, Falmouth, London and Liverpool and shipped back several commodities, amongst which the strategically important coal and brimstones. By the end of the century, the strategic position of Malta in the empire began to decline as new steam vessels could endure longer journeys without a need to stop there at all; and as Europe had turned to America for grain imports causing exchanges from the Black Sea to diminish in importance.
The central position within the British imperial web, and the commercial importance of the archipelago meant that a wealth of sea protests were presented there. Sea protests – the ship masters’ original report on losses that occurred at sea and deposited on arrival at port, were an essential element of General Average (GA) legal procedure, and mirrored the Italian testimoniali.
Sea Protests provide a wide range of information on maritime trade and its risks. Reports on the mental and physical health of the master or crew members were also commonly featured. By detailing problems, and accidents that had occurred at sea, they protected masters from liability for damages to ships or cargo. The documentation preserved in the Notarial Archives in Valletta ranges from 1812 to 1878, and it is contained in the papers of the British notaries William Stevens Senior (practising 1806-1854), Junior (1831-1878) and Charles Curry (practising from 1812 to 1862) with whom Stevens set up partnerships.
It is also hoped that future scholars will use the sea protests to critically examine the enormous cost of human lives at sea and the deprivations sailors faced, for which there is little other evidence; a situation which enabled the historical experiences of these men – often from very poor backgrounds – to be ignored. The Empire was an ugly project for people on all sides, and it is important to remember all dimensions of the human cost of imperial expansion.
View the reports from the Maltese archive
Case Studies
The voyage of the Brig Marinion in 1851
Sickness and death in the Atlantic
The English Brig Marinion (Robert Horn, Master) was towed out of the port of Rio de Janeiro at noon on Sunday 16th March 1851, laden with a cargo of coffee "in bags and dried hides", bound for Gibraltar for orders. At 6 pm the Mate William Weston and the Apprentice George Hicks were attacked with Yellow Fever and by Sunday 18th three other crewmen and the cook were also infected. The Master had no option but to bear up and return to port, which they reached at midnight. At daylight on the nineteenth the Health Officer’s boat came alongside and ordered them to ride out a quarantine of five days.
During this time three more crewmen and the Master himself were infected and two hands succumbed to the disease. On the 24th March they got pratique and landed the sick, but it was not before the 10th of April, 25 days after their original departure, that the Master was sufficiently recovered to assume his duties.
After replenishing their stores and engaging new hands to replace those who had died and others left behind for hospital treatment, they made a fresh departure on Monday 14th April. After a transatlantic crossing during which they experienced strong and contrary gales, heavy seas, & squally weather, they arrived in Gibraltar on 27th July, where they received orders to proceed to Malta. They left the following day, but only arrived in Malta on the 20th August when the Master registered his minutes of Sea Protest against any damage which the cargo may have suffered due to boisterous weather and the unavoidable delay because of their forced return to Rio de Janeiro.
The voyage had lasted no less than 129 days, from 16th March to 20th August 1851.
The voyage of the Norwegian Brig Lyna in 1850
Cargo infestation!
On 16th June 1850 the Norwegian Brig Lyna (Master Collet Geelmuyden) left the Egyptian port of Alexandria laden with 3000 ardebs (594,000litres) of Indian Corn bound for Cork or Falmouth for orders. They proceeded on their voyage steering as the winds and weather permitted and passed Gozzi di Candia (off Crete) on the twenty-eighth. On the 30th it was noticed that the cargo was "emanating a great heat" and the vessel was overrun with "weevils and other small insects". By the 1st July the heat increased considerably and by the 3rd the cargo "threw out a very unwholesome effluvia". By the seventh the deck planks became quite warm situation was so bad that no one could remain below deck and the bilge water was black and stinking. On the 8th, at 340 37" N and 160 17" E a meeting of the crew was called and it was decided that "for the preservation of the ship and cargo but more especially this latter, and the health of the people" they should head for Malta. On the 11th, with the Malta lighthouse bearing NW distant about 16 miles, the sea ran high and they had to carry a press of canvas which caused the splitting of the jib and fore topsail which they had to cut away to prevent further damage.
On Friday 12th, with the cargo "burning hot", they entered Valletta harbour with the assistance of a pilot and some tow boats. On the following morning the Master entered his Minutes of Sea Protest in the Chancery of the Norwegian Consulate. A survey of the cargo was subsequently held in the afternoon as far as the Quarantine restrictions permitted in the presence of the Malta Agents for Lloyds and the Liverpool and Glasgow underwriters. The discharge of all the cargo was recommended and this was affected by the 23rd. The corn was then "constantly shovelled over and ventilated until it cooled down" and reloading was completed on 13th July, when the Master requested the Notary and Chancellor to protest against the heating of the cargo, the forced stop at Malta and the expenses incurred in the treatment of the cargo. According to the accounts presented by the Master these expenses amounted to £252-1s-6d consisting of:
Landing storing and reshipping Cargo £125 5s 10d
Sailmakers 36 17s 6d
Ship chandler 28 11s 2d
Crew’s wages and provisions 37 14s 2d
Consul's decrees 3 0s 0d
Notary's fees for average papers etc. 18 12s 10d
This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 724544
Image Acknowledgements
Shipping in a rough sea off Malta by Alberto Pullicino, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons