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"The papers reprinted in this volume focus on the extraordinary and multifaceted relationship between two Christian States: the Republic of Venice and the Island Order State on Hospitaller Malta between 1530 and the late 1790s. It was marked by three distinct phenomena - military cooperation along with other western allies against the Ottoman Empire, direct mutual confrontation, at times even leading to war, and commercial cooperation. A fourth phenomenon, this time involving the wider Mediterranean context within which the two interacted, concerns the idea of decline. Some of the papers that follow question the validity of the traditional view that the Mediterranean and Venice were in decline by the sixteenth century, and that the Hospitaller Order, claimed to be in decline by the eighteenth, had given up Malta to the French as a result. This book will appeal to all those interested in Crusading Orders, the History of the Crusades, as well as the History of Venice, Malta, and the Mediterranean in the Early Modern Age"--

The paper discusses two interrelated themes. From 1530 to 1798, the Order of St John, an international institution of the Church, played a significant role from its conventual base on central Mediterranean Malta—one that nourished a strong element of historical continuity within the wider context of a declining Mediterranean. This it did through its traditional twofold raison d'être—as a religious, charitable and Hospitaller Order with great expertise in medical knowledge and practice, and as a military institution whose traditional crusading zeal against Islam kept the 'clash of civilisations' alive. That is the first theme. The second theme concerns the concept of a declining Ottoman Empire and a declining Mediterranean. The paper argues against the idea that the collective impact of the great siege of Malta (1565) and the battle of Lepanto (1571) had marked the initial stage in the decline of the Ottoman Empire. It also claims that the decline of the sixteenth‐century Mediterranean needs revisiting. It was only a partial change for the worse. The great geographical discoveries succeeded in robbing the Middle Sea of its primacy in international economy and exchange but in the long term failed to uproot most of its other characteristic features.

Mallia-Milanes attempts to paint a clearer and perhaps more genuine picture of the otherwise-obscure personality and works of architect Vittorio Cassar- the son of the famous Girolamo. The capricious nature of Vittorio's character is agreed upon by historians as a result of various documents referring to his frequent altercations. He also faced the Inquisition upon being accused of pursuing fortune-telling endeavours. Apart from this side of his character, the author directs his focus on Vittorio's architectural works such as the old parish church of Birkirkara and the Garzes Tower. ; N/A

In this article, Mallia-Milanes examines a report written by military engineer Scipione Campi on the modifications to the fortifications in Valletta in 1576. At the time, the threat of yet another assault from the Ottoman Empire was deemed as imminent by the Order of St. John and a plan to reinforce the fortifications was promptly underway. ; N/A

The aspect of Veneto-Maltese relations which forms the subject of this study, as deduced from Jacomo Bosio's account of the siege of Cyprus, has two elements. The first element is that of delineating Malta's role in Venice's most decisive event in the sixteenth century, that forms the narrative backbone of the war of Cyprus as related by Bosio. The second is more ephemeral, but unquestionably important since Bosio, in his capacity as official historian of the Order, his writing extensively about a foreign State. ; peer-reviewed

The restraining late medieval legacy of allegiance and dependency which the Knights of St. John inherited on settling in the tiny central Mediterranean island of Malta had never been compatible with the Order's grand aspirations. The history of Malta's foreign relations from 1530 to 1798 is the story of the Order's conscious and protracted efforts to remove the negative structural and institutional forces which debarred growth and development in order to mobilize the positive forces which would lead to economic progress. It was a difficult task to break away from the pattern of politico-economic subjection - to powers like France and Spain to conditions which would reduce Malta's complete dependence on traditional markets, manufactures and capital. Veneto-Maltese mutual economic approaches during the eighteenth century were just one outstanding example of this complex process of economic 'reorientation. It is my purpose here to examine these "approaches" within the broad framework of the island's economy as a whole and the conceptions of it entertained by the Venetian Magistracy of Trade - the Cinque Savi alla Mercanzia, My examination will draw heavily on the large collection of Massimiliano Buzzaccarini Gonzaga's orginal, manuscript despatches from Malta to the Cinque Savi. ; N/A

The article looks at the correspondence between Angel Rutter and the Secretary of State for South Department. Angel Rutter succeeded John Dodsworth who was regarded as an unfit person for the task by the Venetian Minister in Malta. His consulship marks an important phase in Anglo-Maltese relations. ; peer-reviewed

On July 6, 1781 the Buona Unione, a relatively small, strongly built, two-masted coasting vessel, or checcio, flying a Venetian flag, arrived in the vicinity of Marsamxetto Harbour. It was under the command of the Venetian Captain Girolamo Padella. The vessel, chartered by some Tunisian merchants, had left Alexandria on May 12 with a crew of nine, Padella included, together with eighteen Turkish passengers, destined for Sfax. It was carrying a cargo of two-hundred bales of linen, one-hundred sacks of rice, eight bales of wool and camel fur together with small quantities of other soft goods. During the trip, on the 20th May, (i.e. eight days from Buona Unione's departure from Alexandria) plague broke out on board the vessel. ; N/A

This document contains reviews of books published in the 1970s. ; N/A