What the Maltese Really Thaught About during the Great Siege of 1565
- Spunt Malta
- Sep 8
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 9
The Great Siege of 1565 is usually told as a tale of knights, cannons, and heroism. But what did the Maltese themselves think and feel while trapped in Birgu and Mdina, watching the Ottoman army hammer at their walls?
Hidden in the notarial archives of Malta are hundreds of contracts, wills, and donations that reveal how civilians actually felt. These documents show fear, faith and pragmatism during one of Malta’s darkest chapters. Fourteen years before the siege, Malta had already lived through disaster. In 1551, the Ottoman fleet raided Gozo, stormed the citadel, and carried off almost the entire population into slavery. Families were torn apart overnight; whole villages disappeared. By 1565, that trauma was still raw. So when word spread that a vast Turkish armada was approaching Malta, ordinary families knew exactly what was at stake: defeat meant captivity or death.
The legal proceedings stemming from fear
Notary Giuseppe Deguevara, working in Birgu, recorded over 180 contracts during the siege. More than half were wills or donationes causa mortis (gifts made in fear of death). Over sixty people signed away land, money, or possessions because they believed the end was near. Some left property to relatives, trying to secure their family’s survival. Others donated to the Church, hoping Masses, prayers and of course money, would speed their souls into heaven. Fear during the Great Siege of 1565 was not just emotional but could be reflected in the laws.
Donations as eternal Salvation during the Great Siege
During the siege, donations often reflected deep religious hopes. Securing entrance to heaven in the afterlife was a priority. For example, on the 8th August, Margerita Bigeni of Qormi ordered her heirs to provide an altar cloth for the chapel of Santa Marija tal-Ħlas. One gift might not be enough; perhaps a second would open the gates of heaven faster.
Johannes Muxi of Żebbuġ did the same. He pledged money to Santo Spirito Hospital and earmarked funds to rebuild the roof of St Paul’s outside Mdina. He even specified the roof should be timber or stone-slab vaults carried on arches. Yet when the siege ended, Muxi revoked the donation. Ironically, barely two months after the danger passed, so did his generosity.
Women Stepping Forward in 1565
Women, too, emerge as decisive actors. Apart from defending the walls, women also acted as economic agents, managing businesses themselves. Giuliana Cilia of Birgu appointed an agent to chase profits from wheat imports. Agata of Balzan sold land to keep her family afloat. Marietta Preca, a Greek living in Birgu, rented out her house for four months during the siege. In crisis, women became economic agents in their own right.
The Shadow of Slavery
Beyond death, the Maltese feared captivity. The memory of Gozo’s enslavement in 1551 haunted them. Joanna Borg of Birkirkara had a son held prisoner by the Ottomans. In her will, she left him a field in Santa Venera, with the condition that if he died in slavery, it would pass to her nephew. Other donors included clauses that money should be kept for “redemption” if they or a relative were taken captive. The notarial acts show that the dread of slavery was as powerful as the fear of death itself.
Land for Cash
Some Maltese sold fields and houses in the middle of bombardment. On the surface, it makes little sense. But in truth, land was useless in a city under siege. What mattered was liquid wealth. Land was sold to get cash used for food, weapons, or to ransom a captive. Selling was a way of converting property into survival.
Source
Abela, J. (2015). The great siege of 1565: untold stories of daily life. In M. Camilleri (Ed.), Besieged : Malta 1565, volume II (pp. 97-115). Valletta : Malta Libraries and Heritage Malta.
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