The Maltese revolt against the French in 1798 ‒ causes and ‘coincidences’

June 12, 1798, witnessed Malta falling into the hands of the French Republican army led by Napoleon Bonaparte. Less than three months later, in September, the Maltese were up in arms in a revolt against their French masters. Almost exactly two years later, the French were on their way back to their homeland, beaten and humiliated, after a hard, two-year-long war in which the Maltese fought bravely against the odds, but aided by the British, Neapolitans and Portuguese. But why did the insurrection break out so soon, barely three months after the Order of St John had left Malta? How can we explain the fact that the Maltese leaders included men who had previously hailed and, indeed, even aided and abetted the French conquest of Malta? On Sunday, September 2, 1798, the French tried to despoil the church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Mdina after trying, in vain, to sell the property of the Franciscan Friars Minor at Rabat. The crowd seemed happy at having impeded the sale and quietened down, but a considerable number of men from Żebbuġ and Siġġiewi continued to foment trouble. The French commander, Captain Lazare Masson (1758-98), tried to disperse the crowd by bullying, but he was...