The news of the Maltese insurrection against the French on September 2, 1798, reached Gozo immediately and, in parallel with Malta, the uprising spread throughout the island straight away. This is not surprising because the Gozitans had suffered from the same lack of French sensitivity just like their fellow Maltese.

The fact that the revolt spread so quickly, just like Malta, indicates that in Gozo, there were people waiting for news of an insurrection in Malta and that they were in contact with Maltese who shared their aspirations. News travelled very slowly in those days, and the rapidity of the arrival of information regarding the uprising is indicative of a well-hatched plot.

A letter to Gozo bearing news of the outbreak was signed by Count Salvatore Manduca, Marquis Vincenzo de Piro and Count Ferdinando Castelletti who, a few days previously, had had a secret meeting with Canon Francesco Saverio Caruana and notary Emanuele Vitale, who were also chosen among the leaders of the Maltese. This is no more than speculation but it is based on logical reasoning based on the facts that evolved, even though there is no documentation to back this argument.

In parallel with events that happened in Malta, the Gozitans immediately occupied the coastal towers and fortifications, which included the batteries at Ramla and Marsalforn together with the towers at Qolla l-Bajda, Xlendi, Dwejra, Ras il-Qala, Mġarr ix-Xini and Comino. The French continued to occupy the Rabat Citadel, Fort Chambray and Garzes Tower. It is said that the French lost about 200 men killed, and another 40 were taken prisoners. Whether these figures are correct is a moot point and they do seem rather exaggerated but they also indicate that fierce fighting took place. Till the next day, September 3, the French government at Valletta was still unaware of the Gozitan insurrection, as is indicated by a letter written by the French Commission of Government to the Municipality of Gozo, dated September 3, 1798.

A June 1798 enumeration of the population of Gozo. Courtesy: Bondí Papers, Gozo

At first, the Gozitans – who in June 1798 numbered 12,681 – were led by a small four-person committee consisting of the following: Archpriest Saverio Cassar from the Citadel’s collegiate church of The Assumption, lawyer Giuseppe Grima, doctor Saverio Fenech, and Martin Axiaq. This temporary measure remained in force till September 18 when a general congress was convened and elected a representative provisional local government that consisted of: Archpriest Cassar – leader and inspector general; lawyer Fortunato Spiteri – secretary; and the following commandants: Antonio Mallia for Chambray; lawyer Francesco Pace and Antonio Mallia for Rabat; Francesco Refalo and Francesco Zammit for Xewkija; Angelo Vella and Giuseppe Muscat for Ta’ Sannat; Thomas Cassar and Felice Grech for Għarb; lawyer Giuseppe Grima and Martin Axiaq for Żebbuġ; Liberato Grech and Liberato Sultana for Xagħra; Rev. Francesco Hili and Francesco Attard for Nadur.

Archpriest Saverio Cassar. Courtesy: Gozo Cathedral Museum

Monument to Archpriest Saverio Cassar at Victoria, Gozo.

These commandants were chosen to co-ordinate the Gozitan efforts to expel the French from the citadel and to place guards in the coastal towers and fortifications to prevent the French from receiving reinforcements from Malta. An immediate problem was the fact that the Gozitan farmers had abandoned their fields to fight the French and had, therefore, to be paid wages to feed their families. The outstanding figure among the Gozitan representatives was Archpriest Saverio Cassar, whose charismatic personality and leadership qualities enabled him, for better or worse, to take decisions that he considered just and important.

Funds were collected through general collections and monetary impositions on the well-to-do, including the clergy, who were promised reimbursement when the fighting was over. The collected funds were distributed among the battalion commandants for the purchase of the needs of the men under their command. Apparently, these funds were insufficient and some commandants forked out money from their own private means.

To give but a single example, Francesco Zammit of the Xewkija battalion forked out 669 scudi as well as suffering the loss of the cotton growing in his field because it was stolen while he was concentrating on his duties and had perforce to abandon his holdings. He was compensated later on but, at the moment, he was given only 50 scudi. Other compensations included the following: Antonio Mallia (Rabat) – 25 scudi; Giuseppe Galea (Xewkija) – 26 scudi; the doctor of the Xewkija battalion – 30 scudi.

Unfortunately, some disagreements cropped up among the Gozitan leaders with fingers pointed to people suspected of being French sympathisers, probably the result of personal ambitions. Archpriest Cassar ended up trusting no one and arrested Antonio Mallia, one of the Rabat commandants, who was kept at Xagħra, away from Xewkija and Sannat where he was very popular. Three canons of the Citadel collegiate church were also kept in detention at Fort Chambray, after it was taken from the French. Probably, these were personality clashes.

Lack of foodstuffs, arms and ammunition also hampered the Gozitans, though the British, under Admiral Sir James Saumarez, and the Portuguese, under Marquis Domenico Xavier de Niza, supplied them with some muskets and ammunition. Corn was usually imported from Sicily but the exporters refused to send any unless paid for. In fact, the first letter asking for corn provisions had been sent by Archpriest Cassar on September 6 and, although he found appreciable help from the agent Cologero Frangipane, the lack of foodstuffs remained a constant headache. Cassar praised Frangipane for his efforts in a letter to King Ferdinand of The Two Sicilies who, throughout the two-year revolt, was constantly recognised as the legitimate ruler of the Maltese islands by Archpriest Cassar who ensured that the Neapolitan flag was constantly hoisted on the Gozitan bastions.

King Ferdinand of Naples and Sicily (The Two Sicilies) in c. 1772-3, in a painting by Anton Raphael Mengs (1728-79) at The Royal Palace, Madrid. Photo: en.wikipedia.org

Admiral Sir James Saumarez (1757-1836). Photo: en.wikipedia.org

Portrait of Domingos Xavier de Lima, Marquis de Niza in 1801 by Domenico Pellegrin (1759-1840). Photo: commons.wikipedia.org

Of the three strongholds initially held by the French after the outbreak, Garzes Tower – and its seven guns – was captured by the Gozitans within a few days by the Xewkija battalion led by Francesco Zammit aided by Antonio Mallia with his men, but Fort Chambray proved to be a difficult nut to crack. On September 8, General Vaubois tried to send reinforcements from Malta and obtain information about the situation in Gozo but all the news he obtained was that the French flag still flew over the Citadel and Fort Chambray.

The French were unable to continue occupying Fort Chambray and, on the night of September 16-17, they managed to evacuate the 60-strong garrison. Obviously, this operation could only have been carried out because there must have been slackness on the part of the Gozitans guarding the coast. Now, only the citadel remained in French hands.

Detail from a painting by Salvatore Busuttil (1798-1854) showing Garzes Tower with Fort Chambray in the background. Photo: Invaluable.com

The Gozo Citadel in the first half of the 19th century in a painting by Salvatore Busuttil (1798-1854). Photo: invaluable.com

Archpriest Cassar shifted his headquarters onto Gelmus Hill for the obvious reason that it dominated the citadel with its height. The Citadel had a garrison of 217 men who had at their disposal 36 guns, 6,800 pounds of powder and 11,400 cartridges though they lacked foodstuffs except for corn which they could not grind into flour. Steps were taken by the Gozitans to prevent the French from leaving their stronghold to capture livestock roaming the streets of Rabat.

The French refused to surrender when asked to do so; therefore, the only alternative was to starve them out

The French refused to surrender when asked to do so; therefore, the only alternative was to starve them out. Meanwhile, Admiral Horatio Nelson arrived in Gozo and Cassar discussed with him future terms of the French surrender. On orders from Nelson, Captain Alexander Ball called on Colonel Lockey, the French commandant, to surrender and the Frenchman agreed to do so. The capitulation was signed on October 28, 1798, and just for a single day, the British flag was flown on the bastions of the Citadel. The Neapolitan flag was then raised for the duration of the revolt till 1800 to signify the King of Naples’s sovereignty over the Maltese islands.

Admiral Horatio Nelson in 1799 in a painting by Lemuel Francis Abbott (1760-1803) Photo: en.wikipedia.org

Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander J. Ball (1757-1809) in a painting by Henry William Pickersgill (1782-1875). Photo: en.wikipedia.org

The terms of surrender stipulated that the French were to cede the Citadel with the honours of war, that they were not to be molested and that they would be conveyed to their homeland on British warships on condition that they would not take part in the war against Great Britain until similar numbers of British prisoners-of-war were repatriated. All supplies in the Citadel were to be handed to Captain John Cresswell, of the Royal Marines, who had signed the terms of capitulation

The Gozitans opposed the fact that the supplies, including ammunition and 3,200 sacks of corn, were to be sent to Malta where the insurrection was still ongoing. Neither could they understand the agreement regarding the exchange of prisoners-of-war, which was strange to them. However, the rules of parole in wartime were common in those days and were scrupulously observed by both sides.

In less than two months, Gozo had ousted the French and the Gozitan Congress could now turn its attention to governing the island with all the ups and downs that this entailed. But that is another story.

Joseph F. Grima is a retired casual history lecturer and assistant director of Education.