In early 1772, a baby boy was born into an affluent Senglea family. This boy would grow up to be an adventurer of the romantic tradition, roaming the seas as a corsair, a slave trader and ultimately a revolutionary and idealist credited for having established the first Argentinian navy.

In the course of his adventurous life, Juan Bautista Azopardo enjoyed no less than three nationalities – Maltese, French and Argentinian. His life was not without controversy, but what is without doubt is that in the land of Argentina, he is revered as one of that country’s national heroes. Yet, here in Malta, the land of his birth, Azopardo is relatively unsung and unrecognised.

In his book, Mark Camilleri seeks to address this void by giving some Maltese perspective to Azopardo’s remarkable life. 

He places Azopardo’s ventures into the realm of what he calls the “exceptional migrant”, using ‘exceptional’ in what could be read as a deliberate double entendre.

While his life was exceptional in the sense of being extraordinary, Camilleri also sees his emigration as being an exception in that it was not forced by dire economic circumstances, like that of many other Maltese who went to seek pastures new. 

Azopardo’s was rather more of an answer to a call for adventure on the high seas, hoping to carve out his own fortune and name, independently of the wealth of his family.

Portrait of Juan Bautista Azopardo by Eduardo Cerrutti. Photo: Museo Naval De La Nación, Tigre, Buenos Aires, Argentina

As Camilleri takes us on the step-by-step narration of Azopardo’s life and times, he takes great care to place all the significant events in a historical context. Azopardo lived in a period of political and societal change, mainly brought about by the French Revolution.

He courageously took the plunge into the world of privateering, an activity that saw him being involved with the slave trade, definitely a blot on his illustrious career. However, this was a relatively short, albeit misguided, adventure which Camilleri is careful to point out should not be the measure of the man, and neither reduce the value of his subsequent achievements.

Azopardo’s life and career in Argentina takes up most of the second part of the book, detailing his exploits.

Notwithstanding his many ups and downs, including a short spell in prison, Azopardo remains renowned for having been the founder of the Argentinian navy.

Azopardo lived in a period of political and societal change, mainly brought about by the French Revolution

In August 1810, the ruling junta of the time entrusted him to lead the construction of Argentina’s naval fleet, owing to his previous training and experience in ship construction in Toulon. Within six months, he had assembled a small fleet that was ready for combat. This is indeed a noteworthy achievement for this migrant from a small island over 10,000 kilometres away.

A welcome cherry on the cake was the addition of the poetic altercation that Azopardo had with a critic. In 1827, a sarcastic poem aimed at him was published in a newspaper, and Azopardo replied in kind, although his poem remained unpublished. Camilleri includes botta and risposta in the original Spanish, and also their translations into English by Stephen Cachia.

Camilleri’s book is by no means an exhaustive biography of Juan Bautista Azopardo, born in Malta as Joannes Bautista Fortunatus Ignatius Azzopardo. However, it bears testimony to the achievements of a man who is an epitome of the Maltese migrating spirit, and is representative of the varying degrees of success, mainly unpublicised, that so many Maltese had in the four corners of the globe, wherever they decided to establish themselves and their families.

The Battle of San Nicolás by Emilio Biggeri. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The book is also a testament to the maritime tradition of the Maltese people. 

So many Maltese men have, over the centuries, taken to the sea and participated in many great ventures with the Knights, the British and under their own steam wherever the wind and the waves would take them.

The anonymous Maltese sailor immortalised in Moby Dick might be a fictional character, but Melville’s awareness of the existence of Maltese sailors is proof that men from this tiny island abounded in merchant, military and whaling fleets all over the world. 

Unlike Melville’s creation, Juan Bautista Azopardo is anything but anonymous and definitely not fictional. His name echoes resoundingly in Argentinian corridors of naval tradition.

Camilleri’s book, with its personal, historical and maritime elements being intricately enmeshed in one narrative, will serve to popularise Azopardo’s name in Malta, giving him the recognition that he surely deserves in his country of birth as well.

This taster of the life of a great man is a must-read and should whet the appetite of Maltese readers and researchers alike for more such publications. It is written in Camilleri’s well-known direct style, making it easy to follow and an overall pleasant read.