In June 1798, the French under Napoleon conquered Malta. In the following months, the Napoleon dissolved the Maltese nobility and strongly restricted the church, which was also stripped of it?s treasures. After 3 months of French rule, the Maltese were no longer willing to tolerate Napoleons tyranny and started to resist the French occupation. The French army had to retreat into the fortifications, while the Maltese asked for support from Sicily and England.
One of the main figures in the upraising was Dun Mikiel Xerri, a Roman Catholic priest. Xerri, born on the 10th of February 1740, was a philosopher and mathematician and convinced that a revolt was the only way to regain the people’s rights.
To the Maltese nothing was more valuable than freedom. Hundreds of people died of malnutrition and disease, including many of the French troops.
The Maltese planned attacks on the French army in Valletta and Cottonera, but the French came to know of the plot. Amongst the 49 men caught for plotting against the French was Dun Mikiel Xerri.
In the morning of January 17, 1799, Bishop Labini visited Dun Mikiel and the other prisoners and blessed them. The prisoners were brought from St. Elmo to Liberty Square, where a platoon of soldiers awaited them. On their way to the square Dun Mikiel encouraged his friends, and having arrived at the square, he asked for some minutes to speak to his compatriots. Prayers were said, and they all asked God to forgive them. Dun Mikiel advanced towards the officer, took out a silver watch, gave it to him, and said, “Please fire straight at my heart, I shall give you the signal to fire” Then he shouted, together with his compatriots, “God have mercy on us! Long live Malta!” There was a volley of shots, Dun Mikiel and the rest slumped down. Malta, for whose freedom they had died, received their warm bodies.
According to “The French in Malta 1798-1800, pages 515-516”, by Carmel Testa, the list of where those executed were from. G. Second in his Storia di Malta gives the names of those who were killed at the quarantine storeroom at Marsamxett Harbour or who were subsequently caught and executed by the French 44 Persons in all, of whom 34 were from the villages. Those who lost their lives under Roussel’s fire were Ignazio Borg, Matteo Camenzuli, Saverio Fiteni, Antonio Grech, Giuseppe Micallef, and Giovanni Vella.
Those who were capturered and subsequently executed were
“From Mosta” – Salvatore Aquilina, Andrea Bezzina, Francesco Borg, Giuseppe Camilleri, Giovanni Catania, Francesco Chetcuti, Filippo Dimech, Francesco Fenech, Simone Fenech, Domenico Galea, Giovanni Galea, Giuseppe Galea, Andrea Galea, Paolo Galea, Francesco Pisani, Giovanni Maria Said, Giovanni Vella, Giuseppe Sciberras.
“From Birkirkara” – Angelo Attard, his son Giovanni Attard, Vittorio Busuttil, Giuseppe Ciantar, Pietro Psaila, Francesco Xerri.
“From Valletta” – Giovanni Azzopardi, Giuseppe Borg, Ignazio Buhagiar, Alberto Curmi, Pietro Guaracini, Giulio Mamo, Ignazio Mifsud, Fedele Mizzi, Matteo Mizzi, Saverio Rossi, Aloisio Sciberras.
“From Senglea” – Luca Galiardo, Giovanni Fosca, Gerald Scarpetta.
“From Cospicua” – Giuseppe Cauchi.
If to the above number are added Guliermo Lorenzi, Fr Michele Xerri, Fr Bartolomeo Zarb, Michele Vella, Luigi Amato, Vincenzo Dimech, Matteo Pulis, Giovanni Francesco Peralta, and Francesco Pace, mentioned in the previous notes and possibly the Greek Psicotta as well the Chemist Francesco Pisani, who forfeited his life for having kept his sword, the final number would reach 54 persons.
A very reliable source which also mention many of those who were executed is the contract of 4 May 1805 in the acts of Notary Joseph Bonavita whereby the surviving relatives of those who had been executed received a bounty of 15 scudi from the British Government. Those mentioned in that particular deed were as follows.
“From Valletta” – Gio Maria Azzopardi, Giuseppe Borg, Fortunato Buhagiar, Matteo Camilleri – (“who is described as having been ‘cut in pieces by the French at Marsamxett‘), Alberto Curmi, Antonio Grech, Pietro Guaracini, Giulio Mamo, Giuseppe Micallef, Ignazio Mifsud, Fedele Mizzi and Aloisio Sciberras.
“From Birkirkara” – Angelo Attard, and his son Giovanni Attard, Vittorio Busuttil, Giuseppe Ciantar, Pietro Psaila, and Francesco Scerri.
“From Senglea” – Giovanni Fosca, Luca Gagliardo, and Gerald Scarpetta.
No mention is made of any relatives of next of kin of Giuseppe Cauchi of Cospicua, Matteo Mizzi and Saverio Rossi, both of Valletta and probably because by 1805 they had no next of kin.
Another contact, of 8 January 1808 in the acts of Notary Francesco Saverio Zarb gives the names of the Mosta villagers who were captured and executed by the French, similar to that given by Segond, but the addition of a certain Francesco Scerri and the omission of Giovanni Catania.
Bosredon Ransijat writing immediately after the discovery of the plot said that 34 peasants were captured after Roussel’s surprise attack and by 27 January 38 Maltese had already been executed. On 2 March he mentioned again the 34 peasants who, by then, had all been executed with the exception of one who was not sentenced to death because he was under the age.
In an alphabetical Liber defunctorum at National Archives, Rabat, the following are mentioned as having been executed:
Azzopardi, of Mosta, executed 20-1-1799.
Amato, Wigi, of Valletta, 38, son of Michele, executed 20-1-1799.
Gugliermo Lorenzi of Corsica, 60, executed 14-1-1799.
Pulis, Matteo of Valletta, 30, son of Antonio, executed 31-1-1799.
Rev Michele Xerri of Zebbug, 58, son of Alberto, executed 17-1-1799.
Aloisio Xiberras, 30, son of Alessandro, executed 18-1-1799.
Rev Bartolomeo Zarb of Zebbug, 50, executed 19-1-1799.
The British had given a pension to the families of the Patriots, those that were found or still around. Also talk of giving an award to the spouses in the Patriot honour. Suggestion of “Patrizio di Melita”.