The Monte della Redenzione degli Schiavi, often simply known as the Monte di Redenzione, was a Maltese institution set up to finance the redemption of Maltese people enslaved by

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...

. It was founded in 1607 by Grand Master

Alof de Wignacourt Fra Alof de Wignacourt (1547 – 14 September 1622) was a French nobleman who was the 54th Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 10 February 1601 to his death in 1622. Unlike a number of the other Grand Masters, he was popul ...

and existed as an independent institution until 1787, when it was merged with the

Monte di Pietà A mount of piety is an institutional pawnbroker run as a charity in Europe from Renaissance times until today. Similar institutions were established in the colonies of Catholic countries; the Mexican Nacional Monte de Piedad is still in operatio ...

, forming the Monte di Pietà e Redenzione. The new institution continued the role of redeeming slaves until the early 19th century, when it became redundant following the suppression of slavery.

History

The Monte della Redenzione degli Schiavi was founded in 1607 by Grand Master

, after a

Capuchin friar The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM ...

Raffaele Camilleri made a series of

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

en sermons describing the situation of Christian slaves in Muslim hands. For the first few years, the institution did not manage to collect enough funds. This changed when the noble

Caterina Vitale Caterina Vitale (1566–1619) was the first female pharmacist and chemist in Malta, and the first female pharmacist of the Knights Hospitaller. Caterina Vitale was originally from Greece. She married Ettore Vitale, pharmacist of the Knights Ho ...

bequeathed most of her estate to the Monte di Redenzione upon her death in 1619. Part of the property was sold, and with an additional 6000

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin ''scu ...

donated by Gio. Domenico Felici, the institution was able to commence its operations. Vitale's estate included a large area in ''Fego di Salamone'', now known as Selmun. In the 18th century, the Mistra Gate and

Selmun Palace Selmun Palace ( mt, Il-Palazz ta' Selmun), also known as Selmun Tower, is a villa on the Selmun Peninsula in Mellieħa, Malta. It was built in the 18th century by the Monte della Redenzione degli Schiavi, funded by the Monte di Pietà. The palace ...

were built within this estate. The palace was rented out to knights as a place to relax and hunt wild rabbits, and the rent money contributed to the redemption fund. Initially, the Monte di Redenzione had a committee of seven members responsible for collecting alms, but this system was eventually abolished and replaced by an administration made up of four persons, two of whom were knights. From 1660, the Monte was run by a commission of three knights, headed by a Knight Grand Cross as president. This commission met at the vestry of the Conventual Church of St. John in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an Local councils of Malta, administrative unit and capital city, capital of Malta. Located on the Malta (island), main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, i ...

until 1690, when they began to meet at the president's house. The ransom paid for a Maltese slave was initially set at 70 scudi, but this later increased to 120 scudi. From 1707, the rate was fixed at no more than 150 scudi. On 28 June 1787, Grand Master

Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc Fra' Emmanuel Marie des Neiges de Rohan-Polduc (18 April 1725, in La Mancha, Spain – 14 July 1797, in Valletta, Malta) was a member of the wealthy and influential Rohan family of France, and Prince and 70th Grand Master of the Order of St. Joh ...

consolidated the funds of

with those of the Monte di Redenzione, merging them into a single institution known as the Monte di Pietà e Redenzione. This was headed by a Knight Grand Cross as president and a commission of four knights and four Maltese people. At this point, the ransom paid for a Maltese slave increased to 500 scudi plus additional costs. In 1798, during the French occupation of Malta, the funds of the Monte di Pietà e Redenzione were taken over by the state, and the estates which had belonged to the Monte di Redenzione became government property. The Monte was reopened by the British administration in 1800, but the role as Monte di Redenzione became redundant in the early 19th century, when slavery was suppressed. Eventually, the institution was renamed back to Monte di Pietà, and the funds allocated to the redemption of slaves were allocated to paying interests and loans. The Monte di Pietà still functions today.

References

{{reflist Ransom Catholic charities Defunct organisations based in Malta Organizations established in 1607 1607 establishments in Malta Organizations disestablished in 1787 1787 disestablishments in Malta Organizations disestablished in the 19th century 19th-century disestablishments in Malta Slavery in Malta