Carnival tragedy of 1823
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Carnival tragedy of 1823 was a
human crush Crowd collapses and crushes are catastrophic incidents that can occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When a body of people reaches or exceeds the density of , the pressure on each individual can cause the crowd to collapse ...
which occurred on 11 February 1823 at the Convent of the Minori Osservanti 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 ...
,
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. About 110 boys who had gone to the convent to receive bread on the last day of carnival celebrations were killed after falling down a flight of steps while trying to get out of the convent.


Background

During the early 19th century, the
Crown Colony of Malta The Crown Colony of the Island of Malta and its Dependencies (commonly known as the Crown Colony of Malta or simply Malta) was the British colony in the Maltese islands, today the modern Republic of Malta. It was established when the Malta Prot ...
was experiencing a
famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
, and it had become a tradition to gather 8- to 15-year-old boys from the working classes of Valletta and the
Three Cities The Three Cities ( mt, It-Tlett Ibliet) is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua in Malta. The oldest of the Three Cities is Vittoriosa, which has existed since prior to the Middle Ages. ...
to participate in a
procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...
during the last few days of
carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...
. After the procession, they would attend
Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...
, and they would be given some bread afterwards. This activity was arranged by ecclesiastical directors who taught
catechism A catechism (; from grc, κατηχέω, "to teach orally") is a summary or exposition of doctrine and serves as a learning introduction to the Sacraments traditionally used in catechesis, or Christian religious teaching of children and adult c ...
, and its main aim was to keep children out of the riots and confusion of carnival. This activity was organized on 10 February 1823, when children attended mass at
Floriana Floriana ( mt, Il-Furjana or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a fortified town in the South Eastern Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014. Floriana i ...
and then went to the Convent of the Minori Osservanti (now better known as ''ta' Ġieżu'') in Valletta where they were given bread. Everything went as planned, and the same procedure was planned for the following day.


Disaster

The same procedure took place on 11 February 1823. Children were gathered and attended mass at Floriana, but the ceremony lasted an hour longer than usual. The children's procession to the convent in Valletta occurred at the same time as the carnival celebrations had ended, so they met with many people who were returning home. At this point, some adults and children from the crowd mixed in with the boys in order to receive free bread which was being distributed. The boys entered one of the convent's corridors from the
vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
door in the church, and were to be let out through another door on St. Ursula Street. The bread was to be distributed at the latter door. Although the vestry door was usually locked to prevent boys from reentering to receive more bread, this time the door was left open since the boys were late. Due to this, more men and boys entered without anyone realizing. Those who had entered began to push the boys queuing in the corridor, who were shoved to the end of the corridor near a half-open door. At this point, a lamp went out leaving the corridor in darkness, and the people inside began to push forward even more. The boys at the front fell down a flight of steps, blocking the door in the process. Those who were distributing the bread as well as some neighbours rushed to assist the children after they heard screams. They managed to open the doors, and many boys got out and were revived. However, a number of boys had already died due to suffocation or being trampled upon. The exact number of casualties is not known. Records of the
Sacra Infermeria The Mediterranean Conference Centre (MCC, mt, Dar il-Mediterran għall-Konferenzi) is a conference centre in Valletta, Malta. The building was built as a hospital in the 16th century by the Order of St. John, and it was known as the Sacra Infer ...
show that 94 bodies of boys aged between 15 and 16 were brought to the hospital on 11 February, and they were buried the following day. However, contemporary records such as ''The Gentleman's Magazine, and Historical Chronicle'' reveal that "no less than 110 boys perished on this occasion".


Aftermath

An investigation led by the
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
, Richard Plasket, took place after the disaster, and a report about the findings was published a few days after the incident. The investigation concluded that it was an unfortunate accident caused by a succession of errors, and no one was accused for the deaths of the children.


References


Further reading


Malta bil chzejer tehne u li ghadda min ghaliha: It-tieni parti, Volume 2
* * {{Valletta Human stampedes in Malta 1823 in Malta 19th century in Valletta February 1823 events 1823 disasters in Europe