The Rising of the Priests ( mt, Ir-Rewwixta tal-Qassisin), also known as the Maltese Rebellion of 1775 and the September 1775 Rebellion, was an

uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

led by Maltese clergy against the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

, who had sovereignty over Malta. The uprising took place on 8 September 1775, but was suppressed by the Order within a few hours. The rebels were then captured and some were executed, exiled or imprisoned.

Background

The causes of the revolt can be traced back to 1773, when Francisco Ximénez de Tejada was elected Grand Master upon the death of

Manuel Pinto da Fonseca Manuel Pinto da Fonseca (also ''Emmanuel Pinto de Fonseca''; 24 May 1681 – 23 January 1773) was a Portuguese nobleman, the 68th Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1741 until his death. He undertook many building projects, introduc ...

. Ximénez found a depleted treasury, so he introduced austerity measures, including reducing spending and increasing the price of corn. These made him unpopular, both with the clergy and the common people. Ximénez issued an edict banning the hunting of hares ( mt, Fenek tax-xiber) by the common people, in order to reserve the hunt for the elite. The ban was opposed by Bishop Giovanni Carmine Pellerano and the clergy. Other events also created tension between the clergy and the Order.

Revolt

Due to the tension between the Order and the clergy, and the negative public opinion of Ximénez, some priests led by Don Gaetano Mannarino began to plot against the Order. They chose

8 September Events Pre-1600 * 617 – Battle of Huoyi: Li Yuan defeats a Sui dynasty army, opening the path to his capture of the imperial capital Chang'an and the eventual establishment of the Tang dynasty. *1100 – Election of Antipope Theodo ...

as the day of the rebellion, when the Order's ships were at sea with the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, ...

and

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

was not well defended. A total of 28 clergymen and a larger number of laymen were involved in the planning of the uprising. Malta - Valletta - Triq Girolamo Cassar - St

Malta - Valletta - Triq Girolamo Cassar - St

On the day of the revolt, only eighteen of the 28 clergymen showed up. Despite this, Mannarino still decided to carry on with the uprising. A group of thirteen men took over

Fort Saint Elmo Fort Saint Elmo ( mt, Forti Sant'Iermu) is a star fort in Valletta, Malta. It stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort ...

on the northern tip of Valletta, while the rest of the rebels captured

Saint James Cavalier Saint James Cavalier ( mt, Kavallier ta' San Ġakbu) is a 16th-century cavalier in Valletta, Malta, which was built by the Order of St John. It overlooks St James' Bastion, a large obtuse-angled bastion forming part of the Valletta Land Front. S ...

on the opposite end of the city. In both cases, the Order's flag was lowered and the banner of St. Paul was hoisted instead. When the uprising broke out, Ximénez summoned the Council of State to see how to suppress the revolt. The Council sent the Vicar General to find out the demands of the rebels, who agreed to negotiate. However, at one point they threatened to blow up St. Elmo's

gunpowder magazine A gunpowder magazine is a magazine (building) designed to store the explosive gunpowder in wooden barrels for safety. Gunpowder, until superseded, was a universal explosive used in the military and for civil engineering: both applications ...

, which would cause severe damage to the fort and the city's fortifications. Due to this, the Order decided to recapture the occupied fortifications by force. St. Elmo was captured after a brief exchange of fire, while St. James surrendered soon afterwards. Of the 18 priests involved, only 12 remained at their posts to the end.

Aftermath

After surrendering, the rebels were imprisoned in Fort Saint Elmo. The first trials were held in October 1775 and continued after the death of Ximénez on 4 November. Three of the rebels were executed, while others were imprisoned, exiled or acquitted. The ringleader Mannarino was one of those sentenced to life imprisonment. He was eventually released along with other political prisoners, after over twenty years imprisonment, during the French occupation of Malta in 1798. He died in 1814, at the age of 81.

Notes

References

{{Valletta 18th century in Valletta Conflicts in 1775 18th-century rebellions Rebellions in Malta 1775 in Malta Military history of the Knights Hospitaller