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The Slaves' Prison (, ) officially known as the Grand Prison (; ) and colloquially as the ''
bagnio Bagnio is a loan word into several languages (from ). In English, French, and so on, it has developed varying meanings: typically a brothel, bath-house, or prison for slaves. In reference to the Ottoman Empire The origin of this sense seems to ...
'', was a
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...
in
Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...
,
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
. It was established in the late 16th century, and remained in use as a prison throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. It was subsequently used as a naval hospital, a school and an examination hall. It was bombed in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and the ruins were demolished to make way for a block of flats.


History

The ''Gran Prigione'' (Grand Prison) was established around 1585 during the magistracy of Hugues Loubenx de Verdalle (1582–95). It was probably designed by the architect Girolamo Cassar. The building served as the Order of St. John's main prison, as well as a compound in which slaves were locked up at night. It could house around 900 inmates. After 1615, the prison was supplied by water from the
Wignacourt Aqueduct The Wignacourt Aqueduct () is a 17th-century Aqueduct (water supply), aqueduct in Malta, which was built by the Knights Hospitaller, Order of Saint John to carry water from springs in Dingli and Rabat, Malta, Rabat to the newly built capital ci ...
. A Turkish slave who had been a
hydrologist Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...
in
Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
reportedly helped in the construction of the aqueduct, and in recognition of his work he was given his freedom and the prison became one of the first buildings in Valletta to be supplied by running water. By 1631, part of the building was used as the ''Infermeria delle Schiavi'', a
hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...
where ill land-bound slaves were treated. Sick
galley slave A galley slave was a slave rowing in a galley, either a Convict, convicted criminal sentenced to work at the oar (''French language, French'': galérien), or a kind of human chattel, sometimes a prisoner of war, assigned to the duty of rowing. ...
s were not treated there but at the Great Magazine Ward of the nearby Sacra Infermeria. In the Conspiracy of the Slaves of 1749, slaves at the Grandmaster's Palace planned to revolt, free the other slaves from the Slaves' Prison, and take over
Fort Saint Elmo Fort Saint Elmo () 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 Tigné and Fort Ri ...
and the rest of Valletta. After the plot was discovered and brutally suppressed, a decree was issued stating that all slaves were to be locked up at the prison at night. From 1804 to 1819, the prison was used as a temporary naval hospital with 50 beds. After the 1806 Birgu polverista explosion, the government provided part of the prison as a store to the wine merchant Mr. Woodhouse, who had lost large quantities of wine in the disaster. In 1824 part of the building was demolished, to make way for a planned Protestant church which did not materialise, only to later be rebuilt. Later on in the 19th century, the building housed an elementary school, which was known as ''l-iskola tal-ħabs'' (school of the prison). It eventually became an examination hall before being closed down in 1940. The building was included on the Antiquities List of 1925. The prison was bombed in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and the ruins were subsequently demolished. A large block of flats was built on its site in the 1950s.


The building

The prison was a large three-story building occupying an entire city block close to the Lower Barrakka Gardens. A mid-19th century report describes it as: Other slaves' prisons were located in
Birgu Birgu ( , ), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ('Victorious City'), is an old Fortifications of Birgu, fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory ...
and
Senglea Senglea ( ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the Port Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa, and has a popu ...
, and these were both demolished in the 20th century like the Valletta prison.


Life in the prison

The prison contained a tavern, from which slaves could buy food and drink, a
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
for Muslim slaves, and chapels dedicated to St.
John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
and the Holy Cross for Christian prisoners. Parts of the prison were accessible to the public, and some slaves operated barber shops and other establishments from within the prison. A court case dated 1779 describes the situation within the prison as: The prison was run by a ''Prodomo'', who served as the governor and was a knight of the Order of St. John. ''Agozzini'' had direct control over the prisoners, dividing them into work gangs for the galleys, while ''carcerieri'' were responsible for the register of prisoners and probably also acted as guards.


Further reading

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Prison closed entirely in 1853
*


References

{{Valletta Buildings and structures in Valletta Defunct prisons in Malta Defunct hospitals in Malta Defunct schools in Malta Buildings and structures completed in 1585 Buildings and structures in Malta destroyed during World War II Islam in Malta Slavery in Malta Slave cabins and quarters