The 1813–1814 Malta plague epidemic () was the last major outbreak of plague on the islands of Malta and Gozo. It occurred between March 1813 and January 1814 on Malta and between February and May 1814 on Gozo, and the epidemic was officially declared to be over in September 1814. It resulted in approximately 4500 deaths, which was about 5% of the islands' population.
The plague outbreak had begun in Constantinople in 1812 and it spread to other parts of the Ottoman Empire, including Egypt. The disease was imported to Malta from Alexandria on board the brigantine San Nicola in late March 1813. Some of its crew members had contracted the disease and died, and although the vessel and crew were quarantined, the disease spread to the local population since infected cargo from the vessel was stolen and sold in Valletta. The disease appeared in the city in mid-April, and the outbreak was severe by mid-May.
The British colonial government took strict measures in order to contain the plague, although this was done too late to prevent the outbreak from spreading in its early stages. The urban area around the Grand Harbour was isolated from the rest of the island, and settlements with high mortality rates were cordoned off. Violations of these regulations were met with harsh penalties including death, and several people were executed for concealing their infection. The outbreak was particularly severe in the capital Valletta and its suburb Floriana, and in the villages of Birkirkara, Qormi and Żebbuġ.
The epidemic began to subside by late 1813 and it was believed to be over by January 1814. However, the disease was inadvertently introduced to Gozo through contaminated clothes in February, and another outbreak occurred in the village of Xagħra. Containment measures were imposed immediately, limiting the spread and resulting in a much lower mortality rate in Gozo.
Background The second plague pandemic began with the Black Death in the 14th century, and it continued to recur until the 19th century. Bubonic plague outbreaks had occurred in Malta in 1592–1593, 1623, 1655 and 1675–1676. The latter was the most severe, having killed some 11,300 people.
In 1813 Malta was a British protectorate. The island was undergoing a financial and demographic boom due to the war economy and the presence of the Royal Navy, the relocation of British factories from Palermo, Naples and Livorno to the islands, and the free port status which meant that Malta was well-connected with other Mediterranean harbours. During the plague outbreak, the islands underwent a political change from a protectorate to a crown colony.
The source of the 1813–1814 epidemic is believed to have been an outbreak that began in Constantinople in 1812. The plague had spread to Alexandria in Egypt, and by January 1813 the authorities in Malta had been aware of this outbreak.
Outbreak in Malta Origin
The plague arrived in the Maltese Islands by infected crew members on board ships sailing from Alexandria to Malta. The San Nicola (or St. Nicholas), a Maltese brigantine flying the British flag, had left Alexandria on 17 March 1813, and two of its crew members became sick a week after the vessel left port. The vessel arrived in Malta on 28 March, and it was quarantined in Marsamxett Harbour for two weeks. Health guards were sent to ensure that there was no communication between the ship and the shore. Two other ships which also arrived in Malta from Alexandria on 28 March, the British brigantine Nancy and the Spanish polacca Bella Maria, also had cases of the plague on board. Two crew members from the Nancy were infected, while one crew member on the Bella Maria had died of the disease.
The crew of the San Nicola were taken to the Lazzaretto on nearby Manoel Island on 29 March, after they had taken standard precautions. On 1 April, the ship's captain Antonio Maria Mescara became sick, and a day later so did a servant who had looked after the two infected crew members on board the vessel. Mescara and the servant died on 7 April, and their corpses were examined, confirming suspicions that they died of the plague. The San Nicola was sent back to Alexandria on 10 April, under the escort of HMS Badger.
Spread throughout Valletta
It was initially believed that the disease was contained without coming into contact with the population, but while the San Nicola was in quarantine, some of its guards had stolen linen from its cargo which was infected. This was stored in a wine shop in Sliema before being sold to Salvatore Borg, a shoemaker, fence and smuggler who lived at 227, Strada San Paolo in Valletta.
On 16 April, Salvatore Borg's 8-year-old daughter Anna Maria became sick, and she died three days later. It was not immediately realised that the cause of her death was the plague, and she was given a customary funeral at the church of Ta' Ġieżu and was buried in the church's crypt. Soon after the girl died, her mother also developed a fever, causing alarm among physicians who informed the authorities of the case. The woman died on 3 May, and her husband Salvatore also became sick and eventually died. On 4 May, the Committee of Health issued a warning that the public health was in danger, and confirmed the disease to be the plague a day later.
Panic spread throughout Valletta, and many people left the city and went to the countryside or boarded ships to leave the islands. Most of the British and some Maltese isolated themselves within their homes. At the time, the only person known to have the disease was Borg, and he was transferred to the Lazzaretto, By 7 May there were a number of suspected cases, but the disease initially spread slowly, such that people began to doubt its existence. The outbreak increased by 16 May, as Borg's father became ill and died and many new cases were reported around Valletta, especially in Strada Reale, Strada San Cristoforo, Strada San Giuseppe, Strada Pozzi and Strada San Giovanni. By 17 May, the disease had spread throughout the entire city. The guards who stole the linen, as well as those who stored and purchased the stolen goods, were among the first people to contract the plague and die.
Spread throughout the rest of Malta
The first cases of the plague outside Valletta was detected on 21 May in Mdina, when five cases were reported. Within days, it spread to other towns and villages in the country, with some being more severely affected than others. The outbreak was particularly severe in Birkirkara, one of the largest settlements outside the harbour area, whose population had increased by about 3000 refugees fleeing the plague from Valletta.
By the end of July 1813, the death toll had reached 1602 people.
Towns and villages which were severely affected by the plague included Qormi and Żebbuġ. In Qormi, the long duration of the disease was attributed to residents' resistance to government countermeasures attempting to control the outbreak. Some towns and villages were not affected at all by the plague, including Għargħur, Balzan, Kirkop, Safi, Għaxaq, Qrendi and Senglea.
Containment measures The authorities introduced measures in an attempt to contain the outbreak, but these were initially ineffective. The spread was aggravated since the causes of the disease were unknown at the time, containment measures were not introduced immediately, and some people resisted by refusing to transfer the infected to government-designated depots.
Trade stopped immediately after the outbreak was identified as the plague. On 5 May, public buildings including the law courts and the theatre were closed down. The urban settlements in the harbour area: Valletta and its suburb Floriana, and the Three Cities of Birgu, Cospicua and Senglea were placed under medical observation. Direct and indirect contact between people was discouraged, especially at markets. On 7 May, any communication between ships and the shore was forbidden, and Bishop Ferdinando Mattei ordered all churches to be closed on 9 May. The government published an account of the 1743 plague in Messina to inform the public of the consequences of an outbreak.
On 17 May, Civil Commissioner Sir Hildebrand Oakes ordered that any suspected case was to be reported to the Board of Health, and anyone concealing the existence of the disease was liable to the death penalty. The sentence was first carried out to Anthony Borg, who had concealed his infection from the authorities, and he was publicly executed by firing squad in Valletta on 17 August. Houses of people who had been infected were closed but initially no attempts were made to purify them. Some infected animals from these buildings might have escaped and contributed to the spread of the plague. Eventually, domestic animals were restrained in homes or placed in cages while stray animals began to be killed in order to prevent further spread. Many people hid contaminated goods in order to prevent them from being destroyed by the authorities.
On 19 June, various barriere were set up in and around Valletta, Floriana and the Tree Cities. These were railings which were spaced such that they allowed people on opposite sides to be able to talk without coming in contact with each another. This was done in order to ensure supply of food from the countryside to the cities. Valletta was subdivided into eight districts and movement of people was restricted under the death penalty. Similar restrictions were also imposed on the Three Cities. Oakes established a Corps of Civic Guards to watch houses of the infected and enforce regulations, and he appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Francesco Rivarola to the temporary post of Inspector General, who had power over the Civic Guards as well as the police. Shops selling food were only allowed to open for four hours a day. Throughout the epidemic, the postal service continued to function and it was the only means of communication between individuals in the quarantined cities of the Grand Harbour and the rest of the islands.
The soldiers deployed to enforce the containment measures included the Maltese Veterans and the Maltese Provincial Battalion, and their duties also included assisting the police and civil authorities. Prisoners were forced to carry the dead from their homes to burial sites in specially-made carts, and they were known as beccamorti. Many prisoners became infected themselves and died in the process, and the authorities brought prisoners from Sicily to continue the work, but these also died. The Maltese population were scared of these prisoners, who at times might have committed rape and robbery.
By mid-September, there were fewer new cases of the plague and the disease seemed to be diminishing.
Hospitals and isolation centres
Infected people were taken to the Lazzaretto of Manoel Island, a hospital and quarantine facility which had been built to deal with outbreaks of infectious diseases. Fort Manoel, which is located adjacent to the Lazzaretto, was converted into a depot where suspected cases of the plague were isolated. By late June 1813, the Lazzaretto had reached its capacity and it became crowded with patients, so no distinction was made between confirmed and suspected cases gathered close together in Fort Manoel. The fort therefore became one of the main focal points of the disease.
Temporary hospitals were set up at other locations, including Villa Bighi in Kalkara (later the site of a naval hospital) and St Dominic's Convent in Rabat. Huts known as () were built in various locations, mostly as shelters for people evacuated from their homes or as hospitals. Others were used as guard rooms, market stalls and shops, an abattoir, offices (including a post office), stores and privies. The huts became very hot in the summer causing discomfort to their occupants, and on one occasion some of them collapsed in a thunderstorm.