Siege of Malta (1798–1800)
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Malta was a two-year siege and blockade
of the French garrison in Valletta
, the largest city and main port on the Mediterranean island of Malta
between 1798 and 1800. Valletta had been captured by a French expeditionary force during the Mediterranean campaign of 1798
, and garrisoned with 3,000 men under the command of Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
. When the French Mediterranean Fleet was destroyed at the Battle of the Nile
on 1 August 1798, the British Royal Navy
was able to initiate a blockade of Malta, assisted by an uprising among the native Maltese population against French rule. Forced to retreat to Valletta, the French garrison faced severe food shortages, exacerbated by the effectiveness of the British blockade: although small quantities of supplies arrived in early 1799, there was no further traffic until early 1800, by which time starvation and disease was having a disastrous effect on health, morale, and combat capability of the French troops.
In February 1800, a significant convoy under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée
sent from Toulon
made a determined effort to resupply the garrison. The blockade squadron under Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson intercepted the convoy within sight of the starving troops on Malta and in the ensuing, but brief, battle
, Perrée was killed and his flagship captured. The following month, the ship of the line
Guillaume Tell set sail from Valletta to Toulon, laden with soldiers, but this too was intercepted and in a hard-fought battle
was forced to surrender to a larger British squadron. These defeats rendered the French position on Valletta untenable, and its surrender inevitable. Although Vaubois held out for another five months, he eventually surrendered on 4 September, by which time the garrison mortality from malnourishment and typhus had reached 100 men a day. Malta was retained by Britain, and control of the island was a factor in the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars
in 1803. Ultimately it remained under British government for 164 years, gaining independence in 1964.
, escorting an expeditionary force of over 30,000 men under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The force was destined for Egypt
, Bonaparte seeking to expand French influence in Asia and force Britain to make peace in the French Revolutionary Wars
, which had begun in 1792. Sailing southeast, the convoy collected additional transports from Italian ports and at 05:30 on 9 June arrived off Valletta
, the heavily fortified port-city on the island of Malta
. At this time, Malta and its neighbouring islands were ruled by the Knights of St. John, an old and influential feudal order weakened by the loss of most of their revenue during the French Revolution
. The order was composed of men from across Europe, including a significant proportion of Frenchmen, who ruled over the majority Maltese
population of the islands. The head of government was Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim
, who refused Bonaparte's demand that his convoy be allowed to enter Valletta and take on supplies, insisting that Malta's neutrality meant that only two ships could enter at a time.
On receiving this reply, Bonaparte immediately ordered his fleet to bombard Valletta and on 11 June General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
directed an amphibious operation in which several thousand soldiers landed at seven strategic sites around the island. The French Knights deserted the order, and the remaining Knights failed to mount a meaningful resistance. Approximately 2,000 native Maltese militia resisted for 24 hours, retreating to Valletta once the city of Mdina
fell to General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
. Although Valletta was strong enough to hold out against a lengthy siege, Bonaparte negotiated a surrender with Hompesch, who agreed to turn Malta and all of its resources over to the French in exchange for estates and pensions in France for himself and his knights. Bonaparte then established a French garrison on the islands, leaving 4,000 men under Vaubois while he and the rest of the expeditionary force sailed eastwards for Alexandria
on 19 June.
, and subsequently attempted to intercept the French on their passage to Egypt. Nelson's force overtook the French fleet on the night of 22 June in the dark without discovering their presence, and arrived off Alexandria
on 28 June ahead of Bonaparte. Believing that the French must have had a different objective, Nelson turned northwards the following day to investigate the coast of Anatolia
and missed Bonaparte's arrival on 31 June by less than 24 hours. Unopposed, Bonaparte landed his army and marched on Alexandria, capturing the city and turning inland. The fleet was ordered to anchor in nearby Aboukir Bay and await further instructions. On 1 August, Nelson returned to the Egyptian coast and discovered the French fleet at anchor. Attacking immediately, Nelson's ships managed to capture nine French ships of the line and destroy two, including the flagship Orient
with only moderate damage to themselves. The destruction of the French Mediterranean fleet granted control of the sea to the Royal Navy, soon joined by the navies of Portugal
, Naples
, the Russian Empire
and the Ottoman Empire
as part of the hastily organised Second Coalition against France.
. Church property was looted and seized to pay for the expedition to Egypt, an act that generated considerable anger among the deeply religious Maltese population. On 2 September, this anger erupted in a popular uprising during an auction of church property, and within days thousands of Maltese irregulars had driven the French garrison into Valletta. Valletta was surrounded by approximately 10,000 irregular Maltese soldiers led by Emmanuel Vitale and Canon Saverio Caruana. The Maltese were armed with 23 cannon and a small squadron of coastal gunboats. Although there was intermittent skirmishing between the garrison and the Maltese, the fortress was too strong for the irregulars to assault.
Late in September, a British convoy consisting of 13 battered ships under Captain Sir James Saumarez appeared off the island. Survivors of the Battle of the Nile, they were in urgent need of repair and unable to directly assist in the siege. Nevertheless, Saumarez met with representatives of the Maltese and on 25 September, sent an offer of truce to Vaubois on their behalf. Vaubois replied "Vous avez, sans doute, oublié que des Français sont dans la place. Le sort des habitans [sic] ne vous regarde pointe. Quant à votre sommation, les soldats français ne sont point habitués à ce style" ("You might have forgotten that the French hold this place. The fate of the inhabitants is none of your concern. As for your ultimatum, French soldiers are not accustomed to such a tone"). Unable to persuade the French to give in, Saumarez instead provided the Maltese forces with 1,200 musket
s with which to continue the siege. Saumarez, unable to delay repairs any longer, sailed for Gibraltar
at the end of the month.
In mid-September, a squadron of Portuguese ships also had arrived at the island. They included the Príncipe Real, Rainha de Portugal, São Sebastião and Afonso de Albuquerque, and the British ship HMS Lion
, all under the command of Tomás Xavier Teles de Castro da Gama, Marquess of Niza
. This force had been sent from the Tagus to augment Nelson's fleet, and after a brief stay off Malta continued to Alexandria. The Portuguese ships returned to the blockade of the island in October.
On 12 October, the British ships of the line HMS Alexander
under Captain Alexander Ball
, HMS Culloden
under Captain Thomas Troubridge and HMS Colossus
under Captain George Murray
joined Niza's ships off Malta, marking the formal start of the blockade. On the same day, Vaubois withdrew the last of his soldiers into the fortified new city of Valletta, accompanied by approximately 100 Maltese nationals who had joined the French forces. The garrison numbered over 3,000 men and initially at least was well supplied. In the harbour lay the ships of the line Dégo
and Athénien
and the frigate Carthaginoise
, all of which were former ships of the Maltese Navy, as well as the newly arrived Guillaume Tell and frigates Justice
and Diane
, survivors of the Battle of the Nile under Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
, which had reached Malta at the end of September.
accompanied by HMS Minotaur
. On 28 October, Ball successful completed negotiations with the French garrison on the small island of Gozo
, the 217 French soldiers there agreeing to surrender without a fight and transferring the island, its fortifications, 24 cannon, a large quantity of ammunition and 3,200 sacks of flour to the British. Although the island was formally claimed by King Ferdinand of Naples
, it was administered by British and Maltese representatives, whose first action was to distribute the captured food supplies to the island's 16,000 inhabitants. Malta and the surrounding islands were not self-sufficient and quickly the challenge of feeding the population became a strain on the islands' resources, particularly with so many men under arms, Although now formally in command of the islands, King Ferdinand refused to assist with supplies, and the responsibility was left to Ball and his captains to arrange for the transport of supplies from Italy. By the end of the year, the number of Maltese troops in the field had fallen from 10,000 to 1,500, supported by 500 British
and Portuguese marines
from the blockade squadron. The blockade fleet, consisting of five British and four Portuguese ships, operated from St. Paul's Bay
and Marsa Sirocco
(now Marsaxlokk) on the island of Malta itself.
, commander of British Army
forces in the Mediterranean, considered the ongoing War of the Second Coalition
in Italy and the defence of Minorca
to be higher priorities than Ball's siege, while the defeated Neapolitans continued to refuse assistance. A Russian squadron under Admiral Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov
briefly appeared off the island in January, but was almost immediately ordered to join the Russian and Turkish forces besieging the island of Corfu
. In addition to the difficulties the Allies faced in obtaining food for the Maltese population, the French succeeded in bringing supplies through the blockade in the early part of the year: in January 1799 a schooner
reached Valletta from Ancona
, and in February the frigate Boudeuse evaded the blockade and entered the port with supplies from Toulon
. In May, a major French expedition under Admiral Etienne Eustache Bruix
entered the Western Mediterranean, forcing Nelson to recall his scattered fleet from across the region, temporarily raising the blockade of Malta. During this operation a number of French supply ships took advantage of the absence of the British squadron to enter Valletta.
However, despite these occasional supply ships, the French garrison was rapidly running out of food. To conserve resources, the French forced the civilian population out of the city; the civilian population dropped from 45,000 in 1799 to 9,000 by 1800. Nelson himself took nominal command of the blockade, while Ball was made president of the Maltese National Congress. As liaison between the Maltese military and civilian commanders, he directed the distribution of supplies to the Maltese population, which was beginning to suffer from disease brought about by food shortages. He was replaced on Alexander by his first lieutenant, William Harrington. On 1 November Nelson again offered terms of surrender to Vaubois, and was again rebuffed, with the reply "Jaloux de mériter l'estime de votre nation, comme vous recherchez celle de la nôtre, nous sommes résolus défendre cette fortresse jusqu'à l'extrémité" ("Keen to deserve the esteem your nation, as you seek that of ours, we are resolved to defend this fortress until the end"). By this point, Nelson was conducting the blockade at a distance, based at the Neapolitan court in Palermo
. There he indulged in gambling and social engagements, becoming closer and closer to Emma, Lady Hamilton
, wife of the ambassador Sir William Hamilton
. His behaviour was heavily criticised, not just by his commanding officer Vice-Admiral Lord Keith
, who had recently replaced Earl St Vincent, but also by old friends such as Thomas Troubridge, who wrote to him "If you knew what your friends feel for you I am sure you would cut out all the nocturnal parties . . . I beseech your Lordship, leave off". In December 1799, Erskine was replaced by Lieutenant-General Henry Edward Fox
, who immediately redistributed 800 troops from the garrison at Messina to Malta under Brigadier-General Thomas Graham
. These troops filled the gap left by the withdrawal of Portuguese forces, which had been ordered to return to Lisbon
. Disease began to spread within the city as rations became scarcer. The arrival of an aviso
in January 1800 with the news of the events of 18 Brumaire
that made Bonaparte First Consul of France prompted a brief respite and a public statement from Vaubois that the city would never be surrendered, although conditions continued to deteriorate.
flagship HMS Queen Charlotte
and landed on Malta. For a time, both Keith and Nelson remained with the blockade squadron, which consisted of six ships of the line and several British and Neapolitan frigates. On 17 February a message arrived with the squadron from the frigate HMS Success, which had been stationed off Sicily to watch for French reinforcements. Captain Shuldham Peard
reported that he was shadowing a squadron of six or seven French ships sailing in the direction of Malta. These vessels were a relief squadron, sent from Toulon with extensive food supplies and 3,000 additional troops under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée
in Généreux, one of the ships of the line that had escaped at the Nile two years earlier. On 18 February, the convoy was sighted by lookouts on Alexander. In the ensuing chase, Success captured a French transport and attacked the much larger Généreux. Although the frigate was damaged in the exchange, Success' second broadside mortally wounded Perrée and delayed the ship of the line long enough for HMS Foudroyant
, under Lord Nelson, and HMS Northumberland
to join the battle. Heavily outnumbered, Généreux surrendered.
Shortly after the capture of the Généreux, Keith returned to the Italian coast in Queen Charlotte, where his flagship was lost in a fire that killed more than 700 of its crew, although Keith was ashore at the time. Before departing, Keith issued strict instructions to Nelson that he was not to return to Palermo, but was to confine any shore leave in Sicily to Syracuse. Nelson ignored the order and by late March was in Palermo conducting an open love affair with Emma Hamilton. In his absence, Troubridge took over command of the blockade, delegating temporarily to Captain Manley Dixon
. Dixon led the squadron on 31 March when Guillaume Tell attempted to break out on Valletta under Decrés. Spotted by the frigate HMS Penelope
under Captain Henry Blackwood
, Guillaume Tell was chased northwards and engaged by first Penelope and then by Dixon's HMS Lion
, driving both ships back but suffering severe damage. Eventually the arrival of the powerful Foudroyant under Captain Sir Edward Berry proved too much for Decrés, but he continued fighting for another two hours before he was forced to surrender his battered and dismasted ship; in the engagement, he lost more than 200 men killed and wounded.
On 23 April, Nelson departed Palermo in Foudroyant, with both Sir William and Emma Hamilton on board as his guests. The party visited Syracuse and then travelled on to Valletta, where Berry took Foudroyant so close to the harbour that the ship came under fire from the French batteries. No hits were scored, but Nelson was furious that Emma had been taken into danger and immediately ordered Berry to withdraw. His anger was exacerbated by Emma's refusal to retire from the quarterdeck during the brief exchange. From there, Foudroyant anchored at Marsa Sirocco, where Nelson and Emma lived together openly and were hosted by Troubridge and Graham. Sir William Hamilton, a prominent antiquarian as well as a diplomat, spent his time exploring the island. By early June, Nelson and his party had returned to Palermo, the beginning of a lengthy overland journey across Europe to Britain. Nelson also detached Foudroyant and Alexander from the blockade, again in defiance of Keith's explicit orders, to assist the Neapolitan royal family in their passage to Livorno
. Enraged at Nelson's disobedience, Keith publicly remarked that "Lady Hamilton has had command of the fleet long enough". In May, Troubridge returned to Britain and was replaced in command by Captain George Martin
, while Graham was superseded by Major-General Henry Pigot.
On 3 September, with his men dying of starvation and disease at the rate of more than 100 a day, Vaubois called a council of his officers at which they unanimously decided to surrender. The next day, envoys were sent to the British and in the afternoon General Pigot and Captain Martin signed the agreed terms with Vaubois and Villeneuve. The Maltese were excluded from negotiations entirely, although their commander, Alexander Ball, subsequently became the first Governor of Malta. The terms of the surrender were absolute: the island, its dependencies, fortifications and military supplies were all turned over to British control. This included the ships of the line Athenien and Dégo and the frigate Carthagénaise, although only Athenien was of sufficient standard to be incorporated into the Royal Navy, becoming HMS Athenienne. The other ships were broken up in their berths. Two merchant ships and a variety of smaller warships also were taken.
The capture of Malta returned control of the central Mediterranean to Britain and was an important step in the invasion and liberation of Egypt from French rule in 1801. An essential condition of the Treaty of Amiens
in the same year, which brought an end to the French Revolutionary War, was that Malta be evacuated by the British. Russian Tsar Alexander I
had a long standing claim to the island as titular head of the Knights of St. John, and demanded that it was turned over to Russian control before agreeing any alliance with Britain. Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger
flatly refused, and the Napoleonic Wars
with France began soon afterwards, in part due to the failure of Britain to comply with this tenet of the treaty. The island subsequently remained in British hands until its independence in 1964.
Blockade
A blockade is an effort to cut off food, supplies, war material or communications from a particular area by force, either in part or totally. A blockade should not be confused with an embargo or sanctions, which are legal barriers to trade, and is distinct from a siege in that a blockade is usually...
of the French garrison in Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
, the largest city and main port on the Mediterranean island of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
between 1798 and 1800. Valletta had been captured by a French expeditionary force during the Mediterranean campaign of 1798
Mediterranean campaign of 1798
The Mediterranean campaign of 1798 was a series of major naval operations surrounding a French expeditionary force sent to Egypt under Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The French Republic sought to capture Egypt as the first stage in an effort to threaten British India, and...
, and garrisoned with 3,000 men under the command of Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. On 20 August 1808 he was created Comte de Belgrand de Vaubois...
. When the French Mediterranean Fleet was destroyed at the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
on 1 August 1798, the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
was able to initiate a blockade of Malta, assisted by an uprising among the native Maltese population against French rule. Forced to retreat to Valletta, the French garrison faced severe food shortages, exacerbated by the effectiveness of the British blockade: although small quantities of supplies arrived in early 1799, there was no further traffic until early 1800, by which time starvation and disease was having a disastrous effect on health, morale, and combat capability of the French troops.
In February 1800, a significant convoy under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée
Jean-Baptiste Perrée
Jean-Baptiste Perrée was a French contre-amiral. He was born in Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme in Picardy.Perrée was midshipman in 1793, and was promoted to acting lieutenant de vaisseau in May 1793, taking command of Proserpine and raiding commerce, capturing 63 prizes. His rank was confirmed in late 1793...
sent from Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
made a determined effort to resupply the garrison. The blockade squadron under Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson intercepted the convoy within sight of the starving troops on Malta and in the ensuing, but brief, battle
Battle of the Malta Convoy (1800)
The Battle of the Malta Convoy was a naval engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars fought on 18 February 1800 during the Siege of Malta. The French garrison at the city of Valletta in Malta had been under siege for eighteen months, blockaded on the landward side by a combined force of British,...
, Perrée was killed and his flagship captured. The following month, the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
Guillaume Tell set sail from Valletta to Toulon, laden with soldiers, but this too was intercepted and in a hard-fought battle
Action of 31 March 1800
The Action of 31 March 1800 was a naval engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars fought between a Royal Navy squadron and a French Navy ship of the line off Malta in the Mediterranean Sea...
was forced to surrender to a larger British squadron. These defeats rendered the French position on Valletta untenable, and its surrender inevitable. Although Vaubois held out for another five months, he eventually surrendered on 4 September, by which time the garrison mortality from malnourishment and typhus had reached 100 men a day. Malta was retained by Britain, and control of the island was a factor in the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
in 1803. Ultimately it remained under British government for 164 years, gaining independence in 1964.
French invasion of Malta
On 19 May 1798, a French fleet sailed from ToulonToulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
, escorting an expeditionary force of over 30,000 men under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The force was destined for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Bonaparte seeking to expand French influence in Asia and force Britain to make peace in the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, which had begun in 1792. Sailing southeast, the convoy collected additional transports from Italian ports and at 05:30 on 9 June arrived off Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
, the heavily fortified port-city on the island of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
. At this time, Malta and its neighbouring islands were ruled by the Knights of St. John, an old and influential feudal order weakened by the loss of most of their revenue during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. The order was composed of men from across Europe, including a significant proportion of Frenchmen, who ruled over the majority Maltese
Maltese people
The Maltese are an ethnic group indigenous to the Southern European nation of Malta, and identified with the Maltese language. Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea...
population of the islands. The head of government was Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim
Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim
Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim was the 71st Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta, the first German to be elected to the office....
, who refused Bonaparte's demand that his convoy be allowed to enter Valletta and take on supplies, insisting that Malta's neutrality meant that only two ships could enter at a time.
On receiving this reply, Bonaparte immediately ordered his fleet to bombard Valletta and on 11 June General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
thumbLouis Baraguey d'Hilliers was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France.-French Revolution:...
directed an amphibious operation in which several thousand soldiers landed at seven strategic sites around the island. The French Knights deserted the order, and the remaining Knights failed to mount a meaningful resistance. Approximately 2,000 native Maltese militia resisted for 24 hours, retreating to Valletta once the city of Mdina
Mdina
Mdina, Città Vecchia, or Città Notabile, is the old capital of Malta. Mdina is a medieval walled town situated on a hill in the centre of the island. Punic remains uncovered beyond the city’s walls suggest the importance of the general region to Malta’s Phoenician settlers. Mdina is commonly...
fell to General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois
Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. On 20 August 1808 he was created Comte de Belgrand de Vaubois...
. Although Valletta was strong enough to hold out against a lengthy siege, Bonaparte negotiated a surrender with Hompesch, who agreed to turn Malta and all of its resources over to the French in exchange for estates and pensions in France for himself and his knights. Bonaparte then established a French garrison on the islands, leaving 4,000 men under Vaubois while he and the rest of the expeditionary force sailed eastwards for Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
on 19 June.
Battle of the Nile
Bonaparte's convoy was pursued across the Mediterranean by a British fleet of 14 ships under Rear-Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson, who learned of the invasion of Malta while anchored off SicilySicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, and subsequently attempted to intercept the French on their passage to Egypt. Nelson's force overtook the French fleet on the night of 22 June in the dark without discovering their presence, and arrived off Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
on 28 June ahead of Bonaparte. Believing that the French must have had a different objective, Nelson turned northwards the following day to investigate the coast of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and missed Bonaparte's arrival on 31 June by less than 24 hours. Unopposed, Bonaparte landed his army and marched on Alexandria, capturing the city and turning inland. The fleet was ordered to anchor in nearby Aboukir Bay and await further instructions. On 1 August, Nelson returned to the Egyptian coast and discovered the French fleet at anchor. Attacking immediately, Nelson's ships managed to capture nine French ships of the line and destroy two, including the flagship Orient
French ship Orient
A number of ships of the French Navy have borne the name Orient. Among them :* The 80-gun ship of the line Orient * The 118-gun ship of the line Orient originally named Dauphin Royal, renamed Sans Culotte in September 1792 and then Orient in May 1795 - flagship of the French fleet at the Battle...
with only moderate damage to themselves. The destruction of the French Mediterranean fleet granted control of the sea to the Royal Navy, soon joined by the navies of Portugal
Kingdom of Portugal
The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...
, Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
, the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
as part of the hastily organised Second Coalition against France.
Maltese uprising
On Malta, the French had rapidly dismantled the institutions of the Knights of St. John, including the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. Church property was looted and seized to pay for the expedition to Egypt, an act that generated considerable anger among the deeply religious Maltese population. On 2 September, this anger erupted in a popular uprising during an auction of church property, and within days thousands of Maltese irregulars had driven the French garrison into Valletta. Valletta was surrounded by approximately 10,000 irregular Maltese soldiers led by Emmanuel Vitale and Canon Saverio Caruana. The Maltese were armed with 23 cannon and a small squadron of coastal gunboats. Although there was intermittent skirmishing between the garrison and the Maltese, the fortress was too strong for the irregulars to assault.
Late in September, a British convoy consisting of 13 battered ships under Captain Sir James Saumarez appeared off the island. Survivors of the Battle of the Nile, they were in urgent need of repair and unable to directly assist in the siege. Nevertheless, Saumarez met with representatives of the Maltese and on 25 September, sent an offer of truce to Vaubois on their behalf. Vaubois replied "Vous avez, sans doute, oublié que des Français sont dans la place. Le sort des habitans [sic] ne vous regarde pointe. Quant à votre sommation, les soldats français ne sont point habitués à ce style" ("You might have forgotten that the French hold this place. The fate of the inhabitants is none of your concern. As for your ultimatum, French soldiers are not accustomed to such a tone"). Unable to persuade the French to give in, Saumarez instead provided the Maltese forces with 1,200 musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s with which to continue the siege. Saumarez, unable to delay repairs any longer, sailed for Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
at the end of the month.
In mid-September, a squadron of Portuguese ships also had arrived at the island. They included the Príncipe Real, Rainha de Portugal, São Sebastião and Afonso de Albuquerque, and the British ship HMS Lion
HMS Lion (1777)
HMS Lion was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, of the Worcester class, launched on 3 September 1777 at Portsmouth Dockyard....
, all under the command of Tomás Xavier Teles de Castro da Gama, Marquess of Niza
Count of Vidigueira
Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese count title of nobility awarded by King Manuel I of Portugal to Dom Vasco da Gama, who discovered the maritime route from Europe to India...
. This force had been sent from the Tagus to augment Nelson's fleet, and after a brief stay off Malta continued to Alexandria. The Portuguese ships returned to the blockade of the island in October.
On 12 October, the British ships of the line HMS Alexander
HMS Alexander (1778)
HMS Alexander was a Royal Navy 74-gun third-rate. This ship of the line was launched at Deptford on 8 October 1778. During her career she was captured by the French, and later recaptured by the British. She fought at the Nile in 1798, and was broken up in 1819...
under Captain Alexander Ball
Alexander Ball
Sir Alexander John Ball, 1st Baronet was a British Admiral and the first British governor of Malta. He was born in Ebworth Park, Sheepscombe, Gloucestershire. He was the fourth son of Robert and Mary Ball....
, HMS Culloden
HMS Culloden (1783)
HMS Culloden was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 16 June 1783 at Rotherhithe. She took part in some of the most famous battles of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars....
under Captain Thomas Troubridge and HMS Colossus
HMS Colossus (1787)
HMS Colossus was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was launched at Gravesend on 4 April 1787 and lost on 10 December 1798.-Early history:...
under Captain George Murray
George Murray (Royal Navy officer)
Vice-Admiral Sir George Murray KCB was an officer in the Royal Navy who saw service in a wide range of theatres and campaigns. His active naval career spanned the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
joined Niza's ships off Malta, marking the formal start of the blockade. On the same day, Vaubois withdrew the last of his soldiers into the fortified new city of Valletta, accompanied by approximately 100 Maltese nationals who had joined the French forces. The garrison numbered over 3,000 men and initially at least was well supplied. In the harbour lay the ships of the line Dégo
French ship Dégo (1798)
The San Zaccharia was a 64-gun ship of the line of the Navy of the Knights of St John of Malta, later brought into French service as the Dégo....
and Athénien
HMS Athenienne
HMS Athenienne was a 64-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy. She was the former Maltese ship San Giovanni, captured by the French and recommissioned as Athénien, and eventually taken by the Royal Navy after the surrender of Valletta, on 4 September 1800.In 1805, under the command of...
and the frigate Carthaginoise
French frigate Carthaginoise
Sante Elisabeth was a 32-gun frigate of the Navy of the Knights of St John of Malta, later brought into French service as the Carthaginoise....
, all of which were former ships of the Maltese Navy, as well as the newly arrived Guillaume Tell and frigates Justice
French frigate Justice (1794)
The Justice was a Virginie class frigate of the French Navy, originally built and completed as Courageuse in 1794, but renamed Justice in April 1795....
and Diane
French frigate Diane (1796)
The Diane was a 38-gun frigate of the French Navy.She took part in the Battle of the Nile, managing to escape to Malta with the Justice....
, survivors of the Battle of the Nile under Rear-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar....
, which had reached Malta at the end of September.
Capture of Gozo
On 24 October, after a ten day passage from Naples, Nelson joined the blockade squadron in HMS VanguardHMS Vanguard (1787)
HMS Vanguard was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 6 March 1787 at Deptford. She was the sixth vessel to bear the name....
accompanied by HMS Minotaur
HMS Minotaur
Six ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Minotaur after the minotaur, a creature in Greek mythology:*HMS Minotaur was a 74-gun third-rate ship of the line launched in 1793...
. On 28 October, Ball successful completed negotiations with the French garrison on the small island of Gozo
Gozo
Gozo is a small island of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Southern European country of Malta; after the island of Malta itself, it is the second-largest island in the archipelago...
, the 217 French soldiers there agreeing to surrender without a fight and transferring the island, its fortifications, 24 cannon, a large quantity of ammunition and 3,200 sacks of flour to the British. Although the island was formally claimed by King Ferdinand of Naples
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...
, it was administered by British and Maltese representatives, whose first action was to distribute the captured food supplies to the island's 16,000 inhabitants. Malta and the surrounding islands were not self-sufficient and quickly the challenge of feeding the population became a strain on the islands' resources, particularly with so many men under arms, Although now formally in command of the islands, King Ferdinand refused to assist with supplies, and the responsibility was left to Ball and his captains to arrange for the transport of supplies from Italy. By the end of the year, the number of Maltese troops in the field had fallen from 10,000 to 1,500, supported by 500 British
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
and Portuguese marines
Portuguese Marine Corps
The Portuguese Marine Corps are a special operations force unit in the Portuguese Navy. The corps is specialised in amphibious warfare, coastal reconnaissance, maritime interdiction and boarding operations...
from the blockade squadron. The blockade fleet, consisting of five British and four Portuguese ships, operated from St. Paul's Bay
St. Paul's Bay
Saint Paul's Bay is a town in Malta, situated in the north east of the island of Malta, sixteen kilometres from the capital city Valletta.Its name refers to the shipwreck of Saint Paul, as documented in the Acts of the Apostles, due to the tradition that Saint Paul was shipwrecked on the isles,...
and Marsa Sirocco
Marsaxlokk
Marsaxlokk is a traditional fishing village located in the south-eastern part of Malta, with a population of 3,277 people . The village’s name comes from marsa, which means "port" and xlokk, which is the local name for south east...
(now Marsaxlokk) on the island of Malta itself.
Blockade
1799 was a frustrating year for the British and Maltese forces deployed against Malta, as efforts to secure sufficient forces to prosecute the siege were repeatedly denied. Major-General James St Clair-ErskineJames St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn
General James St Clair-Erskine, 2nd Earl of Rosslyn GCB, PC , known as Sir James Erskine, Bt, between 1765 and 1789 and as Sir James St Clair-Erskine, Bt, between 1789 and 1805, was a Scottish soldier, politician, and Acting Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, on behalf of King George...
, commander of British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
forces in the Mediterranean, considered the ongoing War of the Second Coalition
War of the Second Coalition
The "Second Coalition" was the second attempt by European monarchs, led by the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria and the Russian Empire, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary France. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests...
in Italy and the defence of Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
to be higher priorities than Ball's siege, while the defeated Neapolitans continued to refuse assistance. A Russian squadron under Admiral Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov
Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov
Fyodor Fyodorovich Ushakov was the most illustrious Russian naval commander and admiral of the 18th century.- Life and naval career :...
briefly appeared off the island in January, but was almost immediately ordered to join the Russian and Turkish forces besieging the island of Corfu
Corfu
Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...
. In addition to the difficulties the Allies faced in obtaining food for the Maltese population, the French succeeded in bringing supplies through the blockade in the early part of the year: in January 1799 a schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
reached Valletta from Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
, and in February the frigate Boudeuse evaded the blockade and entered the port with supplies from Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
. In May, a major French expedition under Admiral Etienne Eustache Bruix
Étienne Eustache Bruix
Étienne Eustache Bruix was a French sailor.-Life:From a distinguished family originating from Béarn, he embarked as a volunteer on a slaving vessel commanded by captain Jean-François Landolphe...
entered the Western Mediterranean, forcing Nelson to recall his scattered fleet from across the region, temporarily raising the blockade of Malta. During this operation a number of French supply ships took advantage of the absence of the British squadron to enter Valletta.
However, despite these occasional supply ships, the French garrison was rapidly running out of food. To conserve resources, the French forced the civilian population out of the city; the civilian population dropped from 45,000 in 1799 to 9,000 by 1800. Nelson himself took nominal command of the blockade, while Ball was made president of the Maltese National Congress. As liaison between the Maltese military and civilian commanders, he directed the distribution of supplies to the Maltese population, which was beginning to suffer from disease brought about by food shortages. He was replaced on Alexander by his first lieutenant, William Harrington. On 1 November Nelson again offered terms of surrender to Vaubois, and was again rebuffed, with the reply "Jaloux de mériter l'estime de votre nation, comme vous recherchez celle de la nôtre, nous sommes résolus défendre cette fortresse jusqu'à l'extrémité" ("Keen to deserve the esteem your nation, as you seek that of ours, we are resolved to defend this fortress until the end"). By this point, Nelson was conducting the blockade at a distance, based at the Neapolitan court in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. There he indulged in gambling and social engagements, becoming closer and closer to Emma, Lady Hamilton
Emma, Lady Hamilton
Emma, Lady Hamilton is best remembered as the mistress of Lord Nelson and as the muse of George Romney. She was born Amy Lyon in Ness near Neston, Cheshire, England, the daughter of a blacksmith, Henry Lyon, who died when she was two months old...
, wife of the ambassador Sir William Hamilton
William Hamilton (diplomat)
Sir William Hamilton KB, PC, FRS was a Scottish diplomat, antiquarian, archaeologist and vulcanologist. After a short period as a Member of Parliament, he served as British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Naples from 1764 to 1800...
. His behaviour was heavily criticised, not just by his commanding officer Vice-Admiral Lord Keith
George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith
George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith was a British admiral active throughout the Napoleonic Wars.-Career:Fifth son of the 10th Lord Elphinstone, he was born in Elphinstone Tower, near Stirling, Scotland...
, who had recently replaced Earl St Vincent, but also by old friends such as Thomas Troubridge, who wrote to him "If you knew what your friends feel for you I am sure you would cut out all the nocturnal parties . . . I beseech your Lordship, leave off". In December 1799, Erskine was replaced by Lieutenant-General Henry Edward Fox
Henry Edward Fox
General Henry Edward Fox was a British Army general. He also served for a brief spell as Governor of Minorca.-Family:...
, who immediately redistributed 800 troops from the garrison at Messina to Malta under Brigadier-General Thomas Graham
Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch
General Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch, GCB, GCMG, GCTE was a Scottish aristocrat, politician and British Army officer....
. These troops filled the gap left by the withdrawal of Portuguese forces, which had been ordered to return to Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. Disease began to spread within the city as rations became scarcer. The arrival of an aviso
Aviso
An aviso , a kind of dispatch boat or advice boat, survives particularly in the French navy, they are considered equivalent to the modern sloop....
in January 1800 with the news of the events of 18 Brumaire
18 Brumaire
The coup of 18 Brumaire was the coup d'état by which General Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate...
that made Bonaparte First Consul of France prompted a brief respite and a public statement from Vaubois that the city would never be surrendered, although conditions continued to deteriorate.
Convoy battles
At the beginning of February 1800, the Neapolitan government, reinstated in Naples after being expelled the year before, finally agreed to participate in the siege and 1,200 troops were embarked on a squadron led by Vice-Admiral Lord Keith'sGeorge Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith
George Keith Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith was a British admiral active throughout the Napoleonic Wars.-Career:Fifth son of the 10th Lord Elphinstone, he was born in Elphinstone Tower, near Stirling, Scotland...
flagship HMS Queen Charlotte
HMS Queen Charlotte (1790)
HMS Queen Charlotte was a 100-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 15 April 1790 at Chatham. She was built to the draught of designed by Sir Edward Hunt, though with a modified armament....
and landed on Malta. For a time, both Keith and Nelson remained with the blockade squadron, which consisted of six ships of the line and several British and Neapolitan frigates. On 17 February a message arrived with the squadron from the frigate HMS Success, which had been stationed off Sicily to watch for French reinforcements. Captain Shuldham Peard
Shuldham Peard
Shuldham Peard was a British sailor who rose to the rank of Vice Admiral. He was the father of John Whitehead Peard, who was known as 'Garibaldi's Englishman'.-References:* Oxford Dictionary of National Biography...
reported that he was shadowing a squadron of six or seven French ships sailing in the direction of Malta. These vessels were a relief squadron, sent from Toulon with extensive food supplies and 3,000 additional troops under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée
Jean-Baptiste Perrée
Jean-Baptiste Perrée was a French contre-amiral. He was born in Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme in Picardy.Perrée was midshipman in 1793, and was promoted to acting lieutenant de vaisseau in May 1793, taking command of Proserpine and raiding commerce, capturing 63 prizes. His rank was confirmed in late 1793...
in Généreux, one of the ships of the line that had escaped at the Nile two years earlier. On 18 February, the convoy was sighted by lookouts on Alexander. In the ensuing chase, Success captured a French transport and attacked the much larger Généreux. Although the frigate was damaged in the exchange, Success
HMS Foudroyant (1798)
HMS Foudroyant was an 80-gun third rate of the Royal Navy. She was built at Plymouth Dockyard and launched on 31 March 1798.Goodwin gives the launch date for Foudroyant as 31 March, 25 May, and 31 August. The text highlights this discrepancy and attributes the August date to Lyon's Sailing Navy...
, under Lord Nelson, and HMS Northumberland
HMS Northumberland (1798)
HMS Northumberland was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at the yards of Barnard, Deptford and launched on 2 February 1798....
to join the battle. Heavily outnumbered, Généreux surrendered.
Shortly after the capture of the Généreux, Keith returned to the Italian coast in Queen Charlotte, where his flagship was lost in a fire that killed more than 700 of its crew, although Keith was ashore at the time. Before departing, Keith issued strict instructions to Nelson that he was not to return to Palermo, but was to confine any shore leave in Sicily to Syracuse. Nelson ignored the order and by late March was in Palermo conducting an open love affair with Emma Hamilton. In his absence, Troubridge took over command of the blockade, delegating temporarily to Captain Manley Dixon
Manley Dixon
Admiral Sir Manley Dixon, KCB was a prominent Royal Navy officer during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Born into a military family in the late 1750s or early 1760s, Dixon joined the Navy and served as a junior officer in the American Revolutionary War, gaining an independent...
. Dixon led the squadron on 31 March when Guillaume Tell attempted to break out on Valletta under Decrés. Spotted by the frigate HMS Penelope
HMS Penelope (1798)
HMS Penelope was a fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, launched in 1798 and wrecked in 1815.Under Sir Henry Blackwood, she took part in the battle of 30 March 1800 against the Guillaume Tell. Penelope was credited for engaging and dismantling the masts of Guillaume Tell with two raking broadsides...
under Captain Henry Blackwood
Henry Blackwood
Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet, GCH, KCB , whose memorial is in the St. John's Church, Killyleagh, was a British sailor....
, Guillaume Tell was chased northwards and engaged by first Penelope and then by Dixon's HMS Lion
HMS Lion (1777)
HMS Lion was a 64-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, of the Worcester class, launched on 3 September 1777 at Portsmouth Dockyard....
, driving both ships back but suffering severe damage. Eventually the arrival of the powerful Foudroyant under Captain Sir Edward Berry proved too much for Decrés, but he continued fighting for another two hours before he was forced to surrender his battered and dismasted ship; in the engagement, he lost more than 200 men killed and wounded.
Nelson's cruise
In the aftermath of these defeats at sea, and with the food supply in Valletta dwindling, the British sent another demand for capitulation. Vaubois again refused, with the reply "Cette place est en trop bon état, et je suis moi-même trop jaloux de bien servir men payset de conserver mon honneur, por écouter vos propositions." ("This place is in too good a situation, and I am too conscious of the service of my country and my honour, to listen to your proposals"). In reality, the situation was dire: during February, prices of basic foodstuffs stood at 16 francs for a fowl, 12 francs for a rabbit, 20 sous for an egg, 18 sous for a lettuce, 40 sous for a rat and six francs per pound for fish. For the civilian typhus patients, the only food available was a horse-flesh soup.On 23 April, Nelson departed Palermo in Foudroyant, with both Sir William and Emma Hamilton on board as his guests. The party visited Syracuse and then travelled on to Valletta, where Berry took Foudroyant so close to the harbour that the ship came under fire from the French batteries. No hits were scored, but Nelson was furious that Emma had been taken into danger and immediately ordered Berry to withdraw. His anger was exacerbated by Emma's refusal to retire from the quarterdeck during the brief exchange. From there, Foudroyant anchored at Marsa Sirocco, where Nelson and Emma lived together openly and were hosted by Troubridge and Graham. Sir William Hamilton, a prominent antiquarian as well as a diplomat, spent his time exploring the island. By early June, Nelson and his party had returned to Palermo, the beginning of a lengthy overland journey across Europe to Britain. Nelson also detached Foudroyant and Alexander from the blockade, again in defiance of Keith's explicit orders, to assist the Neapolitan royal family in their passage to Livorno
Livorno
Livorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
. Enraged at Nelson's disobedience, Keith publicly remarked that "Lady Hamilton has had command of the fleet long enough". In May, Troubridge returned to Britain and was replaced in command by Captain George Martin
George Martin (Royal Navy officer)
Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Martin GCB, GCMG was an officer of the Royal Navy who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars...
, while Graham was superseded by Major-General Henry Pigot.
Surrender
The British blockade continued to prevent French efforts to resupply Valletta during the early summer of 1800, and by August the situation was desperate: no horses or pack animals, dogs, cats, fowls or rabbits still lived within the city, the cisterns had been emptied and even firewood was in short supply. So desperate was the need for wood that the frigate Boudeuse, trapped by the blockade, was broken up for fuel by the beleaguered garrison. With defeat now inevitable, Vaubois gave orders that the frigates Diane and Justice were to attempt a breakout for Toulon, the frigates given minimal crews of approximately 115 men each. On 24 August, when the wind was favourable and the night dark enough to obscure their movements, the frigates put to sea. Almost immediately, lookouts on HMS Success sighted them and Captain Peard gave chase, followed by HMS Genereux and Northumberland. Diane under Captain Solen was too slow and Peard soon overhauled the under strength French ship, which surrendered after a brief exchange of shot. The frigate later became HMS Niobe. Justice, under Captain Jean Villeneuve, was faster however and outran its pursuers, eventually making Toulon, the only ship from Malta to do so during the siege.On 3 September, with his men dying of starvation and disease at the rate of more than 100 a day, Vaubois called a council of his officers at which they unanimously decided to surrender. The next day, envoys were sent to the British and in the afternoon General Pigot and Captain Martin signed the agreed terms with Vaubois and Villeneuve. The Maltese were excluded from negotiations entirely, although their commander, Alexander Ball, subsequently became the first Governor of Malta. The terms of the surrender were absolute: the island, its dependencies, fortifications and military supplies were all turned over to British control. This included the ships of the line Athenien and Dégo and the frigate Carthagénaise, although only Athenien was of sufficient standard to be incorporated into the Royal Navy, becoming HMS Athenienne. The other ships were broken up in their berths. Two merchant ships and a variety of smaller warships also were taken.
The capture of Malta returned control of the central Mediterranean to Britain and was an important step in the invasion and liberation of Egypt from French rule in 1801. An essential condition of the Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
in the same year, which brought an end to the French Revolutionary War, was that Malta be evacuated by the British. Russian Tsar Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
had a long standing claim to the island as titular head of the Knights of St. John, and demanded that it was turned over to Russian control before agreeing any alliance with Britain. Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
flatly refused, and the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
with France began soon afterwards, in part due to the failure of Britain to comply with this tenet of the treaty. The island subsequently remained in British hands until its independence in 1964.