Rise of the Priests

The reasons for the uprising can be traced back to 1773, when Francisco Jimenez de Tejada was elected Grand Master after the death of Manuel Pinto da Fonseca . After his election, Jimenez discovered that the treasury was empty, so he introduced austerity measures, including cutting costs and raising corn prices. This made him unpopular both among the clergy and among ordinary people ^[2] .

Jimenez issued a decree prohibiting the hunting of hares (in Maltese: Fenek tax-xiber ^[3] ), opposed by Bishop Giovanni Carmine Pellerano and the clergy as a whole. Other events also created tension between the clergy and the order ^[4] .

Due to tensions between the order and the clergy, as well as poor public opinion about Jimenez, priests led by Don Gaetano Mannarino began plotting against the Order of Hospitallers . They chose September 8 as the day of the uprising, since the army of the order and battleships were at sea that day with the ships of Spain, and Valletta was not protected. In total, 28 priests and a large number of parishioners took part in preparing for the uprising ^[5] .

On September 8, 1775, on the day of the uprising, only 18 of the 28 clergymen came to the assembly point. Despite this, Mannarino still decided to start an uprising. A group of 13 people captured the fort of St. Elmo at the northern tip of Valletta , while the rest of the rebels captured the cavalier of St. James (St. James) at the opposite end of the city. The rebels lowered the flag of the order, and instead the flag of St. Paul was raised ^[6] .

The rebels could not capture the whole city, since the city magistracy took emergency measures. In particular, the population was not allowed to leave their homes, martial law was declared and the city police raised the alarm ^[7] .

After the uprising began, Jimenez convened a council of state to plan the suppression of the uprising. The Council sent the Vicar General to ascertain the demands of the rebels who agreed to negotiations. However, the rebels began to threaten to blow up the warehouse of St. Elmo's gunpowder, the explosion of which would seriously damage the fort and city fortifications. In this regard, the order decided to return the captured fortifications by force. Fort St. Elmo was captured after a short shootout, and shortly afterwards the St. James Bastion surrendered. Of the 18 priests participating in the uprising, only 12 remained at their posts until the end ^[8] .

After the defeat, the rebels were imprisoned at Fort St. Elmo. Three rebels were executed, while others were imprisoned, exiled or acquitted ^[9] .

Mannarino, the leader of the uprising, was one of those sentenced to life imprisonment, but was released along with other political prisoners after more than twenty years in prison during the French occupation of Malta in 1798. He died in 1814 at the age of 81. ^[10]