15th Century
Disintermediation
My first job was as a graduate trainee for a merchant bank in the City in the late 1980s and among the many buzzwords that the Slick Willies of that profession used to bandy about [more…]
16th Century
16th Century
The Grand Siege of Malta 1565 – Part 4
Senglea and Birgu On the day St Elmo fell La Valette received news that a relief force had landed in the north of the island. Under pressure from the Order, the Viceroy had sent two [more…]
16th Century
The Grand Siege of Malta 1565 – Part 3
The Attack on Fort St Elmo The Grand Master assumed that the Turks would continue to attack the forts of St Angelo and St Michael, but two Christian renegades who had become Muslims to save [more…]
16th Century
The Grand Siege of Malta 1565 – Part 2
The Opposing Forces – The Muslims The army of Suliman the Magnificent was an impressive force that was both hated and feared throughout Europe. Unusually for the time the infantry were the elite, the Janissaries [more…]
16th Century
The Grand Siege of Malta 1565 – Part 1
Malta, a small bastion on the southern flank of Europe, was the island fortress of the Knights Hospitaller and in 1565 it was besieged by the huge Turkish army of Emperor Suliman. The Turkish forces [more…]
16th Century
Postcard from Malta, No 1
The Inquisitor’s Palace (Maltese: Il-Palazz tal-Inkwiżitur, colloquially tal-Inkisitur) is a palace in Birgu, Malta. It was the seat of the Maltese Inquisition from 1574 to 1798, under the name Palazzo del Sant’Officio. The building was [more…]