I decided to attend the talk by Prof. William Zammit which was to take place, conveniently for me, at the Salesian theatre in Sliema, as soon as it was advertised. Having lived in Mauritius for a number of years with a husband whose main interest was history I inevitably acquired at least a little interest in islands which produce sugar and in slavery. Organised by that indefaticable organization Flimkien ghal ambient ahjar the talk turned out to be a hit. Although very well attended it is probable that more people would have turned up had the poster carried the good news that parking was available in the huge parking grounds provided by St Patrick's nearby.

Prof William Zammit spoke to us eloquently (hardly glancing at his notes) about the Order of St John and its Caribbean Islands, 1653-1665. The book on the same subject which he has written with Thomas Freller is for sale.

In his very well illustrated talk Prof. Zammit based it mostly on two maps.

The central figure, apart from the two contemporary manuscript maps, is Philippe de Longvilliers de Poincy 1584- 1660) a French nobleman and Bailiff Grand Cross of the Knights of Malta. Independently of his status as a knight of the Order of St John Louis XIII of France had appointed him as Lieutenant-General of the West Indies islands in French control and, in that capacity, in January 1639 de Poincy left France for the West Indies. He governed the island of Saint Christopher from 1639 to his death in 1660, first under the Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique and later under the Knights of Malta themselves. Poincy was the key figure in the Hospitaller colonization of the Americas.

Professor Zammit describes him as "energetic and resolute...the various exploits, quarrels and economic and political initiatives undertaken from his headquarters on St Christopher island included the construction of an impressive palatial residential complex there, the conquest of nearby islands, including that of St Croix in 1650, as well as convincing the Order of St John to purchase the group of islands. De Poincy's often dubious methods and his egotistic motives in having the islands transferred to the Order have already been described in quite some detail by a number of scholars..."

The maps show the islands of St Christopher and of St Croix respectively "and an extremely detailed plan of de Poincy's palatial residence and its adjoining grounds." De Poincy obviously had no intention of slumming it just because he was not living in Europe. Slave labour would have been abundant and cheap, almost free and he made the best of it. The palace was fortified, constructed on high ground and although the major construction work was carried out between 1640 and 1641, improvements and additions were carried out by de Poincy until his death in 1660. "An earthquake in 1690 partially destroyed the residence, while further destruction resulted from the English invasion which took place in the same year." The English owned half the island for they had agreed with the French to partition it.  

De Poincy's  complex was a self-sufficient residence-cum-fortress surrounded by defensive walls and a moat. "The house itself was elegantly built and furnished and had elaborate gardens and a water supply. It consisted of a three-storied structure with a balustrated terrace and a loggia, possibly intended as a watchtower, rising above it." Inside, there was a library of around 100 volumes. The catalogue of this collection had survived and has been published, together with a detailed study.  Outside there was also a courtyard where the negroes resided, stables for some 32 horses, forage stores, a church, the surgeon's house, a pharmacy and so on.

In a letter de Poincy said that "Extremely good brick and stone are found here - the limestone is better than in France. Although there is nothing here than manual labour, there is more expense here.  This edifice makes the English jealous, because it is defensible and dashes the hope they have always had that our nation will become discouraged and that it will be easy for them, after a while to see the end game and chase us away...the situation of the site protects all the French inhabitants from Spanish incursions." It makes the Grand Master's palace in Valletta seem like an outhouse almost. De Poincy took his comfort and status seriously and most certainly did not wish to finish up in the hands of the British.

Prof. Zammit told us that the 1658 edition of Charles de Rochefort's Histoire naturelle et morale des Iles Antilles contains a detailed description of the complex. He said the chateau followed "the rules of a highly refined architecture, that used freestone and brick in neat symmetry.... The roof is flat, from which one has one of the most beautiful and perfect views in the world."

De Poincy proved both a resilient and enterprising administrator. "He established sugar plantations and sugar mills as well as constructed fortifications..."  In 1650 he also annexed the nearby island of St Croix, "which was to prove even more promising where the production of sugar was concerned."

As an aside, this reminds me of what the writer Bernardin de St Pierre wrote after a visit to Mauritius, another sugar colony: "Whether coffee and sugar are really necessary to the happiness of Europe is more than I can say but those two commodities have brought wretchedness and misery upon two continents. One of these is depopulated that Europeans may have a land to plant them in and another is stripped of its inhabitants for hands to cultivate them."

Even the warrior Knights of St John thought nothing of keeping slaves. The French and English, intent on self-enrichment through the exploitation of the island's resources, understood from the start that their establishment of settlements in St Kitts would meet with resistance, and such resistance was waged by the Kalingos( the original inhabitants)   throughout the first three years of the settlements' existence. So the colonisers were intent on enslaving, expelling or exterminating the Kalinagos, since the latter's retention of land threatened the profitability of the European-controlled plantation economy. We have to remind ourselves that by and large most Europeans obtained their huge fortunes at the expense of others. Now that I've had my say let me get on with the talk.

After the death of de Poincy in 1660 the Order started to consider the fate of its Caribbean possessions.  The report by a commission set up for the purpose recommended that it should retain the islands and exploit them economically. Nevertheless it sold the islands to the French East India Company for the sum of half a million livres, considered cheap. But in the end it only received "the paltry sum of 100,000 livres by way of permanent settlement."

Professor Zammit,  gave us a detailed explanation of the maps stating that "Both maps complement each other, giving information which is common and other which is not."

After a well-documented talk such as this, what is always brought home to me is the importance of archives and above all, of keeping them in good shape. One cannot help but admire adventurers like de Poincy who were prepared to leave Europe and travel to unknown lands.

I also have every admiration for researchers like Prof. Zammit and so many others who spend time making history come alive for us.

This was a  most interesting and beautifully presented talk. I am so glad I dragged myself from my warm living room to walk down. It was worth it.