For over three centuries, the tartana carried all sorts of cargo to and from the islands. A small three-masted merchantman with a fairly high freeboard, it could brave most conditions, and sail as far as Lisbon in the Atlantic,

The Maltese Tartana is the 11th monograph by Joseph Muscat in the series on Maltese boats and connected themes during the time of the Knights of St John. These fully annotated monographs are concise and have become authoritative works of reference.

Joseph Muscat is a maritime historian who has specialised in the naval activities of the Order of St John and has written a number of articles on the subjects, which have been published even in foreign journals.

The author explains the basic characteristic of this boat in 18th century configuration. He explains the various nomenclature associated with the vessel and also explains the steps followed in building of the tartans, which in Malta were usually constructed at a particular arsenal in French Creek,

The tartana was also used to carry passengers although this was not its main job. On one trip an exceptional 31 passengers were brought to Malta from Vietri.

Good use is made of a ship’s log kept by Aloisio Zahra, the clerk of the tartana in 1740. The book describes the day-to-day expenses and the major events related to each voyage completed by the boat.

Tartanas were also used for corsairing activities, but their principal function was to transport corn to the island.

The book is illustrated with numerous illustrations taken from contemporary sources, ex-votos, graffiti, and sketches made by the author himself.

The Maltese Tartana is available at all leading bookshops or directly from the publishers PIN, Herbert Ganado Street, Pieta.