One of the most important seaports in the central Mediterranean Sea is on the tiny island of Malta. In 1535, it was the scene of one of the most famous sieges in history. The Knights of Malta, with the enthusiastic help of the residents, were able to withstand the entire might of the Ottoman Empire whose immense forces were concentrated on the tiny island. It was a long, bloody battle, barely won by the Christians, after tens of thousands of painful tortures, executions, and slaughters.
In the early 1800s, Napoleon took the heavily fortified island without firing a shot. He simply said, “Look, you can give Malta to me, in exchange for good landholdings in Europe. Or, you can embarrass yourselves by fighting a war with my troops and ships that you’re sure to lose.” Faced with those alternatives, and influenced by bribes to key decision makers, the handful of remaining knights turned the island over to him.
Walking through the immense fortifications erected after the Christian victory in 1535, one of Napoleon’s officers asked, “Who gave us the keys to open such doors?”
Napoleon.
Not long after leaving Malta and his brilliant success, almost every ship in the French fleet was destroyed off the coast of Egypt by Admiral Lord Nelson, who led the British Navy to an astounding victory over Napoleon’s ships.
