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Article DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLAND OF MALTA ← Page 2 of 3 →
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Description Of The Island Of Malta
manned with . 2400 seamen . They are all contained in the port ofthe gallies , which communicates with ' the chief port , and is defended on one side by the castle of St . Angelo , and on the other side , by the batteries of the peninsula of Sangle . Thus an enemy may j ; et " possesion' of the forts St . Elmo and Ricazoli , which defend the chief port , without becoming master of the naval force of Malta .
It is necessary to observe , that the islarid being merely a rock , neither trenches nor epatilemements can be'formed . A Commander ofthe Order , who has just arrived in London , states that , according to a law which has been always punctually executed , there were provisions for three years in the magazines when the French took it , '
KNIGHTS OF MALTA . THE figure which the Kni ghts of Malta formerly made in Europej must excite our curiosity to be particularly informed of their jise , progress , and manners . The first rise of this Order , according to the celebrated Abbot de Vertot , was owing to the devotion , or to dissect the specious term ,
owing to superstition ; namely , the frequent pilgrimages to the Holy land . About the middle of the eleventh century , two Hospitalers were established in Jerusalem for the reception and entertainment of the Christian pilgrims ; which foundation was destroyed , when the Turks conquered" Palestine , about seventeen years after . In 1095 , Jerusalem was retaken by the Christiansand the Hospitalers
re-, stored ; who , through the excessive liberality of the Princes , became , in a short time , exceeding rich . The first Grand Master of the Order was Raimond Dupuy , who formed of it a military body , under the command of the Kings of Jerusalem , and made a profession of defending the Christians against the insults of the Infidels . In emulation of this religious and military Order , in 1128 , the
Knights Templars were established . Both these societies , in time , spread all over Asia and Europe . Hitherto they had resided chiefly in Palestine ; but in 1291 , when Melec-Seraf , son of the Sultan of Egypt , had taken the last town remaining to the Christians , viz . John of Acres , they were obliged to quit the Ploly Land , and take refuge in Limisso , a city of Cyprusby the permission of its King . Here luxury and vice crept
, into this reli gious Older ; the contagions air of Cyprus , which the blindness of Heathenism had consecrated to Venus , making vicious impressions upon the youth of the Order . At lengih being tired of Cyprus , for want of a convenient sea-port , they cast their eyes upon Rhodes ; which they conquered in 1308 , and from that time were called Kni ghts of Rhodes .
Here they continued upwards of 200 years ; till , in 1522 , Soliman IT . conquered Rhodes , and by a favourable treaty , permitted the Kri ghts to retire whither they pleased . Accordingly , their Grand Master , with his little fleet , wandered about , like another .. Eneas ; till Pope Clement VII . allotted them Viterbo . At last Charles V . made them a present of Malta , of which they took possession October 25 th , 1630 ; and which their posterity enjoyed down to the present time , in which
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Description Of The Island Of Malta
manned with . 2400 seamen . They are all contained in the port ofthe gallies , which communicates with ' the chief port , and is defended on one side by the castle of St . Angelo , and on the other side , by the batteries of the peninsula of Sangle . Thus an enemy may j ; et " possesion' of the forts St . Elmo and Ricazoli , which defend the chief port , without becoming master of the naval force of Malta .
It is necessary to observe , that the islarid being merely a rock , neither trenches nor epatilemements can be'formed . A Commander ofthe Order , who has just arrived in London , states that , according to a law which has been always punctually executed , there were provisions for three years in the magazines when the French took it , '
KNIGHTS OF MALTA . THE figure which the Kni ghts of Malta formerly made in Europej must excite our curiosity to be particularly informed of their jise , progress , and manners . The first rise of this Order , according to the celebrated Abbot de Vertot , was owing to the devotion , or to dissect the specious term ,
owing to superstition ; namely , the frequent pilgrimages to the Holy land . About the middle of the eleventh century , two Hospitalers were established in Jerusalem for the reception and entertainment of the Christian pilgrims ; which foundation was destroyed , when the Turks conquered" Palestine , about seventeen years after . In 1095 , Jerusalem was retaken by the Christiansand the Hospitalers
re-, stored ; who , through the excessive liberality of the Princes , became , in a short time , exceeding rich . The first Grand Master of the Order was Raimond Dupuy , who formed of it a military body , under the command of the Kings of Jerusalem , and made a profession of defending the Christians against the insults of the Infidels . In emulation of this religious and military Order , in 1128 , the
Knights Templars were established . Both these societies , in time , spread all over Asia and Europe . Hitherto they had resided chiefly in Palestine ; but in 1291 , when Melec-Seraf , son of the Sultan of Egypt , had taken the last town remaining to the Christians , viz . John of Acres , they were obliged to quit the Ploly Land , and take refuge in Limisso , a city of Cyprusby the permission of its King . Here luxury and vice crept
, into this reli gious Older ; the contagions air of Cyprus , which the blindness of Heathenism had consecrated to Venus , making vicious impressions upon the youth of the Order . At lengih being tired of Cyprus , for want of a convenient sea-port , they cast their eyes upon Rhodes ; which they conquered in 1308 , and from that time were called Kni ghts of Rhodes .
Here they continued upwards of 200 years ; till , in 1522 , Soliman IT . conquered Rhodes , and by a favourable treaty , permitted the Kri ghts to retire whither they pleased . Accordingly , their Grand Master , with his little fleet , wandered about , like another .. Eneas ; till Pope Clement VII . allotted them Viterbo . At last Charles V . made them a present of Malta , of which they took possession October 25 th , 1630 ; and which their posterity enjoyed down to the present time , in which