It happened in April: The plague outbreak in Malta in 1813
The plague has never been endemic in Malta but it has been ‘imported’ several times from the Levant and spread rapidly throughout the islands with heavy loss of life. After the Order of St John was expelled from Malta in 1798, the first plague outbreak under the new British rulers occurred in April 1813. This is the basis of this month’s anniversary story. Lieutenant-General Sir Hildebrand Oakes (1754-1822), Civil Commissioner of Malta, 1810-13, in a portrait attributed to Henry Raeburn (1756-1823), The National Trust, Killerton, UK. One of the results of the economic war then being wag...