Birgu, 1530-1571 - The heyday of a Maltese maritime city

This paper surveys briefly the peak forty years int he life of the small Ma ltese maritime town of Birgu coinciding with the first four decades of the Order of St John in Malta. During this time, Birgu rose from a small fishin g village and base for medieval Maltese corsairs, counting a population of a mere 500, to a fully-fledged and well-defended city, that prided itself w ith palaces, churches, an arsenal, a hospital and other buildings vital for the Order. Its defences were strong enough to withstand the stranglehold o f the mighty Turkish armada that besieged it in 1565. During those crucial months of the siege, Birgu provided protection within its walls to more tha n half of the island's entire population. The decline of Birgu came very so on after the siege when the Order decided to build for itself a new capital city across the harbour whither it moved in 1571.