The Maltese Provincial Battalions were

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

battalions in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

which existed from 1802 to 1815 in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, then a British protectorate and later a

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state' ...

. According to the

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition. It marked the end of the French Revolutionary Wars; after a short peace it s ...

of 1802, Britain was to evacuate Malta and restore the islands to the Order of St. John. The treaty also stated that at least half of Malta's garrison had to consist of 2000 Maltese soldiers led by native officers. Although the treaty was not implemented and the British did not evacuate Malta, the garrisons were readjusted, with the existing Maltese Light Infantry, Maltese Militia and

Maltese Militia Coast Artillery The Maltese Militia Coast Artillery was a coastal artillery militia unit in the British Army which existed from 1801 to 1802 in Malta, then a British protectorate. After the French blockade ended and the British took over Malta in September 18 ...

being disbanded. The Maltese Provincial Battalions were set up by Civil Commissioner Sir

Alexander Ball Sir Alexander John Ball, 1st Baronet ( it, Alessandro Giovanni Ball, 22 July 1757 – 25 October 1809) was a Rear-Admiral and Civil Commissioner of Malta. He was born in Ebworth Park, Sheepscombe, Gloucestershire. He was the fourth son of Rober ...

in 1802 to take over the role of the Maltese Militia. The original plan was to have two infantry battalions of 1000 men each, but eventually two battalions of 700 men each were set up. In addition, two other corps were also raised at the same time: the

Malta Coast Artillery The Malta Coast Artillery was a coastal artillery unit in the British Army which existed from 1802 to 1815 in Malta, then a British protectorate and later a colony. According to the Treaty of Amiens of 1802, Britain was to evacuate Malta and re ...

and the

Maltese Veterans The Maltese Veterans, also known as the Corps of Veterans, was a corps in the British Army which existed from 1803 to 1815 in Malta, then a British protectorate and later a colony. According to the Treaty of Amiens of 1802, Britain was to evacua ...

. The 1st Provincial Battalion was headquartered at

Fort Manoel Fort Manoel ( mt, Forti Manoel or ''Fortizza Manoel'') is a star fort on Manoel Island in Gżira, Malta. It was built in the 18th century by the Order of Saint John, during the reign of Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, after whom it ...

, while the 2nd Provincial Battalion was based at

Fort Ricasoli Fort Ricasoli ( mt, Forti Rikażli) is a bastioned fort in Kalkara, Malta, which was built by the Order of Saint John between 1670 and 1698. The fort occupies a promontory known as Gallows' Point and the north shore of Rinella Bay, commanding th ...

. The Provincials' roles included serving as a police force and a coast guard. At times, the men also repaired roads, fences and fortifications. According to the treaty, the battalions' officers were to be Maltese nobles appointed by the Grand Master. However, Ball himself chose two Maltese pro-British nobles, the Marquis Paolo Parisi and Conte Luigi Maria Gatto, as the commanding officers of the 1st and 2nd Battalions respectively. He did not grant them commissions so as not to violate the treaty. This move was criticized by the French, and eventually the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...

broke out in 1803 after multiple violations of various terms of the treaty by both the British and the French. The number of recruits in the Provincials severely depleted in 1805, when many men resigned to volunteer in the newly-established Royal Regiment of Malta. 23 men of the 2nd Provincials died in a gunpowder magazine explosion in

Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

on 18 July 1806. What remained of the two battalions were merged into a single battalion based at Fort Manoel and commanded by Parisi in October 1806. Since the men had agreed to a maximum of five years of service, there were plans to disband the Provincials. However, Ball was against this and the terms of service were renewed in 1807 and again in 1812. Parisi resigned his commission in 1811, and he was succeeded by the Conte Luigi Maria Gatto, former commander of the 2nd Battalion. By the following year, the unit was based at

Cottonera The Three Cities ( mt, It-Tlett Ibliet) is a collective description of the three fortified cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua in Malta. The oldest of the Three Cities is Vittoriosa, which has existed since prior to the Middle Ages. Th ...

. During the plague epidemic of 1813–14, the Provincial Battalion assisted the civil authorities in trying to contain the outbreak. This led to a drastic decrease in the number of new recruits, who did not want to risk getting infected themselves. The battalion's reduction and disbandment was seen as inevitable by late 1813. By 1815, the unit consisted of four companies. The Maltese Provincial Battalions were amalgamated with the Coast Artillery and the Veterans to form the

Royal Malta Fencible Regiment The Royal Malta Fencible Regiment was an infantry battalion of the British Army which existed from 1815 to 1861 in Malta, then a British colony. The regiment was recruited and organised by Francesco Rivarola in 1815; Rivarola had proved himself ...

on 16 February 1815.

References

{{reflist Infantry battalions of the British Army Military history of Malta Military units and formations established in 1802 Military units and formations disestablished in 1815 1802 establishments in Malta 1815 disestablishments in Malta