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THE GUNPOWDER TRAGEDIES

By April 3, 2025May 14th, 2026Anglu Story, Filomena Story, STORY

THE GUNPOWDER TRAGEDIES

Gunpowder is a dangerous material made from a mix of potassium nitrate (saltpeter), sulphur, and charcoal. This same mixture gives fireworks their loud bangs, bright flashes, and dazzling sparkles during celebrations. However, it’s highly explosive and needs to be stored carefully, far away from people. In Malta, fireworks light up summer nights during village festas in a riot of colourful patterns and sound, but sadly, accidents often happen. For example, in 2010, one of the worst years on record, fireworks factory explosions claimed the lives of nine Maltese and Gozitan villagers.

Gunpowder. Source: Lord Mountbatten

However, gunpowder isn’t just used for fireworks. It’s also an essential propellant in firearms, cannons, and explosives for mining, quarrying, and building tunnels. Handling gunpowder comes with serious risks, as two historical tragedies in Galley Creek show us. In 1531, barely a year after the Knights of St John settled in Malta, the Santa Maria, an old carrack (ship) belonging to the Order, was docked in Galley Creek. It was no longer used for sailing but instead served as a floating prison for female slaves and children and also stored gunpowder. On October 5th, a young boy playing with gunpowder accidentally started a fire. The flames quickly reached the powder magazine, triggering a massive explosion that ripped apart the upper deck of the ship and sent it flying into the middle of Grand Harbour.

Galley Greek

Grand Master L’Isle Adam

In 1531, barely a year after the Knights of St John settled in Malta, the Santa Maria, an old carrack (ship) belonging to the Order, was docked in Galley Creek. It was no longer used for sailing but instead served as a floating prison for female slaves and children and also stored gunpowder. On October 5th, a young boy playing with gunpowder accidentally started a fire. The flames quickly reached the powder magazine, triggering a massive explosion that ripped apart the upper deck of the ship and sent it flying into the middle of Grand Harbour.

Amazingly, those on the deck survived unharmed, but some slaves panicked and jumped into the sea, where they drowned. The rest of the carrack continued burning, but when some loaded guns went off, damaging nearby ships, Grand Master L’Isle Adam ordered the ship to be sunk to prevent further destruction. Low-lying, heavy guns from Fort St Angelo and St Andrew’s Church were fired to sink the ship. Days later, swimmers recovered weapons, cannonballs, and some treasure from the wreck on the seabed.

Malta had not long been a British protectorate when another devastating explosion reverberated through Galley Creek. Lieutenant Colonel Bentham, Commanding Officer of the Royal Artillery in Malta, had ordered the unloading of several boxes of artillery shells from the gunpowder magazine located in a bastion on the Vittoriosa waterside next to Porta della Marina. The shells were being shipped to British troops stationed in Sicily.

The task involved opening the shells and removing the powder inside. Although Gunner Robert Cressy had suggested to Bombardier Anderson that the operation would be safer if undertaken outside, he was ignored. At 6:15 am on Friday, 18th July 1806, the inevitable happened. A metal chisel was used to prise the fuses from the shells, causing sparks. Around 370 barrels of gunpowder and 1,600 shells exploded, killing 200 civilians apart from British and Maltese soldiers and wounding 300 more. The blast destroyed homes, including the Barracks Master’s residence, warehouses, and parts of the nearby bastions. The search for bodies lasted for months, with fears of a cholera outbreak looming in the summer heat. Workers recovered 853 sacks of body parts from the rubble.

Site of the Old Polverista. Source: Continental Europe

Former British gunpowder magazine, Rinella, Kalkara. Source: Buildings of Malta

This catastrophe became known as the Polverista Explosion, and the area was nicknamed L-Imġarraf, meaning ‘the destroyed site.’ Afterwards, the British built a new gunpowder magazine at Rinella Bay, outside the fortifications.

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