1806 Birgu polverista explosion

Munitions depot accident in British Malta Birgu polverista explosion 1806 Birgu polverista explosion 02.jpg 1.35 The site of the magazine 06:15 1806 07 18 yes Birgu, Malta Protectorate 35 53 09 N 14 31 19 E region:MT-03_type:event inline,title Gunpowder magazine explosion Negligence 150–240 100 £35,000 (c. 1806), £3,212,222.22 (incl. inflation up to 2020) On 18 July 1806, approximately 40000 lbs on of gunpowder stored in a magazine (polverista) in Birgu, Malta, mistakenly detonated. The explosion killed an estimated 200 people, including British and Maltese military personnel, and Maltese civilians from Birgu. Parts of the city's fortifications, some naval stores, and many houses were destroyed. The accident was found to be the result of negligence while transferring shells from the magazine. Background In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the main gunpowder store in Birgu was located in a casemate within the city walls, close to the Porta Marina. This was an improvised measure; the casemate was not intended to be used as a gunpowder magazine, but such practice was common at the time. Gunpowder was also stored in casemates at other locations, such as Fort St. Angelo, Fort Ricasoli, and Mdina.Spiteri 2012 18–19Spiteri 2012 39 The Birgu magazine was located close to civilian housing, and the residents had complained about the dangers before the explosion. Preparations had been made to find alternative sites but nothing had been done; the storerooms that were meant to store gunpowder were being used as barracks or military hospitals. The 1806 explosion was not the first time that a gunpowder disaster occurred in Malta. On 12 September 1634, a gunpowder factory in Valletta blew up, killing 22 people and causing severe damage to the Church of the Jesuits and the nearby college.Spiteri 2012 6 In 1662, gunpowder that was stored in an echaugette on one of Valletta's counterguards exploded after being hit by lightning, but there were no casualties.Spiteri 2012 38 Explosion In July 1806, British forces in Malta were preparing artillery shells for shipment to Sicily, as ammunition stocks there were depleted due to the siege of Gaeta by the French. On 18 July, a working party of 13 men commanded by garrison gunner Bombardier Anderson were preparing a consignment of shells from the Birgu magazine,Explosion Polverista Vittoriosa https://www.maltaramc.com/regsurg/rs1800_1809/rmo1806.html Medical Officers of the Malta Garrison https://web.archive.org/web/20170222050937/http://maltaramc.com/regsurg/rs1800_1809/rmo1806.html 22 February 2017 dead which was filled at full capacity with 370 barrels containing 40000 lbs on of gunpowder, as well as 1,600 shells and grenades.Spiteri 2012 42 Anderson was using a metal chisel to remove the fuses from live shells, which was contrary to instructions, and this resulted in sparks which caused a massive explosion at 06:15. Anderson and the working party were killed instantly, as were three British soldiers of the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot and 23 Maltese soldiers of the 2nd Provincial Battalion.The Maltese Provincial Battalions http://maltaramc.com/regmltgar/1stprov.html maltaramc.com https://web.archive.org/web/20171203152832/http://maltaramc.com/regmltgar/1stprov.html 3 December 2017 Between 150 and 200 civilians from Birgu were also killed, and approximately 100 others were injured by falling debris. The explosion frightened the inhabitants of Birgu, and it was also heard in the nearby cities of Senglea and Cospicua, as well as in the surrounding villages.The Bulletin, Volume 57, Issue 225 – Volume 58, Issue 232 2006 Military Historical Society (Great Britain) https://books.google.com/books?id=dDNVAAAAYAAJ 147 hv The magazine was located within the city's fortifications, and a section of the walls "went up in the air" and left a large breach.Bugeja Lino Buhagiar Mario Fiorini Stanley Birgu: A Maltese Maritime City 1 1993 Malta University Services 9789990944006 159–160 https://books.google.com/books?id=YI7iAAAAMAAJ The city gate at the Porta Marina, a small bastion, and part of a curtain wall were all destroyed and were never rebuilt.Birgu http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/Knights%20Fortifications/1507.pdf National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands https://web.archive.org/web/20160820074930/http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/Knights%20Fortifications/1507.pdf 20 August 2016 28 June 2013 dead Short stretch of stepped curtain wall leading down to Birgu Creek – Birgu http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/Knights%20Fortifications/1517.pdf National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands https://web.archive.org/web/20160819160212/http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/filebank/inventory/Knights%20Fortifications/1517.pdf 19 August 2016 28 June 2013 dead Parts of the Navy Store Houses were also damaged or destroyed during the explosion. Birgu's cityscape was also altered by the explosion, since a large number of houses were destroyed or damaged by the explosion itself and by the rocks which fell from the bastions. There were 493 reports of property losses as a result of the explosion. Aftermath thumb|Triq il-Vittmi tal-Porvlista, with similar magazines built in the same period still intact or partially intact Many Maltese people were angered at the loss of lives caused by negligence on behalf of the military. Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball reported that: those Maltese who had already become disaffected with the Government, fanned the embers and fermented great agitation by magnifying the casualties and working upon the weakness and credibility of the lower ranks. 20px Victims and their families were paid partial compensation, and Ball set up a committee overseeing aid distribution. He also urged the government to pay full compensation. This was initially denied, but eventually the poorer classes received a compensation equivalent to two-thirds of their property which had been destroyed, while those of the upper classes received half of the value of their property. In 1811, £18,066.5s.10dComparing 19th-century costs and prices with those of the modern period is challenging. £18,066.5s.10d in 1811 could be equivalent to between £1.2 million and £78.4 million in 2016, depending on the price comparison used.Officer Lawrence H. Williamson Samuel H. Five Ways to Compute the Relative Value of a UK Pound Amount, 1270 to Present https://www.measuringworth.com/ukcompare/ MeasuringWorth.com 23 May 2017 2014 was evenly distributed among those who had claimed damages. A wine merchant named Woodhouse lost a large amount of wine and the government provided him with extensive storehouses at the former Slaves' Prison in Valletta as a compensation. The initial total estimated damage for rebuilding was estimated at £35,000.Notes John Wood Rui Arajo Paul Quinn January 1, 2008 The Mariner's Mirror 94 2 209–222 10.1080/00253359.2008.10657056 220331019 The affected area became known as l-Imġarraf (Maltese for "the destroyed"). A street close to where the explosion occurred is now known as Triq il-Vittmi tal-Porvlista (Maltese for "Polverista Victims Street"). The Vittoriosa Historical and Cultural Society installed a plaque at the St. Lawrence Cemetery on the 200th anniversary of the disaster in 2006, where most of the victims were buried.200th anniversary of the explosion at l-Imgarraf http://www.vittoriosahistorica.org/news-2006-08.html#link_1 Vittoriosa Historical & Cultural Society August 2006 https://web.archive.org/web/20160619083317/http://www.vittoriosahistorica.org/news-2006-08.html 19 June 2016 dead Notes References Bibliography Spiteri Stephen C. Stephen C. Spiteri Hospitaller Gunpowder Magazines Arx – International Journal of Military Architecture and Fortification 2012 Occasional Papers 2 http://www.militaryarchitecture.com/index.php/Journals/arx-occasional-papers-hospitaller-gunpowder-magazines.html Further reading Malta bil chzejer tehne u li ghadda min ghaliha: L'euel parti, Volume 1, page 86 Tragedja Kbira fil-Birgu (1806) Category:1800s disasters in Europe Category:1800s in Malta Category:1806 in Europe Category:1806 in the British Empire Category:Birgu Category:1806 explosions Category:Explosions in Malta Category:July 1806 Category:Non-combat military accidents