Do you like to live on the edge? Is it a spy’s life that really fascinates you, as you watch endless James Bond movie marathons? Then you’ll be amazed to know that Malta had its very own Maltese spy back in the 16th Century. In fact, he might have very well ensured the victory of the Great Siege of 1565! The name is Bajada. Toni Bajada. And given the grandeur of his life, we are still upset we don’t have a bio-pic about the man!
Well to be fair, sadly very little is known about Bajada but his story has solidly gone down in legend.
Toni Bajada in Turkish imprisonment
The story goes that he was from Naxxar. He allegedly spent some time in Turkish imprisonment as a slave, prior to the events of the Great Siege. Here he picked up the language. This meant that he could follow and understand what the Ottoman soldiers and presumably officials were up to.
Attempting to escape he was apprehended, and his captors chopped one of his ears off as punishment! His second attempt though, was successful. And suddenly, you have one very resentful man out on the streets!
In fact, when the Ottoman fleet attacked the Maltese islands in May of 1565, his knowledge of the Turkish language, as well as Arabic and Maltese became extremely valuable to the Knights. Grand Master de Valette personally tasked the man with the most important and arduous mission of them all. And so he became a spy for the Knights!
Helping were another four Maltese men. Andrew Zahra, James Pace, Anton Cascia and Francis Xerri also took on spy duties risking their lives. Sadly though, that’s all we know about them.
Bajada’s Spy Stunts
Toni Bajada would perform some unbelievable stunts. He would carry messages from Mdina to the Sciberras peninsula on foot. He swam across the harbour from Fort St Elmo to Fort St Angelo and back – even cross the Gozo channel from Cirkewwa to Mgarr!
Infiltrating the enemy camps was fairly easy for him. He would disguise himself as a slave and raise zero suspicions! His missing ear was enough to convince the Ottomans that he looked the part, so no one raised an eyebrow! Behind enemy lines, he would obtain valuable information about what the Turks were planning for the day after.
Bajada would then ferry the intel back to the Knights. This proved to be an invaluable help to the Knights who could prepare for the enemy’s attacks and probably devise better counter-offensive.
Toni Bajada and His Role During The Siege
The Great Siege was no PG affair. It lasted from 18th May to 8th September, and it pushed the Knights and the Maltese to the absolute brink.
The horrors are quite shocking still. It is reported that before the Turks even arrived, Grand Master de Valette ordered the harvesting of all the crops on the island, including unripened grain to deprive the enemy of any local food supplies. The Knights even poisoned all the wells with bitter herbs and dead animals to make sure the enemy wouldn’t have any access to fresh water!
Once the siege got underway, the Ottomans managed to win Fort St Elmo at the tip of the peninsula which today is Valletta. They wanted to send a gruesome message to the Knights.
Mustafa Pasha, the Turkish commander had the bodies of the imprisoned knights decapitated and their bodies floated across the bay on mock crucifixes. In retaliation, de Valette decided to reply in kind, beheading all his Turkish prisoners, loading their heads into cannon, and firing them across the harbour into the Turkish camp. Game of Thrones has nothing on 16th Century Malta!
Recent Findings
Back to our main man Toni Bajada, sadly, little is known about him. Some aspects of his feats are somewhat shrouded in mystery.
Yet, an amazing discovery did take place during recent extensive restoration works at Fort St Elmo. Previously, it was an enormous mystery how the man would get into the fort at night, after his gruelling swims. There was in fact no access known to exist from the rocky foreshore that surrounds the fort. But, restoration works unearthed an actual passage way that links the heart of the fort to the rocks down beneath, making the entire ordeal, at least plausible!
So, this 8th September, while you’re chilling at the beach or having some awesome qubbajt from your favourite festa stand, make sure to spare a thought for Toni Bajada, and his spy friends who played a crucial role in the victory of the Maltese and the Knights!
So, when’s that bio-pic coming?
