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Portrait of Petar Želalić at the Maritime Museum of Kotor, Montenegro

Pietro Gelalich or Petar Želalić (Bay of Kotor, c. 1731 – Senglea, Malta, 10 December 1811) was a Dalmatian privateer based in Malta from 1764 to 1795. Gelalich led the mutiny of the Turkish flagship La Couronne Ottomane in 1760 before distinguishing himself in the last period of the Maltese Corso.

Origin

He was originally from the Bay of Kotor,[1][2] Dalmatia. His name is a phonetic transcription of the surname Želalić.[3]

The mutiny of Corona ottomana

Porto della Valletta durante la tempesta, intorno al 1750

In 1760, Peter Gelalich was a slave in the crew of the Ottoman Crown, the flagship of the Ottoman fleet. The ship departed in June 1760 on a tax collection tour, with the Ottoman Grand Admiral (Capudan Pasha) on board. They stopped in Kos on 19 September 1760 for Friday prayers. The admiral and most of the soldiers went ashore; this was the opportunity the Christian slaves had been waiting for to mutiny and take control of the ship. Under the leadership of Gelalich, the insurgents managed to escape the Turkish sailors and their pursuers. The ship arrived triumphantly in the port of Valletta on 6 October 1760. The rich booty was divided among the mutineers, who decided to offer the ship to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Malta who welcomed them as heroes.[4]

Gelalich corsair

Gelalich was admitted to the Order of Malta as a brother in arms [2] and commanded a galley of the Order in 1764. He then set out alone, obtained his license,[5] bought his brig in 1768 and continued the war racing for their own profit.[6]

His expeditions seem to have had mixed success.[5] The consular documents provide us with some information on his activities:

Personality

The testimonies describe a picturesque bandit, who was talked about as much on land in taverns as at sea.[9] The Maltese inquisitor carefully watched over Gelalich like the other corsairs, distrusting these wild individuals who were free from judicial and religious rules.

It was thus reported to the inquisition that, in case the captures were missing for too long, Gelalich had had the portrait of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of sailors, brought to the upper deck and threatened to spit on him if the saint did not help him to capture some ship. Even more seriously for the inquisition, Gelalich was suspected of sodomy with a young sailor named Marco, whom he had once beaten for catching him flirting with another sailor. But perhaps the irony of fate was that he was caught eating meat on Good Friday, much to the horror of her servant, her husband and a fellow privateer.[10]

End of career

Gelalich ended his career abruptly in 1795, after his crew mutinied and claimed his spoils.[11] He then retired ashore in Senglea, amid comfort and general respect.[2]

Pietro Gelalich died on 10 December 1811 in Senglea (L-Isla).[12] He was buried in the Church of the Assumption in Birgu. The church and his tomb were destroyed during the bombings of the Second World War.[5]

References

  1. ^ Alain Blondy (2014). Documents consulaires, Lettres reçues par le chargé d'affaires du Roi à Malte au XVIIIème siècle (in French). Vol. 3. Fondation de Malte. p. 55. ISBN 978-1-291-97414-0.
  2. ^ a b c Course et piraterie méditerranéenne (in French). 2006. ISBN 2-84050-474-X.
  3. ^ Alain Blondy; Xavier Labat Saint Vincent (2013). Malte et Marseille au 18th century (in French). Fondation de Malte. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-291-43546-7.
  4. ^ Alain Blondy; Xavier Labat Saint Vincent (2013). Malte et Marseille au 18th century (in French). Fondation de Malte. p. 114. ISBN 978-1-291-43546-7.
  5. ^ a b c "News Jan – Mar 2015". vittoriosahistorica.org.
  6. ^ a b Alain Blondy (2014). Documents consulaires, Lettres reçues par le chargé d'affaires du Roi à Malte au XVIIIème siècle (in French). Vol. 3. Fondation de Malte. p. 343. ISBN 978-1-291-97414-0.
  7. ^ a b c d e Alain Blondy (2014). Documents consulaires, Lettres reçues par le chargé d'affaires du Roi à Malte au XVIIIème siècle (in French). Vol. 1. Fondation de Malte. p. 319. ISBN 978-1-291-86301-7.
  8. ^ Alain Blondy (2014). Documents consulaires, Lettres reçues par le chargé d'affaires du Roi à Malte au XVIIIème siècle (in French). Vol. 3. Fondation de Malte. p. 355. ISBN 978-1-291-97414-0.
  9. ^ "Malta Diary Hoist the Jolly Roger and run out the plank …". B-C-ing-U.
  10. ^ "Inquisition talk features some colourful corsairs". Times of Malta.
  11. ^ "News Aprl-Jun 2014". vittoriosahistorica.org.
  12. ^ Charles B. Spiteri (January 2020). "Mill-Kaptan Zelalich Sal-Kaptan Mitrovich". KullĦadd (in Maltese).

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