Froberg mutiny

Froberg Mutiny
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
Fort Ricasoli
Date 4–12 April 1807 (1 week and 1 day) Location Fort Ricasoli, Malta Coordinates: 35°53′49.3″N 14°31′42.4″E / 35.897028°N 14.528444°E / 35.897028; 14.528444 Result Mutiny suppressed
Belligerents
Rebels	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Caro Mitro	William Villettes Lieutenant de Clermont
Units involved
Froberg Regiment rebels	39th (East Middlesex) Regiment Royal Maltese Regiment Froberg Regiment loyalists
Strength
200 soldiers	Several regiments
Casualties and losses
1 killed 29–30 executed Others captured	6+ killed 4 wounded

The Froberg mutiny was a mutiny staged between 4 and 12 April 1807 at Fort Ricasoli, on the island of Malta, then a British Protectorate, by the Froberg Regiment. The regiment had been formed using dubious methods, with personnel recruited from various nationalities in Albania and the Ottoman Empire. The troops, who had arrived on Malta in 1806, were unhappy with their rank and pay. The mutiny lasted for eight days, during which several people were killed and the fort was damaged. The mutiny was put down, and the ringleaders were executed. It is considered the most serious mutiny of the Napoleonic Wars.

The Froberg Regiment was founded in December 1803 by the French royalist Gustave de Montjoie, who claimed he was the German Count Froberg. He was given permission by the Secretary at War to raise a regiment for service on Malta, which he did in Albania and the Christian parts of the Ottoman Empire. It consisted of men with various nationalities, including Germans, Poles, Swiss, Albanians, Bulgarians, Greeks and Russians. Froberg's recruiting methods were problematic: according to Adam Neale in his Travels Through Some Parts of Germany, Poland, Moldavia and Turkey, "the most unprincipled deceit and falsehood were employed to obtain recruits".

The regiment's 513 men arrived on Malta in 1806. The regiment was commanded by Major Schumelketel and Lieutenant Schwartz, the latter of whom had supervised the dubious recruiting process. Soon after their arrival, some of the men of the regiment began to complain: they had been promised high rank with good pay, but were forced to work as privates at lower wages. While the men were quarantined at the Lazzaretto on Manoel Island, they demanded to be sent back to Corfu. They withdrew their demands after Schwartz threatened to stop their food rations, which itself created more discontent.

After the release from quarantine, the soldiers were allowed to go into the capital Valletta, where they quarrelled amongst themselves and with the locals. To prevent unrest, the Commander of the British Forces in Malta, William Villettes, confined them to Fort Ricasoli, a large fortification at the entrance of the Grand Harbour. In November 1806, Villettes appointed Lieutenant-Colonel James Barnes as the regiment's commander, but this only increased their resentment.

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Wikipedia