Wednesday, June 6, 1798: A fleet of warships and transports was sighted sailing to Malta. It was the French squadron and military contingent that had sailed fro
Who were the spies that aided Bonaparte and were ready to continue furnishing him with a helping hand? Bonaparte obtained very useful information from some French knights who were ready to betray their Order in favour of their country of origin.
General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois (1748-1839), one of Bonaparte’s generals, whose brother was a conventual chaplain of the Order of St John, who corroborated with the French invaders. Vaubois led one of the invading French forces and was installed as military governor of the islands. Photo: en.wikipdia.org
In his manuscript housed at the National Library of Malta, Bailiff de la Tour du Pin mentions a number of them: Commander Bosredon Ransijat (1743-1812), secretary of the Order’s Treasury; Commander Jean Charles de Fay, director of fortifications and water cisterns; Commander Antoine François Renè Bardonenche, a native of Grenoble in command of the artillery; Stephen Toussard, a servant-at-arms who was the Order’s chief engi