Happy Hour: The Great Siege of Malta and the Fate of Empires

Sponsored by the ESU Central Florida Branch

Sixteenth century European historians will find this ESU Happy Hour fascinating and one of tremendous significance. The Great Siege of Malta, a four-month battle from May 18 to September 11, 1565, is considered one of the most ferocious conflicts in military history. Rarely have the odds been so unequal and the stakes so high.

In 1565 Malta was the key to Europe. And during the summer of that year, the future of Western Civilization was decided. The Ottoman Empire had extended its control over most of the Mediterranean. If the tiny island of Malta could be captured, it could become the staging ground for the invasion of critical ports in Europe.

It was an epic struggle, a remarkable tale of resolve and leadership, of disunity in command, and disunity among allies. Historically, the Great Siege of Malta was one of the bloodiest and most fiercely contested battles of the sixteenth century.

Dr. Wayne Bowen, Professor of History and Associate Dean for the College of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Central Florida, draws us into this four-month siege on the island of Malta. This ESU Happy Hour is sponsored by the ESU Central Florida Branch. ESU Happy Hour programs are online, free, and open to all members and the public. Registration is required. All programs take place on Eastern Time.

Register Here

About Dr. Wayne H. Bowen

Wayne H. Bowen is Professor of History and Associate Dean for the College of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Central Florida. He received a B.A. in History from the University of Southern California, an M.A. and Ph.D. in European History from Northwestern University, and a Master’s in Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. He is a specialist on modern Spain, focused on the era of the Franco dictatorship.

Bowen is the author of nine books, six of them on Spanish history, from the early modern era to the Cold War. He has also published more than two dozen articles in academic journals, with subjects including the Middle East, the Mediterranean, and Great Power relations since 1800. His articles have been published in ten countries, translated into Spanish, Polish, French, and Turkish.

Bowen is currently finishing a contracted book on Spanish workers in Nazi Germany and conducting research for a subsequent monograph on relations between the Spanish and Ottoman Empires from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. Bowen is also a retired Colonel in the US Army Reserve, with service in Iraq and with NATO in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He lives in Oviedo, Florida, named after the original Spanish city.