Cara Mehmed

Cara Mehmed (The alternative spelling Cara Mehmet is used in some sources, Italian language primary sources also refer to him by the nicknames of il Negro or il Moro (Negro or Moor).) who had a large stature. He was a slave to Suleiman, an Ottoman man from a distinguished family, and he gained an esteemed position in his service. Although his master manumitted him shortly before his death in 1740, Suleiman's son Mustafa kept Cara Mehmed as a slave and treated him poorly.

In January 1748, while on board Mustafa's galley Lupa, Cara Mehmed and fifteen other slaves rebelled, massacred most of the crew, imprisoned the remaining Ottoman personnel and passengers including Mustafa, and took control of the vessel. They sailed to Malta and reached the island on 1 February. After a month of quarantine at the Lazzaretto of Manoel Island, Sources claim that Giovanni Battista might have been manipulated into believing that he would be the leader of the revolt, that he might have been unaware that Mustafa was behind the plot, or that he may have been afraid of what would happen to him had the rebellion went ahead without his involvement. Had the plot succeeded, it is possible that he would have been disposed of by Mustafa.

Giovanni Battista was arrested on 8 June and he was subsequently interrogated at the Gran Corte della Castellania. He initially denied knowledge of the plot and apparently almost convinced the judge and prosecutor of his innocence, but Pinto directly authorised the use of torture in an attempt to compel him to reveal more information about the plot. He was subjected to the corda and cavalletto and he quickly confessed and named some of the others who were involved. He never named Mustafa, suggesting that he had indeed been unaware of the latter's role in the plot.

Many other slaves and Christian neophytes were interrogated using torture over the next few weeks, and 35 were executed between July and October 1749. The condemned were paraded through Valletta bound on carts, and some were tortured with pincers prior to execution. Whether Giovanni Battista was subjected to such torture or whether he was spared is unclear as primary sources contradict each other on this detail. He was then strangled and his body was beheaded and burnt post mortem.

Francesca Azzopardi witnessed the execution of her husband, and she is said to have died of grief shortly afterwards.