The Stevens family : consuls in Malta and the Levant

Abstract

Englishman William Stevens arrived in Malta in 1803 and within a few years became an established notary public based in Valletta. In 1805, he married Giovanna Assenza, and together they had fifteen children, with only the first, a daughter, Maria, not surviving infancy. Of their seven sons, three left Malta for the Levant and subsequently they took up consular positions, while back in Malta, their father and eldest brother also became consuls. This paper will look at the careers of Richard White Stevens, Francis Illiff Stevens and George Alexander Stevens, and how as Anglo-Maltese men, they were able to establish themselves and their own families in the Levant. It also shows the family’s international mobility and connectivity as well as its resourcefulness and adaptability.