Most people think that Machevill is dead, but his soul lives on, and now he has come from France to England to have some fun. Machevill’s name is “odious” to many, it is those who despise him the most—including those who rise to the papacy—who also admire him the most. To Machevill, religion is a “childish toy,” and the only sin is ignorance. Many people call his methods murder, but Machevill thinks this is foolish—strong nations require strong leaders, and one that rules with “might.” But, Machevill is not here to talk about himself; he is here to introduce “the tragedy of a Jew, / Who smiles to see how full his bags are crammed.” The Jew, Barabas, obtained his gold through Machevill’s “means,” but Machevill asks the audience not to judge Barabas too harshly. They must judge him by his merit, not because he supports Machiavellianism.
Barabas enters his counting house and is surrounded by piles of gold. Three Jews enter and tell Barabas about the arrival of a Turkish fleet. The men fear war, but Barabas calms them. Malta is in league with the Ottoman Empire, he says, and the fleet surely comes in peace. However, in a short aside, Barabas admits he cares little about Malta or the other Jews. The Turks can wage war all they want—as long as they leave Barabas, his gold, and his daughter, Abigail, alone. The men tell Barabas there will be a meeting at the senate-house, and every Jew in Malta is expected to attend.
In the meantime, Ferneze, the governor of Malta, enters the senate-house with Selim-Calymath, the son of the Turkish Emperor. Malta owes the Turks 10 years’ worth of tribute payments; however, to avoid war, Calymath gives Ferneze 30 days to collect the money. Barabas and the other Jews are escorted in, and Ferneze informs them that the Turks have come for their tribute money, and the sum is more than Malta has. Therefore, each Jew in Malta must surrender half their wealth to cover the bill. If they refuse, their entire estate will be seized, and they will be forced to convert to Christianity. Barabas asks if everyone in Malta will be taxed; the Jews alone “stand accursèd in the sight of heaven,” Ferneze says, so the Jews alone will pay. Barabas claims he will not convert, nor will he give half his wealth to Malta. Ferneze says that Malta will take all Barabas’s wealth. Barabas reluctantly agrees to pay half, but Ferneze says it is too late—Barabas has refused, and now his wealth belongs to Malta. As the Jews are escorted out of the senate-house, a knight suggests they turn Barabas’s mansion into a nunnery. Ferneze agrees that converting Barabas’s home is a good idea and exits with his men.
Alone, Barabas says he will not let Ferneze get away with stealing his wealth, and he vows to get even. Suddenly, Abigail enters in hysterics—she has been ejected from their home, which is being converted into a convent. Barabas tells Abigail not to worry. He has bags of gold and jewels hidden in the floorboards, and it is enough to get them started again. “We ought to make bar of no policy,” Barabas says, telling Abigail to go back to the house and ask to be accepted as a nun. That way, she can retrieve the hidden gold from the floorboards. “For religion,” Barabas says, “hides many mischiefs from suspicion.” Abigail resists. Such deceit is not right, she says, but Barabas convinces her. “Counterfeit passion is better / Than unseen hypocrisy,” he says. When two friars, Jacomo and Bernardine, pass on their way to the new convent, Abigail asks to join the nunnery. Excited to convert a Jew, the friars agree and take Abigail to the convent.
Later that night, Barabas appears outside his old mansion, and Abigail throws down the bags of gold. “Oh my girl, / My gold, my fortune, my felicity,” Barabas says, clutching the bags to his body. Abigail warns him that the nuns will soon be waking, and he runs off with his gold. Meanwhile, Ferneze enters with Marin Del Bosco, the Vice-Admiral of Spain. Bosco has many Turkish slaves to sell, but Ferneze informs him that such business violates Malta’s tributary league with the Turks. Bosco is surprised Ferneze is in league with the Turks, and he offers Ferneze a way to keep the 100,000 crowns Malta owes the Ottoman Empire. If Ferneze allows Bosco to sell his slaves, he promises Spain’s protection, and his fleet will not leave until Malta is safe from the Turks. Ferneze immediately agrees. “So will we fight it out,” Ferneze says as he exits with Bosco and the knights. “Honour is bought with blood and not with gold.”
The next day, Barabas enters the market to buy a slave. His pockets are full of money, and he has already purchased a new house even bigger than Ferneze’s. Barabas watches as Ferneze’s son, Don Lodowick enters the market. Barabas swears revenge upon Lodowick, too, for the “sin” of being Ferneze’s son and approaches the young man. Lodowick heard about Barabas’s beautiful daughter from his friend, Don Mathias, and Lodowick has come to the market hoping to catch a glimpse of Abigail. He asks Barabas if he has any diamonds to sell, but Barabas says the only “diamond” he has left is Abigail. Lodowick is indeed interested, and Barabas tells him to call on him later to talk about price. Lodowick exits, and Barabas buys a skinny Turkish slave named Ithamore. Soon after, Mathias enters with his mother, Katherine. Mathias quietly asks Barabas why he was talking to Lodowick, and Barabas tells Mathias not to worry. Lodowick is interested in a diamond, not Abigial, Barabas says, reassuring Mathias that he will be the one to marry Abigail. Alone with Ithamore, Barabas learns about his new slave. Like Barabas, Ithamore hates Christians and murders them every chance he gets. Lodowick returns, asking about the “diamond,” so Barabas yells for Abigail. In a quick aside, Barabas convinces Abigail to pretend to love Lodowick, even though she is really in love with Mathias. Abigail is hesitant, but Barabas assures her it is just for show. Barabas privately celebrates his “policy”: he will send a forged letter to Mathias, and as Lodowick, he will challenge Mathias to a duel. The two men will surely kill each other, and Barabas’s plan will be complete.
Bellamira, a local prostitute, laments the business she has lost since the Turks blocked Malta’s port. Her friend, a thief named Pilia-Borza, enters, and gives her a small bag of silver, which he took from Barabas’s counting-house. Suddenly, Ithamore walks by and immediately falls in love with the beautiful Bellamira. Pilia-Borza and Bellamira rush off, and Ithamore goes to deliver the forged letter. Later, both Mathias and Lodowick enter, and Barabas watches from above. Mathias and Lodowick draw their swords, stabbing each other to death. As Barabas slips away unseen, Ferneze and Katherine enter to find their sons dead. They quickly realize that someone must have turned the men against each other, and they swear revenge against whoever is responsible. As Ferneze and Katherine exit with their dead sons, Abigail enters with Ithamore, who is laughing. She asks him what is so funny, and Ithamore tells her all about Barabas’s forged letter and Lodowick and Mathias’s deadly duel. Betrayed by her father and mourning the loss of her true love, Mathias, Abigail joins the convent again—this time for real. When Barabas finds out what Abigail has done, he is furious, and he quickly plots another scheme. He stirs poison into a pot of rice and tells Ithamore to deliver it to the convent. Once consumed, the poison requires 40 hours to take effect, but it is sure to kill Abigail and the entire nunnery.
As Ferneze and Bosco brace Malta for a Turkish attack, Abigail visits Bernardine for her final confession. All the nuns are dead, and Abigail will soon be dead, too. She tells Bernardine all about Barabas’s involvement in Mathias’s and Lodowick’s deaths and promptly dies. Later, as Barabas and Ithamore celebrate the sound of funeral bells, Bernardine enters with Jacomo. It is clear to Barabas that the two friars know about his involvement in Mathias’s and Lodowick’s deaths, and Barabas knows that he must get rid of the friars, too. Barabas and Ithamore strangle Bernardine, frame Jacomo for his murder, and deliver the friar to the court. As Jacomo is hanged, Pilia-Borza delivers Ithamore a letter from Bellamira, in which she confesses her deep, and secretly false, love for him. He immediately goes to visit her, and, along with Pilia-Borza, Bellamira easily convinces Ithamore to extort money from Barabas. Ithamore firsts asks for 300 crowns, and then 500 crowns, but Barabas won’t pay so easily. He finally agrees to send Ithamore a few silver coins, and then he quickly begins plotting the deaths of Bellamira, Pilia-Borza, and Ithamore.
While Ithamore, Bellamira, and Pilia-Borza drink and celebrate their easy money, Barabas enters disguised as a French musician. He gives Bellamira a flower, which she smells and hands to Pilia-Borza and Ithamore. As they smell the flower, Barabas smiles and exits—the flower is laced with the same poison that killed Abigail and the nuns. It is not long before Bellamira and Pilia-Borza betray Ithamore and tell Ferneze all about the crimes Ithamore committed with Barabas. Ferneze attempts to question Ithamore and Barabas, but they die before he gets the chance, along with Bellamira and Pilia-Borza. Ferneze orders the bodies buried, except for Barabas, who is thrown from the city walls for vultures to feed on. As soon as Barabas hits the ground, he wakes up, having taken a sedative to trick Ferneze’s men.
Calymath approaches, and Barabas offers to help the Turks conquer Malta. Afterward, Calymath is so thankful, he makes Barabas Malta’s new governor. Alone with Ferneze, Barabas asks what it would be worth to the Christians if he was to kill Calymath and free Malta from the Turks. Ferneze assures Barabas that such a task would be worth “great sums of money,” and Barabas quickly hatches a new plan. He will invite Calymath and his men to a feast before they leave for Turkey—Calymath will dine with Barabas, and his men will feast in a monastery outside of town—at which time, Barabas will blow up the monastery and drop Calymath through a trapdoor into a boiling cauldron to his death. Barabas only needs Ferneze to cut the trapdoor’s rope after he hears the cannon hit the monastery. Ferneze agrees, but when Calymath arrives and the cannon hits the monastery, Ferneze cuts the rope just a moment early, dropping Barabas into the cauldron instead. As Barabas dies, Ferneze informs Calymath that his men are dead and takes him prisoner. Calymath begs for his freedom, but Ferneze refuses. Calymath will remain their prisoner, and Malta will never be conquered again. “So march away,” Ferneze says as they exit, “and let due praise be given / Neither to fate nor fortune, but to heaven.”
