Who was missing from the Great Siege's defender totals?

The familiar total of roughly 6,100 defenders depends on categories that may omit much of Malta's population. The lists distinguish about 2,500 formal troops from militia, servants and galley personnel. Some men labelled galley slaves may instead have been paid oarsmen, who were more likely to be trusted with weapons. Earlier Maltese sieges showed civilians taking up arms in large numbers, and memories of enslavement gave the population a direct stake in resistance. One speculative reconstruction raises the organized force to roughly 8,600 before allowing for perhaps 16,000 or more Maltese on the battlements. These figures are an inference rather than corrected official totals, but they show how narrow military rolls can conceal the labour and fighting power sustaining a fortified island.