History of Malta under the Order of Saint John

Malta Order of Saint John of Jerusalem
Ordine di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme (Italian) Ordni ta' San Ġwann ta' Ġerusalemm (Maltese)
Vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily with de facto independence (Sovereignty proclaimed in 1753)
1530–1798
Flag Coat of arms
Map of Malta, Gozo and Tripoli within the central Mediterranean
Capital		Birgu (1530–1571) Valletta (1571–1798)
Languages		Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German (official) Maltese (unofficial)
Government		Elective monarchy
Grandmaster
•	1530–1534	Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (first)
•	1797–1798	Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim (last)
Historical era		Early modern period
•	Agreement	24 March 1530
•	Established	26 October 1530
•	Loss of Tripoli	15 August 1551
•	Purchase of Caribbean territories	21 May 1651
•	Sale of Caribbean territories	1665
•	Proclamation of sovereignty	1753
•	Capitulation to the French	11 June 1798
Currency		Maltese scudo Other currencies Spanish dollars/doubloons Venetian zecchini Livournine Genovine Louis d'or
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Sicily Habsburg Spain Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique French occupation of Malta Ottoman Tripolitania French West India Company
Today part of		Malta  Libya  France ( Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin)  Saint Kitts and Nevis  United States ( U.S. Virgin Islands)

Malta was ruled by the Order of Saint John as a vassal state of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1530 to 1798. The islands of Malta and Gozo, as well as the city of Tripoli in modern Libya, were granted to the Order by Spanish Emperor Charles V in 1530, following the loss of Rhodes. The Ottoman Empire managed to capture Tripoli from the Order in 1551, but an attempt to take Malta in 1565 failed.

Following the 1565 siege, the Order decided to settle permanently in Malta, and began to construct a new capital city, Valletta. For the next two centuries, Malta went through a Golden Age, characterized by a flourishing of the arts, architecture, and an overall improvement in Maltese society. In the mid-17th century, the Order was the de jure proprietor over some islands in the Caribbean, making it the smallest state to colonize the Americas.

The Order began to decline in the 1770s, and was severely weakened by the French Revolution in 1792. In 1798, French forces under Napoleon invaded Malta and expelled the Order, resulting in the French occupation of Malta. The Maltese eventually rebelled against the French, and the islands became a British protectorate in 1800. Malta was to be returned to the Order by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, but the British remained in control and the islands formally became a British colony by the Treaty of Paris in 1814.