Malta History

Knights of St. John and French Rule

Fortress islands and a brief revolution

The Order of St John turned Malta into a powerful fortified base before Napoleon’s invasion brought its rule to an abrupt end.

The Order of St John arrived in 1530 and established its headquarters around the Grand Harbour. After withstanding the Great Siege of 1565, the Knights founded Valletta in 1566. They strengthened the harbour with major fortifications and built churches, hospitals, palaces and public works that transformed the islands’ architecture and institutions.

During more than two and a half centuries of rule, Malta became a strategic naval base and a centre of Baroque art and culture. The Order’s wealth and international connections supported grand building projects, while towns around the harbour expanded. By the late eighteenth century, however, the Knights’ political and military position had weakened.

Napoleon captured Malta in June 1798 while travelling to Egypt. The French introduced rapid administrative and social reforms, but confiscations and interference with Church property provoked an uprising. Maltese insurgents, assisted by British and allied forces, blockaded the French garrison in the harbour fortifications until it surrendered in 1800.

The Great Siege • Valletta • Baroque Malta • French occupation and blockade