Editing Malta (section)

===Crown of Aragon, the Knights of Malta and Portuguese Rule===
{{See also|County of Sicily|Kingdom of Sicily|Crown of Aragon|Hospitaller Malta|Great Siege of Malta|António Manoel de Vilhena}}
[[File:Bandiera del Regno di Sicilia 4.svg|thumb|Flag of the Aragonese [[Kingdom of Sicily]]]]
Malta was ruled by the [[House of Barcelona]], the ruling dynasty of the [[Crown of Aragon]], from 1282 to 1409,<ref name="culturalheritage.gov.mt">{{Cite web |title=Superintendance of Cultural Heritage |url=http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/textpage.asp?p=3107&l=1&v=1  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128125711/http://www.culturalheritage.gov.mt/textpage.asp?p=3107&l=1&v=1 |archive-date=28 January 2012 |access-date=29 November 2011 |publisher=[[Government of Malta]]}}</ref> with the Aragonese aiding the Maltese insurgents in the [[Sicilian Vespers]] in [[Battle of Malta|the naval battle]] in [[Grand Harbour]] in 1283.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Luttrell |first=Anthony |year=1970 |title=The House of Aragon and Malta: 1282–1412 |url=http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Journal%20of%20the%20Faculty%20of%20Arts/Journal%20of%20the%20Faculty%20of%20Arts.%204(1970)2/08.pdf  |journal=Journal of the Faculty of Arts |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=156–168 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017195743/http://melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Journal%20of%20the%20Faculty%20of%20Arts/Journal%20of%20the%20Faculty%20of%20Arts.%204(1970)2/08.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2017 |access-date=8 July 2017}}</ref>

Relatives of the [[kings of Aragon]] ruled the island until 1409 when it formally passed to the Crown of Aragon. Early on in the Aragonese ascendancy, the sons of the monarchs received the title [[Count of Malta]]. During this time much of the local nobility was created. By 1397, however, the bearing of the comital title reverted to a feudal basis, with two families fighting over the distinction. This led King [[Martin I of Sicily]] to abolish the title. The dispute over the title returned when the title was reinstated a few years later and the Maltese, led by the local nobility, rose up against Count [[Gonsalvo Monroy]].<ref name="malticross" /> Although they opposed the Count, the Maltese voiced their loyalty to the [[List of monarchs of Sicily|Sicilian Crown]], which so impressed [[Alfonso V of Aragon|King Alfonso V]] that he did not punish the people for their rebellion. Instead, he promised never to grant the title to a third party and incorporated it back into the crown. The city of [[Mdina]] was given the title of ''Città Notabile''.<ref name="malticross" />

In September&nbsp;1429, [[Hafsid dynasty|Hafsid]] Saracens [[Siege of Malta (1429)|attempted to capture Malta]] but were repelled by the Maltese. The invaders pillaged the countryside and took about 3,000&nbsp;inhabitants as [[Slavery in Malta|slaves]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Cauchi |first=Mark |date=12 September 2004 |title=575th&nbsp;anniversary of the 1429 Siege of Malta |newspaper=Times of Malta |url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20040912/letters/575th-anniversary-of-the-1429-siege-of-malta.112708 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722013314/http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20040912/letters/575th-anniversary-of-the-1429-siege-of-malta.112708 |archive-date=22 July 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Malta - Mdina - Pjazza San Pawl + St. Paul's Cathedral ex 01 ies.jpg|thumb|[[St. Paul's Cathedral, Mdina]] built in the [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] style]]
On 23 March 1530,<ref>Denaro, Victor F. (1963). [http://www.melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Melita%20Historica/MH.03(1960-63)/MH.3(1963)4/orig02.pdf ''Yet More Houses in Valletta ''] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302135025/http://www.melitensiawth.com/incoming/Index/Melita%20Historica/MH.03(1960-63)/MH.3(1963)4/orig02.pdf |date=2 March 2016 }}. Melita Historica. p. 22.</ref> [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]], gave the islands to the [[Knights Hospitaller]] under the leadership of Frenchman [[Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam]],<ref>de Vertot, Abbe (1728) ''The History of the Knights of Malta'' vol. II (facsimile reprint Midsea Books, Malta, 1989).</ref><ref name="autogenerated2">{{Cite web |title=Malta History |url=http://www.jimdiamondmd.com/malta_history.htm  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120308000224/http://www.jimdiamondmd.com/malta_history.htm |archive-date=8 March 2012 |access-date=12 October 2008 |website=Jimdiamondmd.com}}</ref> in perpetual lease for which they had to pay an annual [[Tribute of the Maltese Falcon|tribute of a single Maltese Falcon]].<ref name="autogenerated6">{{Cite web |title=Malta History 1000 AD–present |url=http://www.carnaval.com/malta/history/knights/  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204113517/http://www.carnaval.com/malta/history/knights/ |archive-date=4 February 2012 |access-date=12 October 2008 |website=Carnaval.com}}</ref><ref name="odonnel">{{Cite news |title=La cesión de Malta a los Caballeros de San Juan a través de la cédula del 4 de marzo de 1530 |website=orderofmalta.int |url=http://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/archive/pubblicazioni/La_cesion_de_Malta.pdf  |access-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924074926/http://www.orderofmalta.int/wp-content/uploads/archive/pubblicazioni/La_cesion_de_Malta.pdf |archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="perez">{{Cite news |title=LA SOBERANA ORDEN DE MALTA A TRAVÉS DE DIEZ SIGLOS DE HISTORIA Y SU RELACIÓN CON LA ACCIÓN HUMANITARIA |website=uma.es |url=http://riuma.uma.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10630/4735/TESIS%20ORDEN%20DE%20MALTA%20%20A%20TRAV%C3%89S%20DE%20DIEZ%20SIGLOS.pdf?sequence=1  |access-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023615/http://riuma.uma.es/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10630/4735/TESIS%20ORDEN%20DE%20MALTA%20%20A%20TRAV%C3%89S%20DE%20DIEZ%20SIGLOS.pdf?sequence=1 |archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="elpais">[http://elpais.com/diario/2005/08/14/revistaverano/1123970413_850215.html El halcón maltés regresará a España dos siglos después] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224914/http://elpais.com/diario/2005/08/14/revistaverano/1123970413_850215.html |date=3 March 2016 }}. ''El Pais'' (14 August 2005). Retrieved 1 May 2017.</ref><ref name="tc1">{{Cite news |title=La verdadera historia del halcón maltés |url=http://www.trofeocaza.com/noticia/1154/Entrevistas/La-verdadera-historia-del-halcon-maltes.html  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530023226/http://www.trofeocaza.com/noticia/1154/Entrevistas/La-verdadera-historia-del-halcon-maltes.html |archive-date=30 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="tc2">{{Cite news |date=22 October 2014 |title=El halcón y el mar |website=trofeocaza.com |url=http://www.trofeocaza.com/noticia/545/Reportajes/El-halcon-y-el-mar.html  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530023233/http://www.trofeocaza.com/noticia/545/Reportajes/El-halcon-y-el-mar.html |archive-date=30 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="abc">{{Cite news |title=El Rey volverá a tener otro halcón maltés en primavera |url=http://www.abc.es/20111011/contraportada/abcp-ignacio-palomo-alvarez-volvera-20111011.html |url-status=live |access-date=12 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222084608/http://www.abc.es/20111011/contraportada/abcp-ignacio-palomo-alvarez-volvera-20111011.html |archive-date=22 December 2015}}</ref> These knights, a military religious order also known as the Order of St John and later as the Knights of Malta, had been driven out of [[Rhodes]] by the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1522.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hospitallers – religious order |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hospitallers |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801180607/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hospitallers |archive-date=1 August 2017 |access-date=3 July 2017}}</ref>

[[Knights Hospitaller|The Knights Hospitaller]] ruled Malta and Gozo between 1530 and 1798.<ref name="Devrim. 2008">{{Cite book |last=Devrim. |first=Atauz, Ayse |title=Eight thousand years of Maltese maritime history: trade, piracy, and naval warfare in the central Mediterranean |date=2008 |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=978-0-8130-3179-8}}</ref> During this period, the strategic and military importance of the island grew greatly as the small yet efficient fleet of the [[Knights Hospitaller|Order of Saint John]] launched their attacks from this new base targeting the shipping lanes of the Ottoman territories around the Mediterranean Sea.<ref name="Devrim. 2008" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=McManamon |first=John |date=June 2003 |title=Maltese seafaring in mediaeval and post-mediaeval times |journal=Mediterranean Historical Review |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=32–58 |doi=10.1080/09518960412331302203 |s2cid=153559318 |issn=0951-8967}}</ref>

In 1551, the population of the island of [[Gozo]] (around 5,000 people) were [[Barbary slave trade|enslaved]] by [[Barbary pirates]] and taken to the [[Barbary Coast]] in North Africa.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Niaz |first=Ilhan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aU4sAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA399 |title=Old World Empires: Cultures of Power and Governance in Eurasia |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-91379-5 |page=399 }}</ref>

[[File:Matteo Perez d' Aleccio (1547-1616) - The Siege of Malta, Attack on the Post of the Castilian Knights, 21 August 1565 - BHC0257 - Royal Museums Greenwich.jpg|thumb|Ottoman attack on the post of the [[Langue (Knights Hospitaller)|Castilian knights]] on 21 August 1565]]
The knights, led by Frenchman [[Jean Parisot de Valette]], withstood the [[Great Siege of Malta]] by the Ottomans in 1565.<ref name=autogenerated2/> The knights, with the help of  Portuguese, Spanish and Maltese forces, repelled the attack.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Angelo Castillo, Dennis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i5ns5LNtoiUC&pg=PA55 |title=The Maltese Cross: A Strategic History of Malta |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-313-32329-4 |page=55}}</ref><ref>Braudel, Fernand (1995) ''The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Philip II'', vol. II. University of California Press: Berkeley.{{page}}</ref> After the siege they decided to increase Malta's [[fortification]]s, particularly in the inner-harbour area, where the new city of [[Valletta]], named in honour of Valette, was built. They also established [[watchtower]]s along the coasts&nbsp;– the [[Wignacourt towers|Wignacourt]], [[Lascaris towers|Lascaris]] and [[De Redin towers]]&nbsp;– named after the Grand Masters who ordered the work. The Knights saw the completion of many architectural and cultural projects, including the embellishment of Città Vittoriosa (modern [[Birgu]]) and the construction of new cities including Città Rohan (modern [[Ħaż-Żebbuġ]]). However, by the late 1700s the power of the Knights had declined and the Order had become unpopular.