when the Knights left Rhodes, their ships met a tempest and had to refit at Crete. Then they sailed to Messina and Civitavecchia, the port of Rome, almost immediately, the Grandmaster Villiers de L'Isle Adam went to visit Pope Hadrian and told him about the troubles of the Order. Unfortunately, the Pope died shortly afterwards and a Conclave was held for the election of a new Pope. At this election, the Knights for the first time in history guarded the Conclave, the new Pope, Clement VII, suggested several places that could he used by the Order, and the choice fell on Malta which, at that time, belonged to the Castilian King of the two Sicilian, Charles V.
The Order did not like this place and they sent a Commission of 3 Knights to visit Malta and decide if it was suitable for the Order. This Commission described the Island as without vegetation, with only 12,000 poor and miserable inhabitants continuously raided by Barbary corsairs. The report exaggerated the state of our Islands, but the Order had just left a rich place, full of trees, covered with pine-woods, cool valleys, villas and palaces, the contrast with Malta was unhappy, with its 40 towns and villages occupied by 12,000 persons, it looked poorly populated, and the summer heat made the Commissioners still more miserable.
But the Knights had no other choice, so, an agreement was signed between Charles V and the Grand Master on March 24, 1530, and fully accepted on the following April 25, 1530. The conditions were that the Knights could take Malta as a fief with a nominal obligation of giving the King a falcon every year, if the Order had to leave the Islands, these were to be returned to the King; moreover, the Order could not make war on the Kingdom of Sicily, and the King kept the right to nominate the local Bishop.
The Maltese feared that another feudal group was to govern over them, but also remem­bered that the Order was rich and had holy traditions, and so would relieve their poverty and protect them. Before the Order's arrival here, the Grand Master's representative promised to respect the inhabitants and their rights, then, on October 26, 1530, 5 galleys. 2 'caraques' and various transport vessels dropped anchor under Fort St. Angelo, and the Grand Master, with his retinue, went to give thanks in the Parish Church of St. Lawrence, the Knights and the Rhodians began to look for lodgings, and the Grand Master occupied St. Angelo.

L'ISLE ADAM ENTERS MDINA

To show the Maltese that he was not going to he a tyrant or oppressor, L'Isle Adam arranged to enter Mdina in a solemn manner. On Sunday, 13th November, mount­ed on a beautiful white horse, he left the Borgo, accompanied by all the members of the Order's Council and by many Knights. Nearly all the population walked towards Mdina to see their new Prince. About 500 of the best Maltese citizens, belonging to the 'Dejma', in their beautiful uniforms and riding Asses with decorated harnesses, wait­ed for him as soon as he arrived, they saluted him with their artillery
The Grand Master, in his elegant, full uniform, walked beneath a wonderful canopy, carried by the four principal officers of the University, up to the City gates, which were left closed for the ceremony. Then he was asked to swear to respect all the privil­eges given in the past to the Maltese. When he had done this, he was given silver keys with which to open the gates of the City. He was greeted with a second artillery salute and other festive signs, at the same time, all the bells pealed.
After opening the gates L'Isle Adam was then led to the Cathedral where a mass was said and a 'Te Deum' sung

With the Order firmly installed in Malta, the hatred and fury of the Turks in­creased and Malta awaited further attacks. In 1551, a Turkish armada under the command of Dragut, reached Gozo and devastated it for there were no fortifications yet. At Mgarr, the Turks landed men, can­nons and weapons. All went up to the Cita­del, and attacked it with all their might. It was sheer martyrdom for the Gozitans. Who resisted for three days. The 'Kastell', where most people had taken refuge, was ruined by the heavy Turkish bombardment.
Luckily, some 300 Gozitans hung ropes on that side of the Citadel where there were no Turks and got out of the place by climb­ing down those ropes, thus escaping death or slavery. The Infidels chained many people and marched them off to the galleys, the Parish Church of St. George and many other churches were gutted. Amongst the defenders there was a cer­tain Bernardo Dupuo, who was married to a Gozitan and had two young daughters, preferring death to slavery for his wife and children, he killed them before the Turks, they attacked his house and he fell dead with his family, a marble table in the Citadel still relates this event