If you are one of the many people who wondered about the Maltese Falcon, you might enjoy this brief history.

In 1523, after a continual onslaught by the Ottoman forces, the Order was ejected from Rhodes and in 1530, under a Spanish Crown/Papal edict, were granted the island of Malta as a perpetual fiefdom in exchange for an annual fee of a Maltese falcon

Bibliodyssey

Lots of pretty pictures too.