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Under the sole payment of a falcon

In the year 1530 Emperor Charles V and his mother Queen Joanna, the rulers of Sicily granted a feudal tenure over Tripoli, Malta and Gozo to a chivalric Order of Saint John. An order that was a continuity from the Knights Hospitaller and is today better known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The original order dates back to the era of the crusades and was founded on Jerusalem in the year 1099.

While they served most of the time as vassals to the kingdom of Sicily the declared independence in the year 1753. This independence howevever didn't last long as the French occupied Malta in 1798 and expelled the order.

Despite not having any territorial claims the order has managed to establish the sovereign entity status and is recognized by majority of the other countries. They also have an observator status in United Nations, their own money and stamps, can issue passports and even have their own army.

The order is catholic lay religious military order that has been carrying over the noble principles of the original Knights Hospitaller and focuses in providing and coordinating humanitarian aid.

But that falcon... When Charles and Joanne granted those lands to the order they only asked one thing in return (in addition to a lot of conditions in the fine print): the sole payment of a falcon, given yearly on all saints day. This payment is also known as Tribute of the Maltese Falcon.