The Order of St John treated the 1551 raid as an urgent warning rather than a distant precedent. Grand Master Juan de Homedes summoned engineers, increased taxation and strengthened the coast guard. Fort St Michael, Fort St Elmo, bastions at Mdina and Birgu, and the works at Senglea were built or improved with unusual speed. Important defences were standing within two or three years, while the next major Ottoman attack did not come until 1565. The fourteen-year interval allowed Malta to convert the attackers' earlier success into preparation for a much harder campaign.
Notable Point · 26:33-30:18
The fortifications built after 1551
A rapid programme of forts, bastions and coastal measures made the next Ottoman attack far more difficult.