The response to the Gozo disaster was years of preparation rather than one construction project. Grand Master Juan de Homedes commissioned leading engineers, raised taxes, expanded and trained the coastal guard, and kept allies and civilians mobilized. Fort St Angelo, Fort St Michael, Fort St Elmo, and improvements around Medina, Birgu, and Senglea formed part of the defensive system that the Ottomans encountered in 1565. The fourteen-year delay transformed a target that might have fallen in the early 1550s into a network of prepared positions. Later attacks on Gozo in 1613 and 1709 also failed, showing the lasting effect of the fortification program.
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Fourteen years of preparation before 1565
After 1551, the Order of St John used taxes, training, engineers, and new forts to turn Malta into a far harder objective.