Malta Protectorate the late 18th century, while Malta was still under the Knights, the Prince of Lampedusa had let the island to Salvatore Gatt, a Maltese entrepreneur, who settled on the island with a few Maltese workers. The British considered taking over Lampedusa as a naval base instead of Malta, but the idea was dropped as the island did not have deep harbours and was not well developed. Despite this, the authorities in Malta and the British government still attempted to take over the island as they believed that it could be used to supply Malta with food in case Sicily fell
Local councils of Malta Local councils of Malta Since June 30, 1993, Malta has been subdivided into 68 localities, governed by local councils, , meaning municipalities or borough. These form the most basic form of local government and there are no intermediate levels between it and the national level. The levels of the 6 districts (5 on the main island) and of the 3 regions (2 on the main island) serve statistical purposes. According to the Local Councils Act (Chapter 363 of the Laws of Malta), Art. 3: (1) Every locality shall have a Council which shall have all such functions as are granted