There are a number of junctures in which development in Maltese cuisine related to issues of identity. The most significant example is the traditional Maltese "stuffat tal-fenek" (rabbit stew), often identified as the national dish, quite possibly started off as a form of symbolic resistance to the hunting restrictions imposed by the Knights of St John. The dish was to become popular after the lifting of restrictions in the late 18th century (and by which time the indigenous breed had multiplied and prices dropped) and the domestication of rabbits, a technique which could have been imported from France thanks to the French Knights.