A concise history of Malta : the Quakers incident

Abstract

On 21 December 1658 two queer looking ladies, speaking an English dialect, disembarked at the Grand Harbour from a Dutch ship coming from Leghorn. Their sight in what appeared to be a Franciscan habit caught the attention of onlookers, particularly that of curious ecclesiastics who were then over – consciencious about heretical activities of "foreigners" on the island. Among those who showed unusual interest in these ladies were the Franciscan Friars of the Minor Order, more commonly known as Ta' Giesu, whose church and monastery lay on the road leading from the Marina to the center of Valletta.