 It was therefore in 1282 that Andrea was given the title of Count of Malta after his and his family’s support of the native rebels in aiding the Aragonese claimants.In 1300 Ruggiero de Lauria was given the title of Count of Malta by the Angevin crown after loss of support in the King of Sicily’s fleet and allied himself with the Angevin crown.It seems though that he never had control over the islands since they were still strictly Aragonese possessions after the Battle of Malta, which he himself had won for the Aragonese crown.