The causes of the revolt can be traced back to 1773, when Francisco Ximénez de Tejada was elected Grand Master upon the death of Manuel Pinto da Fonseca.

Ximénez found a depleted treasury, so he introduced austerity measures, including reducing spending and increasing the price of corn.

[citation needed] They chose 8 September as the day of the rebellion, when the Order's ships were at sea with the Spanish Navy and Valletta was not well defended.

However, at one point they threatened to blow up St. Elmo's gunpowder magazine, which would cause severe damage to the fort and the city's fortifications.

He was eventually released along with other political prisoners, after over twenty years imprisonment, during the French occupation of Malta in 1798.