From Wickipedia. Knights Hospitaller
The Knights of Malta had a strong presence within the Imperial Russian Navy and the pre-revolutionary French Navy. When De Poincy was appointed governor of the French colony on St. Kitts in 1639, he was a prominent Knight of St. John and dressed his retinue with the emblems of the order. The Order's presence in the Caribbean was eclipsed with his death in 1660. He also bought the island of Saint Croix as his personal estate and deeded it to the Knights of St. John. In 1665, St. Croix was bought by the French West India Company, ending the Order's exploits in the Caribbean…
The Tsar of Russia gave the largest number of knights shelter in St. Petersburg and this gave rise to the Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller and recognition within the Russian Imperial Orders. In gratitude, the knights elected Emperor Paul I as the new Grand Master. Following Paul's murder in 1801, in 1803 a Catholic master was restored to the Order in Rome.
By the early 1800s, the Order had been severely weakened by the loss of its priories throughout Europe. Only 10% of the Order's income came from traditional sources in Europe, with the remaining 90% being generated by the Russian Grand Priory until 1810.
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