The land that is now Malta and Gozo rose from beneath the seas around fifteen million years ago. At that time this land was a southern extension of the Euro-Asian continental mass. The land bridge subsided some fifteen thousand years ago leaving Malta and Gozo as mid-Mediterranean islands. The Maltese archipelago was left uninhabited for thousand of years. Around 7000 years ago, a group of people from Sicily succeeded in crossing over on some pretty reliable sea-craft and to colonize the islands.

The people who first colonized Gozo probably lived in the caves known as Il-Mixta on Ghajn Ghabdun plateau to the north-west of Gozo. Sherds unearthed on this site, reached through the village of S anta Lucij a, are of a purer pedigree than any other pottery found elsewhere in the Maltese Islands. This group soon spread in search oi agricultural land and one of the next places to be inhabited was probably ix-Xaghra plateau. The place was destineo to remain a focal point during the three prehistoric periods.

Remains from the earliest times, the Neolithic Perioc (5000-4100 BC) , were found in the area now known as ta Santa Verna. Trenches dug in the area revealec occupational levels of the earlier Neolithic period.

During the second or Temple Period (4100-2500 BC) ix-Xaghra plateau was the most important site on the island. This is attested by the greatest undertaking of th pre-Phoenician Gozitans, the Ggantija Temples (3600 3000 BC) . This phase represents an important turning point in the cultural evolution of the prehistoric man in both Gozo and Malta. Another important site of this period is tal-Qacca Hypogeum. Ix-Xaghra was indeed the heart of Gozo during the Temple period.

The third period, the Bronze Age (2500-700 BC) ushered in a new epoch. The people were of an entirely different race and carried a total different culture. They were a warlike people using copper and bronze tools and weapons. They preferred to live on hills that were easily defensible against the peoples that began navigating the Mediterranean and making frequent landings on the islands. The temples of ix-Xaghra were probably abandoned and the focal point of the island was shifted to the Citadel hill.

Around 700 BC, Malta and Gozo were colonized by the Phoenicians. Around 550, the Phoenicians of Carthage or Carthaginians, took over and remained masters until 218BC. There are remains of a Punic rock-cut sanctuary at Ras il-Wardija, on the south-western tip of Gozo. No activity seems to have been carried out at ix-Xaghra. The Romans took over in 218 BC at the beginning of Second Punic War, creating Gozo a municipium independent of Malta with Republican sort of Government that minted its own coins. Around 455, the islands were occupied by the Vandals, and from 476 by the Ostrogoths. In 535, they passed under the dominion of the East Roman Empire, that is under the Byzantines (535-870).

In 870, the Aghlabid Arabs besieged Malta, killed most of the inhabitants, and left the archipelago in ruins. Around 1045, a group of Saracens came over from Sicily and recolonized the island. The roots of the Maltese language was laid by these Arab-speaking Muslims, who gave the name of Mdina to the Gozo Citadel and that of Ghawdex to the island of Gozo.

In 1091, Count Roger the Norman established a nominal suzerainty over Malta, but the Saracens remained masters paying an annual tribute. In 1127, the islands were reconquered by the Normans, who were in turn followed by the Swabians (1194), the Angevins (1266), and the Aragonese( 1282). The population of Gozo — concentrated in the Citadel and Rabat — began rising steadily. A church functioning as a parish within the Citadel is recorded in 1299. The island was governed by a series of feudal lord whose sole interest was to exact the highest possible taxes from the inhabitants. The rule of the lords came to an end around 1397, when Gozo and Malta were incorporated in the royal domain. The local government, headed by th Hakem or Captain of the city, was appointed annually by the King of Sicily. From then onwards, the Gozitans fought hard to maintain their freedom and privileges.

On 23 March 1530, the islands passed under th Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, a chivalrous religious order initiated in 1099, and officially founded in Jerusalem in 1113 . Initially they made no improvements in Gozo and in 1551, the island suffered its worst siege in history. In July, the Citadel was besieged by the Turks under Sinan Pasha. The medieval walls without flanks and terreplein to resist gunpowder bombardment were easily breached. The' entire population of about 5000 was taken into slavery. Grandmaster Juan d'Homedes and his Council Initially entertained the idea of abandoning Gozo. Yet sweet home soon attracted back the few hundreds who had escaped from slavery and the fewer who were redeemed. The Citadel was slowly rebuilt and it flourished once again. Until 15 April 1637, Gozitans were bound by law to spend the night within. As the population had by then increased to just under 3000, it is certain that many families had to share a single room. When the law was repealed, residents began to abandon the Citadel to more spacious houses in Rabat and the countryside. II-Qacca or ix-Xaghra was one of the fastest growing settlements. In 1667, it was second to Xewkija, with a population of 344 living in 74 households. On 28 April 1688 , ix-Xaghra was established an autonomous parish and the status of the settlement elevated to that of a village.

On 10 June 1798 the French, under General Napoleon Bonaparte, ousted the Knights from Malta. Ix-Xaghra was occupied by the chief of the brigade Le febvre, the official who had led the troops of General Ebenezer Reynier to Marsalforn tower and the Citadel. He stole parts of a silver statue of the Blessed Virgin from the parish church. However, the French rule in Gozo was short-lived. In September the people rose against the French, who, on 28 October, surrendered to the Gozitans. Gozo enjoyed a short period of autonomy until 5 September 1800, when the British took the Maltese Islands under their protection. Malta and Gozo formally became a British Crown Colony in 1813. Not without British support, on 16 September 1864, Gozo became a diocese separate from Malta. The British slowly transformed the islands into a fortress colony. Their resistance to the Axis bombardments during the second World War became a legend.

Between 1940 and 1942, 28 shelters were dug throughout the village of Xaghra at a total cost of 17,450 pounds sterling. It was calculated that they could accommodate the whole village population that stood at 3850 in 1942. The village suffered three attacks during war. On 10 February 1942, two persons were killed in ta' Bullara and several others were injured. On 27 February, some bombs fell in fields on the outskirts of the without leaving any victims. The third attack, on 12 April, left two other victims in Triq Marsalforn. In all eighteen Xaghrin died as a result of enemy action during World War II.

Malta and Gozo became a sovereign Independent , within the Commonwealth on 21 September 1964 . were declared a Republic on 13 December 1974. Gozo is governed like any other part of the Maltese Islands .'The executive functions of the central Government are carried out through the Ministry for Gozo, established on 14 May 1987.