History of the Maldives

The Maldives gained independence on 26 July, 1965. Small as it is, the Maldives has always maintained its independence and a strong unity despite influences and threats from outside

Early settlers

Legend has it that a prince and his wife, the daughter of the King of today’s Sri Lanka, stopped at Raa Atoll during a voyage and were invited to stay as rulers. Later, King Koimala and his wife settled in Male with permission of the Giraavaru tribe, the aboriginal tribe of Kaafu Atoll. Nowadays, Giraavaru people are still easily recognisable by their clothes and hairstyle, but only a few hundred of them are left and were resettled on Male in 1978. Their island, Giraavaru, has been transformed into a tourist resort. Aryans from India and Sri Lanka are believed to have settled in the Maldives from 1500 BC onwards, according to latest archaeological findings. Elu, an archaic form of Sinhala, which is spoken in Sri Lanka, shows great similarities to Dhivehi.

As a favourite stop-over on the busy trade routes, the Maldives have had many visitors and influences. Traders from the Arabian Peninsula, China and India, in particular, traded with the Maldives, buying coconut, dried fish, and, above all, the precious cowry shell, a small white shell found on the beach, which is used as currency in countries around the Indian Ocean. These shells have been found as far away as Norway and West Africa, showing the extent of the trade relations of the Maldives.

Conversion to Islam

Mohamed Ibn Batuta, a Moroccan traveller who visited the Maldives in the 14th century, recorded an interesting legend on how the country converted to Islam.

Abul Barakaath Yoosuf Al Barbary, an Islamic scholar, visited the Maldives during a time when people lived in fear of the “Rannamaari”, a sea-demon, who came out of the sea once a month threatening to destroy everything unless a virgin was sacrificed. The unfortunate young girls, who were chosen by lottery, had to stay in a temple near the seashore and were found raped and dead in the morning. The daughter of the house he was staying in at the time had been selected to be the victim and he decided to save her. Disguised as a girl, he spent the night in the temple reciting continuously from the Koran. In the morning when people went to find out the fate of the chosen girl, they were amazed to find him alive and still reciting the Koran. When the King found out that the demon had been defeated through the power of the Koran, he embraced Islam and ordered all the subjects to follow him.

Maldivian heroes

The Portuguese had a keen interest in the Maldives due to the abundance of precious cowry shells and ambergris, an important ingredient in perfumes. They had been approached by the expelled Sultan, Hassan IX, to help him regain his throne. Three attempts were repelled mainly by Ali Rasgefaanu, who proved to be a brave and tough fighter. He became Sultan Ali VI, but only for a few months as he was killed during another Portuguese attack, dying a martyr’s death. His tomb, built at the very spot where he died in the sea, is now on dry land due to the reclamation of land in Male. Martyr’s Day, a public holiday, has been devoted to him.

The next 15 years saw the darkest period in Maldivian history, when the Portuguese tried to enforce Christianity upon the islanders. Mohamed Thakurufaanu, and his two brothers from the island of Utheemu, used a form of guerrilla warfare for eight long years, during which time one of the brothers was caught and beheaded. Their strategy was to land on an island at night, kill the Portuguese in a surprise attack and sail off before dawn. Thakurufaanu sought the help of the Malabari, killed the Portuguese leader Andreas Andre, locally known as Andiri Andirin, and recaptured Male. He was made Sultan and reigned for 12 years. He formed a trained standing army, introduced coins, improved trade and religious observance, and founded a dynasty that lasted for 132 years.

The British Protectorate

On 16 December, 1887, the Sultan of the Maldives signed a contract with the British Governor of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) turning the Maldives into a British protectorate. The British government promised the Maldives military protection and non-interference in local administration in exchange for an annual tribute paid by the Maldives. In 1957 the British established a RAF base in the strategic southernmost atoll of Addu for £2000 a year, where hundreds of locals were employed. Nineteen years later the British government decided to give up the base, as it was too expensive to maintain.

Independence

The Maldives gained independence on 26 July, 1965. Three years later, a republic was declared with Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir as the first president. In 1978, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom became president and was re-elected three times before Mohamed Nasheed, a long term critic of President Gayoom and an Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, was elected president in the country's first democratic elections in 2008. A coup attempt in 1988 by Sri Lankan mercenaries was successfully repelled. Small as it is, the Maldives has always maintained its independence and a strong unity despite influences and threats from outside. The Maldives is a member of the UN, WHO, SAARC, British Commonwealth, and the Non-Aligned Movement, and plays an important role in advocating the security of small nations and the protection of the environment.