Maldives Old History

By | January 3, 2023

Maldives is an independent nation in Southern Asia. With the capital city of Male, Maldives 2020 population is estimated at 540,555 according to countryaah. The first residents probably came to the Maldives from southern India and Sri Lanka in the millennium before our era. In the 12th century AD, sailors and merchants from East African and Arab countries had established themselves on the islands. According to tradition, the Maldivian king was converted from Buddhism to Islam in 1153. Thereafter, the islands were ruled by Muslim sultans all the way into modern times.

In the Maldives there was an important wealth: kauris, which served as an international means of payment for a long time.

  • AbbreviationFinder.org: Comprehensive guide to and popular abbreviations of Maldives, covering history, economy, and social conditions.

In the middle of the 16th century, the Portuguese settled on the islands. After only 15 years, they were driven away by Chief Muhammad Thakurufar al-Azam, who has become a Maldivian national hero. The Dutch gained a strong influence over the kingdom during the 17th century, and for a short period in the middle of the 18th century the Malabarian kingdom in southern India succumbed to the Maldives. For Maldives political system, please check carswers.

The British sphere of influence reached the islands in the late 18th century. In the mid-19th century, merchants from Bombay soon acquired a monopoly on foreign trade. To strengthen its position vis-à-vis the Indian traders, the Maldivian Sultan signed a treaty with the British. The treaty gave the Maldives a position as a British protectorate, but with internal self-government. No actual colonization was carried out. In 1932, elections for the post of starvation were introduced, which had previously been inherited.

When Sri Lanka became independent in 1948, the Sultan and the British agreed that the United Kingdom should continue to conduct Maldives foreign policy without interfering in internal affairs. The Sultanate was abolished in 1953 and a republic was established under Amin Didi, who is considered the father of the modern Maldives. However, the Republic became short-lived: Amin Didi overthrew less than a year later. In 1954, the Sultanate was re-established under Mohammed Farid Didi.

A British air base was established in 1956 on the island of Gan in southern Maldives. When the country’s Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir demanded that the agreement on the airbase be renegotiated, the locals at the southernmost atolls Addu (where Gan belongs) and Suvadiva took the rebellion. Encouraged by the British, the insurgents threatened to form their own state. In 1962, however, the revolt was crushed by government soldiers.

2009

May

Gayum’s party wins the election

Former dictator Maumun Abdul Gayum’s party Maldivian People’s Party (DRP) becomes the largest in the parliamentary elections with close to 37 percent of the vote. In second place comes President Nashid’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which receives 33 percent of the vote. The DRP has several allies among the small parties and independent candidates who come into Parliament and can thus effectively curb legislative proposals from the MDP-led government. Thus, the Maldives end up in a political stalemate.

Maldives Old History