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A Short History of Maldives

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Except for 15 years of occupation by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Maldives has been an independent state throughout its history, especially from the time when the Portuguese were driven away by warrior-patriot named Mohammed Thakurufur Al-Azam in 1573. After the 16th century, the country was rocked by political meddling of colonial powers Portuguese, the Dutch and French until the 19th century when it became a British protectorate.

The Maldives island, according to some historians, were first settled by the Aryan immigrants in 500 BC long before the people, who were originally Buddhists, were converted into the Islamic faith by Sunny Muslim Abu Al Barakat, whose venerated tomb in the Hukuru Mosque in Male, is now a testimony to his role in the Maldivian people’s conversion to Islam. The mosque is the oldest in Maldives, having built in 1656. After the conversion, rulers of the islands were called Sultans of six dynasties coming one after the other. These dynasties included the Maley Dynasty which lasted 235 years under 26 different sultans, while the Hilaii Dynasty ruled for 170 years under 29 rulers. Diplomatic relations between Maldives and other countries began in the Hilaii Dynasty when Sultan Kalhu Mohammed invited heads of foreign countries to visit Maldives.

The Huraage Dynasty was the last to prevail in the islands until 1968 when Maldives became a republic and established diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka. By that time, Maldives had already gained total independence from Britain, although the British still maintained an airbase in the Gan Island.

Also in 1968, the sultanate in the islands was abolished through a referendum. In 1970, two years after the proclamation of the second republic, the country fell into an economic crisis following the collapse of its export of dried fish to Sri Lanka. The closure of the British airfield in Gan worsened the economy further resulting to the issuance by the government in the years that followed of a decree to suppress Islamic radicalism in the islands.