History

The Maldives is a very old country, even if for many years historians have been traced its origin to the conversion to Islam in 1153. Heavy stones with symbols of the sun, similar to the Maya and Egyptian carvings, witness the existence of the Maldives before 1153. Historians think that these finds belong to the first settlers, the Redin, a civilization who worshipped the "Sun King", as confirmed also by the location of some mosques (e.g. Hukuru Miskiy in Male’) oriented towards the sun and not towards the Mecca. This civilization was first assimilated by Buddhist sailors and fishers coming from Sri Lanka and then by populations coming from West Africa, China and Arab countries. The Maldives was a meeting place for people who stopped and traded after long navigations in the Indian Ocean. Coconuts, dried fish and the famous cowries shells were only a few of the numerous goods bargained and sold at that time.

The cowries, small white shells, were collected and used as money in the Indian Ocean countries. Some of them were even found in Norway and West Africa. In the II century BC, the Arab countries started visiting these islands and converted the population to Islam. From that moment, the Maldives had 84 Sultans, a Portuguese settlement in 1558, which lasted 15 years, and in 1752 Male’ was conquered by the Indian pirates. The latter remained on the islands only a few weeks as they were soon driven away by the Maldivian soldiers. After that, the Sultan governed until the Republic of the Maldives was created. On December 16, 1887 the Sultan of the Maldives signed a contract with the British governor in Ceylon, turning the Maldives into a British protectorate. The British government promised the Maldives military protection and non-interference in local and administration in return of an annual tribute.

In 1957 the British established a RAF base in the Addu Atoll (Gan Island), where many Maldivian people were employed, but nineteen years later, the British government decided to leave the island as it was too expensive. On July 26, 1965 the Maldives became an independent country and three years later it became a Republic with the Prime Minister, Ibrahim Nasir, as President. In 1978 Maumoon Abdul Gayoom became President and since then he was elected six times (next elections will be in 2008). According to the constitution, the President is the head of the state, of the executive committee and of the 48 members of the Parliament. The Maldives belongs to the Commonwealth since 1982 and is a UN member since 1965.