History of the Maldives

[1] The republic's greatest challenge in the early 1990s was the need for rapid economic development and modernization given the country's limited resource base in fishing and tourism.

Legends from the past, inscriptions on the copper plates, ancient writings engraved on coral items, and stories repeated by the language and traditions of the people have also told of the Maldives' history.

[6]) Comparative studies of Maldivian oral, linguistic, and cultural traditions and customs indicate that some of the earliest settlers to the northern Maldives were descendants of fishermen from the southwest coasts of present India and the northwestern shores of Sri Lanka.

Seafaring from Debal began during the Indus Valley civilization, and the Jatakas and Puranas show abundant evidence of this maritime trade; the use of similar traditional boatbuilding techniques in Northwestern South Asia and the Maldives, as well as the presence of silver punch mark coins from both regions, gives additional weight to this.

Additionally, shere are minor signs of Southeast Asian settlers, likely some adrift from the main group of Austronesian reed boat migrants that settled Madagascar.

[8] At the start of the Soma Vansa dynasty, the Indian ruler Raja Dada invaded Dheeva Maari's northern two atolls, Malikatholhu and Thiladunmathi, and took control of them.

The Sinhalese settlement in Sri Lanka and the Maldives marks a significant change in demographics and the development of the Indo-Aryan language Dhivehi, which is most similar in grammar, phonology, and structure to Sinhala and especially to the more ancient Elu Prakrit, with has less Pali influences.

This claim has been supported by linguistic and cultural features, as well as specific descriptions in the epics themselves, e.g. the detail that Vijaya visited Bharukaccha (Bharuch in Gujarat) in his ship on a southward voyage.

[10] Philostorgius, a Greek historian of Late Antiquity, wrote of a hostage among the Romans who hailed from the island called Diva, which is presumed to be the Maldives; his name was Theophilus.

Additionally, Buddhist remains have been found in Minicoy Island, once part of a Maldivian kingdom, by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the latter half of the 20th century.

[citation needed] The person traditionally deemed responsible for this religious conversion in the Maldives was a Sunni Muslim visitor named Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari.

[21] A well-known North African traveler, he wrote how a Moroccan, Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari, was believed to have been responsible for spreading Islam in the islands, reportedly convincing the local king after having subdued Ranna Maari, a demon coming from the sea.

According to a story told to Ibn Battutah, a mosque was built with the inscription: "The Sultan Ahmad Shanurazah accepted Islam at the hand of Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari.

[25] Scholars have posited another scenario where Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari might have been a native of Barbera, a significant trading port on the northwestern coast of Somalia.

[citation needed] The Maldives had an abundant supply of cowry shells, a form of currency that was widely used throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast.

[33] In 1573, a local leader named Muhammad Thakurufaanu-al-A'uzam and his two brothers, Ali and Hassan, from Utheemu of North Thiladhumathi Atoll, organized a popular revolt to drive out the Portuguese from the islands.

The British government promised military protection and non-interference in local administration, which continued to be regulated by Muslim traditional institutions, in exchange for an annual tribute.

[46] The base was eventually closed in 1976 as part of the larger British withdrawal of permanently stationed forces, "East of Suez," initiated by Harold Wilson's government.

[53] Nasir was additionally credited with many other improvements such as introducing an English-based modern curriculum to government-run schools and granting Maldivian women the right to vote in 1964.

Clarence Maloney, a Maldives-based U.S. anthropologist, lamented the inconsistencies of the "Dhivehi Latin" which ignored all previous linguistic research on the Maldivian language and didn't follow the modern Standard Indic transliteration.

[64] Since 2003, following the death in custody of a prisoner, Hassan Evan Naseem, the Maldives experienced several anti-government demonstrations calling for political reforms, more freedoms, and an end to torture and oppression.

An attempt to cover up the death was foiled when the mother of the dead man discovered the marks of torture on his body and made the knowledge public, therefore triggering widespread protests.

As a result of pressure from reformists, the junior prison guards responsible for Naseem's death were subsequently tried, convicted and sentenced in 2005 in what was believed to be a show trial that avoided the senior officers involved being investigated.

There were fresh protests in the capital city of Maldives, Malé on 13 August 2004, known as Black Friday, which appeared to have begun as a demand for the release of four political activists from detention.

As part of the state of emergency, and to prevent independent reporting of events, the government shut off internet access and some mobile telephony services to Maldives on 13–14 August.As a result of these activities, political parties were eventually allowed in June 2005.

On 10 November 2008, Nasheed announced an intent to create a sovereign wealth fund with money earned from tourism that could be used to purchase land elsewhere for the Maldives people to relocate in the event that rising sea levels, due to climate change, inundated the country.

[69] An October 2009 cabinet meeting was held underwater (ministers wore scuba gear and communicated with hand signals) to publicize the threat of global warming on the low-lying islands of the Maldives.

Nasheed resigned on 7 February 2012 following weeks of protests after he ordered the military to arrest Abdulla Mohamed, the Chief Justice of the Criminal Court, on 16 January.

)[64] On 23 February 2012, the Commonwealth suspended the Maldives from its democracy and human rights watchdog while the ousting was being investigated; it also backed Nasheed's call for elections before the end of 2012.

Additionally, Yameen employed Islam as a tool of identity politics, framing religious mobilization as the solution to perceived Western attempts to undermine Maldivian national sovereignty.