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History
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Since very ancient times, the Maldives were ruled by kings (Radun) and occasionally
queens (Ranin). Historically Maldives has had a strategic importance because of
its location on the major marine routes of the Indian Ocean. Maldives' nearest neighbors
are Sri Lanka and India, both of which have had cultural and economic ties with
Maldives for centuries. The Maldives provided the main source of cowrie shells,
then used as a currency throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast.
After the 16th century, when European colonial powers took over much of the trade
in the Indian Ocean, first the Portuguese, and then the Dutch, and the French occasionally
meddled with local politics. However, these interferences ended when the Maldives
became a British Protectorate in the 19th century and the Maldivian monarchs were
granted a good measure of self-governance.
Maldives gained total independence from the British in 1965. However, they continued
to maintain an air base on the island of Ganin the southernmost atoll until 1976.
The British departure in 1976 at the height of the Cold War almost immediately triggered
foreign speculation about the future of the air base. Apparently the Soviet Union
made a move to request the use of the base, but the Maldives refused.
The greatest challenge facing the republic in the early 1990s was the need for rapid
economic development and modernization, given the country's limited resource base
in fishing, agriculture and tourism. Concern was also evident over a projected long-term
rise in sea level, which would prove disastrous to the low-lying coral islands.
Comparative studies of Maldivian oral, linguistic and cultural traditions and customs
confirm that the first settlers were people from the southern shores of the neighboring
Indian subcontinent.
These first Maldivians didn't leave any archaeological remains. Their buildings
were probably built of wood, palm fronds and other perishable materials, which would
have quickly decayed in the salt and wind of the tropical climate. Moreover, chiefs
or headmen didn't reside in elaborate stone palaces, nor did their religion require
the construction of large temples or compounds.
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