![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Maldives-on-the-Globe-300x300.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>The Maldives archipelago is located on the Chagos-Laccadive Ridge<\/a>, a vast submarine mountain range in the Indian Ocean; this also forms a terrestrial ecoregion, together with the Chagos Archipelago<\/a> and Lakshadweep<\/a>. With an average ground-level elevation of 1.5 meters (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, it is the world’s lowest-lying country, with even its highest natural point being one of the lowest in the world, at 5.1 meters (17 ft).<\/p>\n In the 12th century Islam reached the Maldivian archipelago, which was consolidated as a sultanate, developing strong commercial and cultural ties with Asia and Africa. From the mid-16th-century the region came under the increasing influence of European colonial powers, with the Maldives becoming a British protectorate in 1887. Independence from the United Kingdom came in 1965, and a presidential republic was established in 1968 with an elected People’s Majlis<\/a>. The ensuing decades have seen political instability, efforts at democratic reform, and environmental challenges posed by climate change.<\/p>\n The Maldives became a founding member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)<\/a>. It is also a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations<\/a>, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation<\/a>, and the Non-Aligned Movement<\/a>. The World Bank classifies the Maldives as having an upper-middle income economy. Fishing has historically been the dominant economic activity, and remains the largest sector by far, followed by the rapidly growing tourism industry. The Maldives rate “high” on the Human Development Index, with per-capita income significantly higher than other SAARC nations.<\/p>\n The Maldives was a member of the Commonwealth from July 1982 until withdrawing from the organization in October 2016 in protest at allegations by the other nations of its human-rights abuses and failing democracy. The Maldives rejoined the Commonwealth on 1 February 2020 after showing evidence of functioning democratic processes and popular support.<\/p>\n According to the book “Kit\u0101b fi \u0101th\u0101r M\u012bdhu al-q\u0101dimah (\u0643\u062a\u0627\u0628 \u0641\u064a \u0622\u062b\u0627\u0631 \u0645\u064a\u0630\u0648 \u0627\u0644\u0642\u062f\u064a\u0645\u0629) (“On the Ancient Ruins of Meedhoo<\/a>“)” written in the 17th century in Arabic by Allama Ahmed Shihabuddine (Allama Shihab al-Din) of Meedhoo in Addu Atoll, the first settlers of the Maldives were people known as Dheyvis.<\/p>\n They came from the Kalibanga<\/a> in India. The time of their arrival is unknown but it was before Emperor Asoka’s<\/a> kingdom in 269-232 BC. Shihabuddine’s story tallies remarkably well with the recorded history of South Asia and that of copperplate documents of Maldives known as Loamaafaanu<\/a>.<\/p>\n The first Maldivians did not leave any archaeological artifacts. 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 did not reside in elaborate stone palaces, nor did their religion require the construction of large temples or compounds.<\/p>\n The 1,400-year-long Buddhist period has foundational importance in the history of the Maldives. It was during this period that the culture of the Maldives both developed and flourished, a culture which survives today. The Maldivian language, early Maldive scripts, architecture, ruling institutions, customs, and manners of the Maldivians originated at the time when the Maldives were a Buddhist kingdom.<\/p>\n Buddhism probably spread to the Maldives in the 3rd century BC at the time of Emperor Ashoka’s expansion and became the dominant religion of the people of the Maldives until the 12th century AD. The ancient Maldivian Kings promoted Buddhism, and the first Maldive writings and artistic achievements, in the form of highly developed sculpture and architecture, originate from that period. Nearly all archaeological remains in the Maldives are from Buddhist stupas and monasteries, and all artifacts found to date display characteristic Buddhist iconography.<\/p>\n The importance of the Arabs as traders in the Indian Ocean by the 12th century may partly explain why the last Buddhist king of Maldives, Dhovemi<\/a>, converted to Islam in the year 1153 (or 1193). Adopting the Muslim title of Sultan Muhammad ibn Abdullah, he initiated a series of six Islamic dynasties that lasted until 1932 when the sultanate became elective.<\/p>\n Compared to the other areas of South Asia, the conversion of the Maldives to Islam happened relatively late.<\/p>\n Middle Eastern seafarers had just begun to take over the Indian Ocean trade routes in the 10th century and found Maldives to be an important link in those routes as the first landfall for traders from Basra sailing to Southeast Asia. Trade involved mainly cowrie shells<\/a>\u2014widely used as a form of currency throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast\u2014and coir<\/a> fiber. The Bengal Sultanate<\/a>, where cowrie shells were used as legal tender, was one of the principal trading partners of the Maldives. The Bengal\u2013Maldives cowry shell trade was the largest shell currency trade network in history.<\/p>\n The other essential product of the Maldives was coir, the fiber of the dried coconut husk, resistant to saltwater. It stitched together and rigged the dhows that plied the Indian Ocean. Maldivian coir was exported to Sindh, China, Yemen, and the Persian Gulf.<\/p>\n In 1558 the Portuguese established a small garrison with a Viador (Viyazoru), or overseer of a factory (trading post) in the Maldives, which they administered from their main colony in Goa<\/a>. Their attempts to impose Christianity provoked a local revolt led by Muhammad Thakurufaanu al-A’u\u1e93am<\/a> and his two brothers, that fifteen years later drove the Portuguese out of Maldives. This event is now commemorated as National Day.<\/p>\n In the mid-17th century, the Dutch, who had replaced the Portuguese as the dominant power in Ceylon, established hegemony over Maldivian affairs without involving themselves directly in local matters, which were governed according to centuries-old Islamic customs.<\/p>\n The British expelled the Dutch from Ceylon in 1796 and included Maldives as a British protected area. The status of Maldives as a British protectorate was officially recorded in an 1887 agreement in which the sultan accepted British influence over Maldivian external relations and defense while retaining home rule, which continued to be regulated by Muslim traditional institutions in exchange for an annual tribute. The status of the islands was akin to other British protectorates in the Indian Ocean region, including Zanzibar<\/a> and the Trucial States<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the British period, the Sultan’s powers were taken over by the Chief Minister, much to the chagrin of the British Governor-General who continued to deal with the ineffectual Sultan. Consequently, Britain encouraged the development of a constitutional monarchy, and the first Constitution was proclaimed in 1932. However, the new arrangements favoured neither the aging Sultan nor the wily Chief Minister, but rather a young crop of British-educated reformists. As a result, angry mobs were instigated against the Constitution which was publicly torn up.<\/p>\n Maldives remained a British crown protectorate until 1953 when the sultanate was suspended and the First Republic was declared under the short-lived presidency of Muhammad Amin Didi.<\/a> As president, he is remembered as a reformer of the education system and a promoter of women’s rights. Conservatives in Mal\u00e9 eventually ousted his government, and during a riot over food shortages, Didi was beaten by a mob and died on a nearby island.<\/p>\n When the British became increasingly unable to continue their colonial hold on Asia and were losing their colonies to the indigenous populations who wanted freedom, on 26 July 1965 an agreement was signed on behalf of the Sultan by Ibrahim Nasir Rannabandeyri Kilegefan, Prime Minister, and on behalf of the British government by Sir Michael Walker, British Ambassador-designate to the Maldive Islands, which formally ended the British authority on the defense and external affairs of the Maldives. The islands thus achieved freedom, with the ceremony taking place at the British High Commissioner’s Residence in Colombo. After this, the sultanate continued for another three years under Sir Muhammad Fareed Didi<\/a>, who declared himself King upon independence.<\/p>\n On 15 November 1967, a vote was taken in parliament to decide whether the Maldives should continue as a constitutional monarchy or become a republic. Of the 44 members of parliament, 40 voted in favor of a republic. On 15 March 1968, a national referendum was held on the question, and 93.34% of those taking part voted in favor of establishing a republic. The republic was declared on 11 November 1968, thus ending the 853-year-old monarchy, which was replaced by a republic under the presidency of Ibrahim Nasir<\/a>. As the King had held little real power, this was seen as a cosmetic change and required few alterations in the structures of government.<\/p>\n Tourism began to be developed on the archipelago by the beginning of the 1970s. The first resort in the Maldives was Kurumba Maldives<\/a> which welcomed the first guests on 3 October 1972. The first accurate census was held in December 1977 and showed 142,832 people living in the Maldives.<\/p>\n Political infighting during the 1970s between Nasir’s faction and other political figures led to the 1975 arrest and exile of elected prime minister Ahmed Zaki<\/a> to a remote atoll. Economic decline followed the closure of the British airfield at Gan<\/a> and the collapse of the market for dried fish, an important export. With support for his administration faltering, Nasir fled to Singapore in 1978, with millions of dollars from the treasury.<\/p>\n Maumoon Abdul Gayoom<\/a> began his 30-year role as president in 1978, winning six consecutive elections without opposition. His election was seen as ushering in a period of political stability and economic development in view of Maumoon’s priority to develop the poorer islands. Tourism flourished and increased foreign contact spurred development. However, Maumoon’s rule was controversial, with some critics saying Maumoon was an autocrat who quelled dissent by limiting freedoms and political favoritism.<\/p>\n A series of coup attempts (in 1980, 1983, and 1988) by Nasir supporters and business interests tried to topple the government without success. While the first two attempts met with little success, the 1988 coup attempt involved a roughly 80 strong mercenary force of the PLOTE<\/a> who seized the airport and caused Maumoon to flee from house to house until the intervention of 1,600 Indian troops airlifted into Mal\u00e9<\/a> restored order.<\/p>\n On 26 December 2004, following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake<\/a>, the Maldives were devastated by a tsunami<\/a>. Only nine islands were reported to have escaped any flooding, while fifty-seven islands faced serious damage to critical infrastructure, fourteen islands had to be totally evacuated, and six islands were destroyed. A further twenty-one resort islands were forced to close because of tsunami damage. The total damage was estimated at more than US$400 million, or some 62% of the GDP. 102 Maldivians and 6 foreigners reportedly died in the tsunami. The destructive impact of the waves on the low-lying islands was mitigated by the fact there was no continental shelf or land mass upon which the waves could gain height. The tallest waves were reported to be 14 feet (4.3 m) high.<\/p>\n In 2008 a new constitution was approved and the first direct presidential elections occurred. Taxation on goods was imposed for the first time in the country, and import duties were reduced in many goods and services. Social welfare benefits were given to those aged 65 years or older, single parents, and those with special needs.<\/p>\n The Maldives consists of 1,192 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls<\/a>, that stretch along a length of 871 kilometers (541 miles) north to south, 130 kilometers (81 miles) east to west, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometers (35,000 sq mi), of which only 298 km2 (115 sq mi) is dry land, making this one of the world’s most dispersed countries. The atolls are composed of live coral reefs and sand bars, situated atop a submarine ridge 960 kilometers (600 mi) long that rises abruptly from the depths of the Indian Ocean and runs north to south.<\/p>\n Only near the southern end of this natural coral barricade do two open passages permit safe ship navigation from one side of the Indian Ocean to the other through the territorial waters of Maldives.<\/p>\n Maldives is the lowest country in the world, with maximum and average natural ground levels of only 2.4 meters (7 ft 10 in) and 1.5 meters (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, respectively. In areas where construction exists, however, this has been increased to several meters. More than 80 per cent of the country’s land is composed of coral islands which rise less than one meter above sea level. As a result, the Maldives are at high risk of being submerged due to rising sea levels. The UN’s environmental panel has warned that, at current rates, sea-level rise would be high enough to make the Maldives uninhabitable by 2100.<\/p>\n In the early 1970s, the Maldives was one of the world’s 20 poorest countries, with a population of 100,000. The economy at the time was largely dependent on fisheries and trading local goods such as coir<\/a> rope, ambergris<\/a> (Maavaharu), and coco de me<\/a>r (Tavakkaashi) with neighboring countries and East Asian countries.<\/p>\n The Maldivian government began a largely successful economic reform program in the 1980s, initiated by lifting import quotas and giving more opportunities to the private sector. At the time tourism sector which would play a significant role in the nation’s development was at its infant stage.<\/p>\n Agriculture and manufacturing continue to play lesser roles in the economy, constrained by the limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic labor.<\/p>\n The Maldives remained largely unknown to tourists until the early 1970s. Only 189 islands are home to its 447,137 inhabitants. The other islands are used entirely for economic purposes, of which tourism and agriculture are the most dominant. Tourism accounts for 28% of the GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives’ foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes.<\/p>\n The development of tourism fostered the overall growth of the country’s economy. It created direct and indirect employment and income generation opportunities in other related industries. The first tourist resorts were opened in 1972 with Bandos Island Resort and Kurumba Village (the current name is Kurumba Maldives), which transformed the Maldives economy. The number of resorts increased from 2 to 92 between 1972 and 2007. As of 2007, over 8,380,000 tourists had visited Maldives.<\/p>\n Velana International Airport<\/a> is the principal gateway to the Maldives; it is near the capital city Mal\u00e9 and is surrounded by water. International travel is available on government-owned Island Aviation Services (branded as Maldivian)<\/a>, which operates to nearly all Maldives domestic airports with several Bombardier Dash 8<\/a> aircraft, and one A320<\/a> with international service to India, Bangladesh, China, and Thailand.<\/p>\n In Maldives, there are three main ways to travel between islands: by domestic flight, by seaplane, or by boat. Depending on the distance of the destination island from the airport, resorts organize speedboat transfers or seaplane flights directly to the resort island jetty for their guests. Several daily flights operate from Velana International Airport to the 12 domestic and international airports in the country. Scheduled ferries also operate from Mal\u00e9 to many of the atolls. The traditional Maldivian boat is called a dhoni<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speedboats and seaplanes tend to be more expensive, while travel by dhoni, although slower, is relatively cheaper and convenient.<\/p>\n The flag of the Republic of Maldives is green with a red border. The center bears a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag. It was adopted on 25 July 1965.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The red rectangle represents the boldness of the nation’s heroes, and their willingness to sacrifice their every drop of blood in defense of their country. The green rectangle in the center symbolizes peace and prosperity. The white crescent moon symbolizes the Islamic faith of the state and authorities.<\/p>\n The earliest flag of the Maldives consisted of a plain red field. Later, a black and white striped hoist called the Dhandimathi was added to the flag.<\/p>\n This version of the flag was used until early in the 20th century, when Abdul Majeed Didi<\/a> added a crescent to the national flag. At the same time, a distinct state flag was made, which had the crescent on a green rectangle. These changes were made some time between 1926 and 1932, during Abdul Majeed’s term as Prime Minister.<\/p>\n In 1953, the Maldives became a republic, resulting in another flag change. The national flag was dropped and the crescent on the state flag was reversed, so that it faced the hoist. The Sultanate was restored in 1954, but the flag was not changed back. Instead, Muhammad Fareed Didi<\/a> created a new flag specifically for the Sultan, with a five-pointed star next to the crescent. A version of this flag is still used today as the Presidential Standard.<\/p>\n When the Maldives gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, the black and white hoist was removed, giving the flag its modern form.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The flag of the Republic of Maldives is green with a red border. The center bears a vertical white crescent; the closed side of the crescent is on the hoist side of the flag. It was adopted on 25 July 1965.<\/p>\n The red rectangle represents the boldness of the nation’s heroes, and their willingness to sacrifice their every drop of blood in defense of their country. The green rectangle in the center symbolizes peace and prosperity. The white crescent moon symbolizes the Islamic faith of the state and authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[59,5,6,7,31,29,60],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7053"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7053"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7053\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7053"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7053"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7053"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Maldives-Atolls-from-Space-false-color-233x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>History:<\/h2>\n
Ancient History:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Meedhoo-300x223.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Isdhoo-Lomafanu-is-the-oldest-copper-plate-book-to-have-been-discovered-in-the-Maldives-to-date-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Buddhist Period:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Emperor-Ashoka-300x286.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Islamic Period:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Maldivian-Cowry-Shells.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Colonial Period:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/16th-Century-Portuguese-Illustration-300x219.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Mohamed-Amin-Didi.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Independence and Republic:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Muhammad-Fareed-Didi-208x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Ibrahim-Nasir-223x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Maumoon-Abdul-Gayoom-241x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Twenty-First Century:<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Flooding-in-Male-after-2004-Indian-Ocean-Earthquake-and-Tsunami-300x106.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Geography:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Map-of-the-Maldives-274x300.gif\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Economy:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Coco-de-Mer-225x300.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Treemap-of-Maldives-Exports-300x234.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2021\/01\/Filitheyo-Island-Beach-300x225.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Transportation:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Velana-International-Airport-300x165.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Traditional-Maldivian-Dhoni-300x185.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>Flag of the Maldives:<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Flag-of-Maldives-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.smoketreemanor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2020\/11\/Maldives-Presidential-Standard-300x200.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/a>