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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{History of the Maldives}}
The '''history of the Maldives''' is intertwined with the history of the broader [[Indian subcontinent]] and surrounding areas in [[South Asia]] and the [[Indian Ocean]]. The Maldives is formed of 26 natural [[atolls]], comprising 1,194 islands.

The Maldives historically has held strategic importance due to its location on the major marine routes of the Indian Ocean.<ref name=":0">{{Harvnb|Ryavec|1995|p=257}}.</ref> Its closest neighbours are the [[British Indian Ocean Territory]], [[Sri Lanka]], and India.<ref name=":8">{{cite web |title=Maldives |url=https://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/maldives |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=[[Commonwealth of Nations]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=British Indian Ocean Territory |url=https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-indian-ocean-territory |access-date=11 May 2024 |website=[[Government of the United Kingdom]] |quote=The British Indian Ocean Territory has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. BIOT is close to the very center of the Indian Ocean, mid-way between Tanzania and Indonesia. Its nearest neighbours are the Maldives and Sri Lanka.}}</ref> The United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, and some Indian kingdoms in the past have had deep cultural and economic ties with the Maldives for centuries.<ref name=":0" /> Maldivians also traded with [[Aceh]] and many other kingdoms in what is now [[Indonesia]] and [[Malaysia]]. The Maldives were a primary source of [[cowrie shells]], which were then used as currency throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast.<ref name=":0" />

The Maldives were influenced by the [[Kalinga (historical region)|Kalinga]]s of ancient India. The Kalingas were the earliest region of India to trade with Sri Lanka and the Maldives; thus, they were responsible for the spread of [[Buddhism]]. Stashes of Chinese [[Tableware|crockery]] found buried in various locations in the Maldives also show that there was direct or indirect trade contact between China and the Maldives. In 1411 and 1430, the Chinese admiral [[Zheng He]] (鄭和) visited the Maldives; the [[Republic of China|Republic of China (Taiwan)]] later became the first country to establish a resident embassy in [[Malé]] in 1966.<ref name=":8" />

During the 16th century, when sea faring European [[European colonialism|colonial]] powers gained prominence in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives were contacted by the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] the [[Dutch colonial empire|Dutch]], and then the French.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.maldivesembassy.be/en/about-maldives/history |access-date=26 May 2024 |website=[[Embassy of the Maldives, Brussels]] |language=en-gb}}</ref> The Portuguese had occupied the country from 1558 to 1573.{{Citation needed|date=April 2026}}

The Maldives became a [[British protectorate]] in the 19th century. The Maldivian monarchy was granted a degree of self-governance while the British ruled over the country’s external affairs.

The Maldives gained independence from the British and became a [[republic]] on 26 July 1965.<ref>Colliers Encyclopedia (1989) VO115 P276 McMillan Educational Company</ref> The British continued to operate an air base on the island of [[Gan (Addu Atoll)|Gan]] in the [[Addu Atoll|southernmost atoll]] which it leased from the Maldivian government until 1976.<ref name=":0" /> The British departure in 1976, at the height of the [[Cold War]], almost immediately triggered foreign speculation about the future of the air base.<ref name=":0" /> The [[Soviet Union]] requested the use of the base, but the Maldives refused.<ref name=":0" />

The republic's greatest challenge in the early 1990s was the need for rapid economic development and modernisation given the country's limited resource base in fishing and tourism.<ref name=":0" /> Concern was also evident over a projected long-term [[sea level rise]] which would prove disastrous to the Maldives' low-lying coral islands.<ref name=":0" />

==Early Age==
{{See also|Maldivian folklore}}
Much of the history of the Maldives is unknown. However, based on legend and actual data, it can be deduced that the islands have been inhabited for over 2,500 years according to an old folklore from the Maldives' southern atoll.

During Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar I's rule in the 17th century, Allama Shihabuddine, of Meedhoo on Addu Atoll, wrote the book ''Kitab Fi al-Athari Midu al-Qadimiyyah'' (''On the Ancient Ruins of Meedhoo'') in Arabic. The account is strikingly consistent with known South Asian history, referencing India's legendary Emperor Asoka.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last=Mohamed |first=Naseema |title=Note on the Early History of the Maldives |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_2005_num_70_1_3970 |journal=Persée |year=2005 |volume=70 |pages=7–14 |doi=10.3406/arch.2005.3970 |access-date=5 June 2022 |archive-date=14 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164417/https://www.persee.fr/doc/arch_0044-8613_2005_num_70_1_3970 |url-status=live }}</ref> It also backs up excerpts found in old Maldivian records and the [[Lōmāfānu|Loamaafaanu]] copper plates. Legends from the past, copper plate inscriptions, ancient engravings on coral-stone artefacts, and stories passed down through oral traditions have also helped flesh out the Maldives' history.<ref name=":5" />

Compared to the southern islands, up to 800 kilometres away, the northern islands may have had a different migratory and settlement history.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pijpe |first1=J. |last2=Voogt |first2=A. |last3=Oven |first3=M. |last4=Henneman |first4=P. |last5=Gaag |first5=K. J. |last6=Kayser |first6=M. |last7=Knijff |first7=P. |year=2013 |title=Indian Ocean Crossroads: Human Genetic Origin and Population Structure in the Maldives |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=151 |issue=1 |pages=58–67 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.22256 |pmc=3652038 |pmid=23526367 |bibcode=2013AJPA..151...58P }}</ref>

=== The first settlers in the southern Maldives ===
A [[delegation]] from the Divi people sent gifts to the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] Emperor [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] according to a fourth-century note published by [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] in 362 AD (1937, Rolfe). ("Divi" is remarkably similar to "Dheyvi," and thus they may refer to the same people.)

The Redi and the Kunibee, from India's Maharashtra area, were among the later settlers. The people from northern India arrived in the Maldives roughly during the sixth to fifth centuries B.C.—three centuries before Emperor Asoka built his state in India. According to folklore, they were not native to India and had arrived from another country. Hinduism was also brought to the Maldives during this period (Shihabuddine, c. 1650–1687).<ref name=":5" />

==== Dheeva Maari ====
The Dheyvis found Suvadinmathi (the [[Huvadhu Atoll]]) after their first settlement in Isdhuva in Isduvammathi (the [[Haddhunmathi Atoll|Haddhunmathi]] Atoll) according to Shihabuddine.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Maldive Antiquity |url=http://antu.s5.com/antiquity.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040211182538/http://antu.s5.com/antiquity.htm |archive-date=11 February 2004 |website=antu.s5.com}}</ref> These people gave the term "duva" to each island where they first lived and discovered.<ref name=":6" /> They went on to establish the {{Ill|Kingdom of Dheeva Maari|bn|দীবামাড়ি রাজ্য}}.<ref name=":6" />

==== The first known monarch of the Dheevis ====
The kingdom of Adeetta Vansa was formed in Dheeva Maari by Sri Soorudasaruna Adeettiya. He was the first known monarch of the Dheyvis of Dheeva Maari. He had been the exiled prince of [[Kalinga (region)|Kalinga]] kingdom before he founded the kingdom of Adeetta Vansa, and this founding preceded the creation of the kingdom of [[Ashoka|Malik Aashooq]].<ref name=":6" />

Once, a group from Bairat came to Dheeva Mahal to preach the beliefs and works of Buddha. (Dheeva Mahal was the name given to Dheeva Maari during the time.<ref name=":6" />)

=== The first settlers in the northern Maldives ===
Folklore indicates that northern atolls of the Maldives were populated by other tribes from southern India with darker skin colours. According to legends, the islands they populated were named Nolhivaram, Kuruhinnavaram, and Giravaram (Shihabuddine, c. 1650–1687). These islands are now known as Nolhivaramu, Hinnavaru, and Giravaru. (The names likely evolved over many centuries to their current form.<ref name=":5" />)

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 [[Malabar coast|southwest coasts]] of present-day India and the northwestern shores of [[Sri Lanka]]. One such community is the [[Giraavaru people]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellis |first=Royston |author-link=Royston Ellis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zSjhruMm748C&pg=PA36 |title=Maldives |date=1 January 2008 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=9781841622668 |language=en |access-date=2 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503032143/https://books.google.com/books?id=zSjhruMm748C&pg=PA36 |archive-date=3 May 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> They are mentioned in ancient legends and local folklore, specifically in regards to the establishment and kingly rule of the capital, [[Malé]].

Some argue, from the presence of [[Jat]] Gujjar titles and [[Gotra]] names, that the [[Sindhis]] also accounted for an early influx of migration. Seafaring from [[Debal]] began during the [[Indus Valley civilisation]], and the [[Jataka]]s and [[Puranas]] show abundant evidence of their 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, lends additional weight to this view. Additionally, there are hints that Southeast Asian settlers ended up in [[Madagascar]]<ref name="Maloney, Clarence">{{cite web |last=Maloney |first=Clarence |title=Maldives People |url=http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/iiasn5/insouasi/maloney.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020129221500/http://www.iias.nl/iiasn/iiasn5/insouasi/maloney.html |archive-date=29 January 2002 |access-date=22 June 2008 |work=[[International Institute for Asian Studies]]}}</ref> after getting separated from a main group of [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] reed boat seafarers.

=== Kingdom of Adeetta Vansa ===
The Kingdom of Adeetta Vansa (Solar dynasty), formed in Dheeva Maari, ruled until the establishment of the Kingdom of Soma Vansa (Lunar dynasty). Soma Vansa was born in Kalinja; Adeetta Vansa was born in Kalinja as well.{{clarify|date=November 2022}} The Kingdom of Soma Vansa was founded by the son of a Soma Vansa monarch who ruled in Kalinja at the time. (Sri Balaadeettiya was the first king of Soma Vansa, while Queen Damahaar, his wife, was the final queen of Adeetta Vansa. Therefore, while the dynasty's name was altered to Soma Vansa, the monarchs were still related to both Soma Vansa and Adeetta Vansa.) Dheeva Maari turned to Islam over a century and a half later.<ref name=":6" />

=== Kingdom of Soma Vansa ===
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. Sri Loakaabarana, Sri Maha Sandura, Sri Bovana Aananda, as well as his son and brother, were the most recent five monarchs of Soma Vansa before the advent of Islam. After Sri Maha Sandura died, Raja Dada ascended to the crown.<ref name=":6" />

=== Mahapansa ===
Sri Maha Sandura's daughter, Kamanhaar (sometimes spelled Kamanaar), and Rehendihaar were exiled to the island of Is Midu. With her, she took ''Maapanansa'', a book that contained the history of Adeetta Vansa's kings. In his work, Al Muhaddith Hasan claims to have read the entire ''Maapanansa'', which was written on copper. He also claims to have buried all of ''Maapanansa''<nowiki/>'s parts. Sri Mahaabarana Adeettiya (Sri Bovana Aananda's son) ascended to the throne after him, after which he defeated the Indians who controlled Malikatholhu and Thiladunmathi. (The Indians belonged to the same tribe as Raja Dada, who was the first to conquer these two atolls.) Afterward, Sri Mahaabarana Adeettiya was given the title of monarch over 14 atolls and 2,000 islands. Malikaddu Dhemedhu, between Minicoy and Addu, became his Dheeva Mahal.<ref name=":6" />

==== Ancient names of atolls of Maldives according to ''Maapanansa'' ====

# Thiladunmathi<ref name=":6" />
# Miladunmaduva<ref name=":6" />
# Maalhosmaduva<ref name=":6" />
# Faadu Bur<ref name=":6" />
# Mahal Atholhu<ref name=":6" />
# Ari Adhe Atholhu<ref name=":6" />
# Felide Atholhu<ref name=":6" />
# Mulakatholhu<ref name=":6" />
# Nilande Atholhu<ref name=":6" />
# Kolhumaduva<ref name=":6" />
# Isaddunmathi<ref name=":6" />
# Suvadinmathi<ref name=":6" />

=== Archaeological remains of the first settlers ===
The first Maldivians are not known to have left any archaeological remains. It is speculated that their buildings were likely 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.<ref>Kalpana Ram, ''Mukkuvar Women''. Macquarie University. 1993</ref>

=== Earliest written history ===
The earliest written history of the Maldives is marked by the arrival of [[Sinhalese people]]. They were descendants of the exiled [[Vanga kingdom|Vanga]] Prince [[Vijaya of Sri Lanka|Vijaya]] from the ancient city known as [[Sinhapura]] in northeast India. He and his party of several hundred landed in Sri Lanka; some ended up in the Maldives circa 543–483 B.C. According to the ''Maapanansa'', one of the ships that sailed with Prince Vijaya, who went to Sri Lanka around 500 B.C., went adrift and arrived at an island called Mahiladvipika, which has since been identified as the Maldives. It is also said that at that time, the people from Mahiladvipika used to travel to Sri Lanka.

The Sinhalese settlement in Sri Lanka and the Maldives marks a significant change in demographics and the development of the [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan language]] [[Dhivehi language|Dhivehi]], which is most similar in grammar, phonology, and structure to [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]] and especially to the more ancient [[Elu Prakrit]], with has less [[Pali]] influences. {{Citation needed|date=May 2016}}

Alternatively, it is believed that Vijaya and his clan came from western India. 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.<ref name="Maloney, Clarence" />

[[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. [[Theophilos the Indian|Theophilus]] was sent around the year 350 to convert the [[Himyarites]] to Christianity and went to his homeland from [[Arabia]]; he returned to Arabia, visited [[Axum]], and settled in [[Antioch]].<ref>Philostorgius, ''Church History'', tr. Amidon, pp.41–44; Philostorgius' history survives in fragments, and he wrote some 75 years later than these events.</ref>

== Caste system in Maldives ==
{{main|Caste system in Maldives}}

The Maldivian society serves as an example of a social structure which has shed a lot of stratification-related characteristics, though it still holds onto certain remnants of its former caste society.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Kulikov |first=L.I. |year=2014 |title=Traces of castes and other social strata in the Maldives: a case study of social stratification in a diachronic perspective (ethnographic, historic, and linguistic evidence) |url=https://hdl.handle.net/1887/32215 |journal=Zeitschrift für Ethnologie |volume=139 |issue=2 |pages=199–213 [205] |hdl=1887/32215 }}</ref>

== Buddhist period ==
[[File:gan L03s1.jpg|thumb|right|The Buddhist stupa at Kuruhinna in Gan Island (Haddhunmathi Atoll), western side]]
[[File:Loamaafaanu.jpg|thumb|right|[[Isdhoo (Laamu Atoll)|Isdhoo]] Lōmāfānu is the oldest [[Lōmāfānu|copper plate]] book to have been discovered in the Maldives to date; the book was written in 1194 A.D., in the Evēla form of the [[Dhivehi Writing Systems|Divehi akuru]], during the reign of [[Dhinei of the Maldives|Siri Fennaadheettha Mahaa Radun (Dhinei Kalaminja)]]
]]
{{main|Buddhism in the Maldives}}

Despite being just mentioned briefly in most history books, the 1,400-year-long Buddhist period has foundational importance in the history of the Maldives. It was during this period that much of the culture of the Maldives developed and flourished. The Maldivian [[Dhivehi language|language]], the first Maldive [[Dhivehi Writing Systems|scripts]], the architecture, the ruling institutions, and the customs and manners of the Maldivians originated from the time when the Maldives were a Buddhist kingdom.<ref>Clarence Maloney. ''People of the Maldive Islands.'' Orient Longman</ref>{{Page needed|date=February 2020}}

Before embracing Buddhism as their way of life, Maldivians had practised an ancient form of [[Hinduism]], specifically [[ritual]]istic traditions known as Śrauta in the form of venerating the [[Surya]] (the ancient ruling caste were of Aadheetta or Suryavanshi origins).{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

Buddhism likely spread to the Maldives in the third century B.C., the time of [[Aśoka]]. Nearly all archaeological remains in the Maldives are from Buddhist [[stupa]]s and monasteries, and all artefacts found to date display characteristic Buddhist iconography. Archeological evidence from an ancient Buddhist monastery in [[Kaashidhoo (Kaafu Atoll)|Kaashidhoo]] has been dated between 205 and 560 AD, based on the radiocarbon dating of shell deposits unearthed from the foundations of [[stupa]]s and other structures in the monastery.<ref name="mikkelsen2000">{{cite journal |last=Mikkelsen |first=Egil |year=2000 |title=Archaeological Excavations of a Monastery at Kaashidhoo. Cowrie shells and their Buddhist context in the Maldives. |url=https://maritimeasiaheritage.cseas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Mikkelsen-Egil.-2000.-Archaeological-Excavations-of-a-Monastery-at-Kaasidhoo.pdf |isbn=99915-1-013-3|journal=National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research |publisher=University of Oslo, Norway. |access-date=2025-01-25}}</ref>

Maldivian Buddhist (and Hindu) temples were [[mandala]]-shaped and oriented according to the four cardinal points, with the main gate facing the east. Ancient Buddhist stupas are locally called "havitta," "hatteli," or "ustubu" depending on the atoll; these stupas and other archaeological remains, like foundations of [[Vihāra]], with compound walls and stone baths, are found on many islands of the Maldives. They usually lie buried under mounds of sand and are covered by vegetation. Local historian Hassan Ahmed Maniku counted as many as 59 islands with Buddhist archaeological sites in a provisional list he published in 1990. The largest monuments of the Buddhist era are in the islands fringing the eastern side of the [[Haddhunmathi Atoll]].<ref>{{cite web
| url = https://maldivestraveller.mv/en/news/maldives-stories/buddhist-era
| title = Maldives' intriguing Buddhist era
| website = Maldives Traveller
| date = 29 April 2022
| access-date = 3 May 2025
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url = https://www.eurasiareview.com/18092024-need-to-study-maldives-buddhist-past-oped/
| title = Need To Study Maldives' Buddhist Past – OpEd
| website = Eurasia Review
| date = 18 September 2024
| access-date = 3 May 2025
}}</ref>

In the early 11th century, the [[Minicoy Island|Minicoy]] and Thiladhunmathi, and possibly other northern Atolls, were conquered by the [[Medieval Cholas|medieval Chola]] Tamil emperor [[Raja Raja Chola I]], after which they became a part of the [[Chola dynasty|Chola Empire]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

The unification of the archipelago is traditionally attributed to King [[Koimala]]. According to a legend from [[Maldivian folklore]], in the early 12th century A.D., a medieval prince named [[Koimala of the Maldives|Koimala]], who was a nobleman of the Lion Race from Sri Lanka, sailed to Rasgetheemu island (literally "Town of the Royal House" or figuratively "King's Town") in the North Maalhosmadulu Atoll. From there, he sailed to Malé and established a kingdom named [[Kingdom of Dheeva Maari|Dheeva Mari]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2016}}

By then, the Aaditta (Sun dynasty, from the [[Suryavansha|Suryavanshi]] ruling caste) had ceased to rule in Malé, possibly because of invasions by the Cholas of southern India in the 10th century. Koimala, who reigned as King Mahaabarana, was a king of the Homa (Lunar dynasty, from the [[Chandravanshi]] ruling caste), which some historians call the [[House of Theemuge]].<ref name="Maldives Royal Family">{{cite web |date=21 July 1938 |title=The Lion Throne Coronation Proclamation of King Siri Kula Sudha Ira Siyaaka Saathura Audha Keerithi Katthiri Bovana |url=https://maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_proclamation_sultan.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100515033213/http://maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_proclamation_sultan.shtml |archive-date=15 May 2010 |access-date=30 April 2017 |work=Maldives Royal Family}}</ref> The Homa sovereigns intermarried with the Aaditta sovereigns. This is why the formal titles of Maldivian kings, until 1968, contained references to "kula sudha ira", meaning "descended from the Moon and the Sun". No official record exists of the Aaditta dynasty's reign.

Since Koimala's reign, the Maldives' throne was known as the Singaasana or Lion Throne.<ref name="Maldives Royal Family" /> Before then, and in some situations since, it was also known as the Saridhaaleys or Ivory Throne.<ref name="koimala">{{cite web |title=Legend of Koimala Kalou |url=https://maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_koimala.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100515030828/http://maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_koimala.shtml |archive-date=15 May 2010 |access-date=30 April 2017 |work=Maldives Royal Family}}</ref> Some historians credit Koimala with freeing the Maldives from [[Chola empire|Chola]] rule.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

Western interest in the archaeological remains of early cultures in the Maldives began with the work of [[Harry Charles Purvis Bell|H.C.P. Bell]], a [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] commissioner of the [[Ceylon Civil Service]].<ref name=":0" /> Bell was first ordered to the islands in late 1879<ref>This was to care for a shipwrecked British steamer's load. Bell moreover had the chance to spend two or three in Malé, on the same occasion. See: Bethia Nancy Bell, Heather M. Bell: ''H.C.P. Bell: Archaeologist of Ceylon and the Maldives,'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=BjlmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Sea-Gull%22 p.16.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230403221724/https://books.google.com/books?id=BjlmAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Sea-Gull%22 |date=3 April 2023 }}</ref> and returned several times to the Maldives to investigate ancient ruins.<ref name=":0" /> He studied the ancient mounds, called havitta or ustubu (names derived from [[stupa|chaitiya]] and [[stupa]]), which were found on many of the atolls. Notably, there's one [[Fua Mulaku Havitta|Havitta]] on [[Fuvahmulah]].

Early scholars—like Bell, who resided in Sri Lanka for most of his life—have claimed that Buddhism came to the Maldives from [[Sri Lanka]] and that the ancient Maldivians followed [[Theravada Buddhism]]. Since then, new archaeological discoveries point to [[Mahayana]] and [[Vajrayana]] Buddhist influences as well, which are likely to have come to the islands straight from the Indian subcontinent.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} An urn discovered in Maalhos (the [[Ari Atoll]]) in the 1980s had a [[Vajra|Vishvavajra]] inscribed with [[Bengali–Assamese script|Protobengali]] script. This text was in the same script used in the ancient Buddhist centers of learning in [[Nalanda]] and [[Vikramashila]].

Later, in the mid-1980s, the Maldivian government allowed Norwegian explorer [[Thor Heyerdahl]] to excavate ancient sites.<ref name=":1">{{Harvnb|Ryavec|1995|p=258}}.</ref> Heyerdahl studied the ancient mounds, or Havitta, found on many atolls.<ref name=":1" /> Some of his archaeological discoveries of stone figures and carvings from pre-Islamic civilisations are today exhibited in a side room of the small [[National Museum (Maldives)|National Museum]].<ref name=":1" /> Heyerdahl's research indicates that as early as 2,000 B.C., the Maldives were a part of the maritime trading routes of early Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Indus Valley civilisations.<ref name=":1" />

In the National Museum, there is also a small porites stupa; on it, the directional [[Five Dhyani Buddhas|Dhyani Buddha]]s (Jinas) were etched in its four cardinal points in the [[Mahayana]] tradition. Some coral blocks with fearsome heads of guardians also displayed [[Vajrayana]] Iconography. 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. Among these remains were a Buddha head and stone foundations of a Vihara.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}

== Islamic period ==
{{See also|Islam in Maldives}}

=== Introduction of Islam ===
[[File:Yousuftabrizi.jpg|thumb|A plaque in [[Malé Friday Mosque|Hukuru Mosque]], Malé, Maldives, placed by [[Ibrahim Iskandar I|Sultan Ibrahim Iskandhar]] on which Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari's name is written; his last name can also be read as "at-Tabrizi" instead of "al-Barbari"]]
[[File:Friday_mosque_minaret_Male1981.jpg|thumb|right|[[Malé Friday Mosque]] minaret (1981)]]

The importance of the Arabs as traders in the Indian Ocean during the 12th century may partly explain why the last Buddhist king of Maldives, [[Dhovemi of the Maldives|Dhovemi]], converted to [[Islam]] in the year 1153<ref name=":1" /> (or 1193, as certain copper plate grants give a later date{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}). The king adopted the Muslim title and name of Sultan Muhammad al Adil, thus initiating a series of [[Sultanate of Maldives|six dynasties]] consisting of 84 sultans and sultanas that lasted until 1932 when the sultanate became elective.<ref name=":1" /> The formal title of the Sultan up to 1965 was, Sultan of Land and Sea, Lord of the Twelve-Thousand Islands, and Sultan of the Maldives, which came with the address of [[highness]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

The person traditionally deemed responsible for this religious conversion in the Maldives was a [[Sunni]] Muslim visitor named Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari.<ref name=":1" /> His venerated tomb now stands on the grounds of Medhu Ziyaaraiy, across the street from the [[Malé Friday Mosque|Hukuru Mosque]] in the capital [[Malé]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} Built in 1656, this remains the oldest mosque in Malé.<ref name=":1" />

In Maldivian history books, the [[#Introduction of Islam|introduction of Islam]] at the end of the 12th century is considered the cornerstone of the country's history. The time before Islam is designated the time of [[Jahiliyyah]], or ignorance.

Compared to other areas of South Asia, the conversion of the Maldives to Islam happened relatively late. Arab Traders had converted populations in the [[Malabar Coast]] since the seventh century, and the Arab conqueror [[Muhammad bin Qasim|Muhammad Bin Qāsim]] had converted large swathes of [[Sindh]] to Islam at around the same time. Meanwhile, the Maldives remained a Buddhist kingdom for another five hundred years, perhaps the southwest most Buddhist country, until its eventual conversion to Islam.

Certain artefacts, known as Dhanbidhū [[Lōmāfānu]], give information about the suppression of Buddhism in the southern [[Haddhunmathi Atoll]], previously a major center of that religion. Monks were taken to Malé and beheaded, and the Satihirutalu (the Chatravali crowning a stupa) were broken to disfigure the numerous stupas; additionally, the statues of [[Vairocana]], the transcendent [[Buddhahood|Buddha]] of the middle world region, were destroyed. {{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

Arab interest in Maldives was also reflected in [[Ibn Battuta]]h's residence there in the 1340s.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ryavec|1995|pp=258–259}}.</ref> A well-known North African traveller, 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 [[Rannamaari|Ranna Maari]], a demon coming from the sea.<ref>Ibn Battuta, Travels in Asia and Africa 1325–1354, tr. and ed. H. A. R. Gibb (London: Broadway House, 1929)</ref> Even though this report has been contested in later sources, some find that it does explain some crucial aspects of Maldivian culture. For instance, Arabic has historically been the prime language of administration in the Maldives rather than the Persian and Urdu languages used in the nearby Muslim states. Another link to North Africa is possibly the [[Maliki]] school of jurisprudence, used throughout most of North Africa, which was the official one of the Maldives until the 17th century.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite book |last=Dunn |first=Ross E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF2spo9BKacC |title=The Adventures of Ibn Battuta, a Muslim Traveler of the Fourteenth Century |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1986 |isbn=9780520057715 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412233846/https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF2spo9BKacC |archive-date=12 April 2016 |url-status=live}}{{Page needed|date=June 2024}}</ref>

[[Berbers|Berber]] Muslim Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari is traditionally credited for the Maldives' Islamic conversion. 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."<ref>{{cite book|last1=Battutah|first1=Ibn|title=The Travels of Ibn Battutah|date=2002|publisher=Picador|location=London|isbn=9780330418799|pages=235–236, 320}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated1 /> Some scholars also have suggested the possibility of Ibn Battuta misreading Maldivian texts and having a bias towards the North African, Maghrebi narrative of this Shaykh, instead of the East African or Persian origins account that was also well known at the time.<ref>{{Citation|last=Honchell|first=Stephanie|title=Sufis, Sea Monsters, and Miraculous Circumcisions: Comparative Conversion Narratives and Popular Memories of Islamization|page=5|year=2018|publisher=World History Connected | quote = reference to Ibn Battuta's theory that this figure hailed from Morocco, citation 12 of this article mentions that other accounts identify Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari as East African or Persian. As a Maghribi himself, Ibn Battuta likely felt partial to the Moroccan version.}}</ref>

Scholars have posited another scenario where Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari might have been a native of [[Berbera|Barbera]], a significant trading port on the northwestern coast of [[Somalia]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_G5Qpc2dBI |title=Richard Bulliet – History of the World to 1500 CE (Session 22) – Tropical Africa and Asia |date=24 November 2010 |last=Columbia University |author-link=Columbia University |via=YouTube |access-date=29 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164502/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_G5Qpc2dBI |archive-date=14 January 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> This is evidenced by, during his visit to [[Mogadishu]], Ibn Batuta's mentioning that the Sultan at that time, Abu Bakr ibn Shaikh Omar, was a Berber. [[Ibn Batuta]] also stated the Maldivian king was converted by Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari.<ref>{{cite book |title=Voyages d'Ibn Battuta:Textes et documents retrouves |last1=Ibn Batuta |date=1968 |publisher=Anthropos |editor1-last=Monteil |editor1-first=Vincent |page=127|language=ar}}</ref>

Another interpretation, held by more reliable local historical chronicles, ''Raadavalhi'' and ''Taarikh'',<ref name="Visweswaran2011">{{cite book|author=Kamala Visweswaran|title=Perspectives on Modern South Asia: A Reader in Culture, History, and Representation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-EYXNnvMugC&q=candles+ships+jinn&pg=PA164|date=6 May 2011|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4051-0062-5|pages=164–|access-date=2 October 2020|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503032121/https://books.google.com/books?id=m-EYXNnvMugC&q=candles+ships+jinn&pg=PA164|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="sw">{{cite book|author=Ishtiaq Ahmed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jt8rBgAAQBAJ&q=islam+outside+the+arab+world+maldives&pg=PA250|title=Islam Outside the Arab World|year=2002|isbn=9780253022608|editor=Ingvar Svanberg|page=250| publisher=Routledge |editor2=David Westerlund|access-date=2 October 2020|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503032057/https://books.google.com/books?id=Jt8rBgAAQBAJ&q=islam+outside+the+arab+world+maldives&pg=PA250|url-status=live}}</ref> is that Abu al-Barakat Yusuf al-Barbari was Abdul Barakat Yusuf Shams ud-Dīn [[Tabriz|at-Tabrīzī]], also locally known as Tabrīzugefānu.<ref>[[HCP Bell]], ''The Máldive Islands. Monograph on the History, Archæology, and Epigraphy'' with W. L. De Silva, Colombo 1940</ref> In the Arabic script, the words al-Barbari and al-Tabrizi are very much alike, since at the time, Arabic had several consonants that looked identical and could only be differentiated by overall context. (This has since changed by addition of dots above or below letters to clarify pronunciation. For example, the letter "B" in modern Arabic has a dot below, whereas the letter "T" looks identical except there are two dots above it.) In sum, "'''ٮوسڡ الٮٮرٮرى'''" could be read as "Yusuf at-Tabrizi" or "Yusuf al-Barbari."<ref>{{cite book|last=Paul |first= Ludwig|title=Persian Origins--: Early Judaeo-Persian and the Emergence of New Persian: Collected Papers of the Symposium, Göttingen 1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DuKN47W68SkC&pg=PA31|year=2003|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-04731-9|page=31|access-date=30 April 2017|archive-date=15 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915151831/https://books.google.com/books?id=DuKN47W68SkC&pg=PA31|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Cowrie shells and coir trade ===

[[File:Cypraea-moneta-001.jpg|thumb|left|1742 drawing of cowry shells]]
Inhabitants of the Middle East became interested in the Maldives due to its strategic location. Middle Eastern seafarers had just begun to take over the Indian Ocean trade routes in the 10th century and found the Maldives to be an important link to those routes.<ref name=":1" /> Specifically, the Maldives was the first landfall for traders from [[Basra]] sailing to [[Sri Lanka]] or Southeast Asia.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} [[Bengal]] was one of the principal trading partners of the Maldives.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} Trade between these regions involved mainly cowrie shells and coir fibre.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

The Maldives had an abundant supply of [[cowrie shells|cowry shells]], a form of currency that was widely used throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast.<ref name=":1" /> [[Shell currency]] imported from the Maldives was used as legal tender in the [[Bengal Sultanate]] and [[Mughal Bengal]] alongside gold and silver. In exchange for cowry shells, the Maldives received rice; the Bengal-Maldives cowry shell trade was the largest shell currency trade network in history.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TXphAAAAQBAJ|title=Linking Destinies: Trade, Towns and Kin in Asian History|first=P.|last=Boomgaard|date=1 January 2008|publisher=BRILL|via=Google Books|isbn=9789004253995|access-date=30 April 2017|archive-date=6 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106131821/https://books.google.com/books?id=TXphAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The local name for cowry shells is Boli. There are several hundreds of these shells found on the beaches of the islands even today.

The other essential product of the Maldives was [[coir]], the fibre of the dried coconut husk. Cured in pits, beaten, spun, and then twisted into [[Rope|cordage]] and [[rope]]s, coir's salient quality is its resistance to saltwater. It was used to stitch together and rig the [[dhow]]s that plied the Indian Ocean. Maldivian coir was exported to [[Sindh]], China, [[Yemen]], and the [[Persian Gulf]]. "It is stronger than [[hemp]]," wrote [[Ibn Battuta]], "and is used to sew together the planks of Sindhi and Yemeni dhows, for this sea abounds in reefs, and if the planks were fastened with iron nails, they would break into pieces when the vessel hit a rock. The coir gives the boat greater elasticity, so that it doesn't break up."

== Colonial period ==
[[File:1598 Middleburg Bertius Maldives map latin.jpg|thumb|right|1598 [[Bertius]] map of the Maldives, issued in [[Middelburg, Zeeland|Middelburg]], [[Netherlands]]]]

=== Portuguese colonisation and local revolt ===
{{main|Maldivian–Portuguese conflicts}}
In 1558, the [[Portuguese Empire]] established a colony in the [[Maldives]], which they administered from their main colony in [[Goa]]. This colony included the west coast of modern-day [[Kerala]], Karnataka, and [[Portuguese Ceylon|Ceylon]]. The Portuguese tried to impose Christianity on the locals; one native ruler converted to Christianity during this period and married D. Francisca de Vasconcelos, an [[Órfãs d'El-Rei|órfãs do rei]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gracias |first=Fatima da Silva |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TbZaZw216gMC&dq=orfas+do+rei&pg=PA38 |title=Kaleidoscope of Women in Goa, 1510–1961 |date=1996 |publisher=Concept Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-7022-591-1 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1573, a local leader named [[Muhammad Thakurufaanu al-Auzam|Muhammad Thakurufaanu-al-A'uzam]] and his two brothers, Ali and Hassan, from [[Utheemu (Haa Alif Atoll)|Utheemu]] of North Thiladhumathi Atoll, organised a popular revolt to drive out the Portuguese from the islands.<ref>{{Cite web |title=އައްސުލްޠާނުލް ޤާޒީ މުޙަންމަދު ތަކުރުފާނުލް އަޢުޘަމް ސިރީ ސަވާދީއްތަ މަހާރަދުން |trans-title=As-Sultan Ghaazee Muhammad Thakurufaan Al-Auzam Siri Savaadheetha Mahaaradhun |url=https://www.qaumiyyath.gov.mv/docs/whitepapers/history/Mohamed%20Thakurufaanu.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112103748/https://www.qaumiyyath.gov.mv/docs/whitepapers/history/Mohamed%20Thakurufaanu.pdf |archive-date=12 November 2023 |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research}}</ref> The three brothers landed on a different island every night; they would fight the Portuguese and return to [[Utheemu (Haa Alif Atoll)|Utheemu]] before daybreak. On the first day of [[Rabi' al-Awwal]], the brothers reached [[Malé]]. It had been rumoured that the Portuguese garrison of Andreas Andre (locally known as Andhiri Andhirin, meaning "dark dark" or, in English, "Andrew Andrew")<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Maldives |url=https://letsgomaldives.com/maldives/ |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=Lets Go Maldives}}</ref> had planned to come to the island and forcibly convert the local Maldivians into Christianity the night after. Knowing this, the local fighters were ready to die for their faith and people, to liberate their people from the outsiders. According to reports, Andreas Andre was killed by a [[musket]] shot by Muhammad Thakurufaanu himself. This eventually resulted in the surrender of the Portuguese troops, who thus left the islands. Afterwards, the local islanders chose Muhammad Thakurufaanu to be their sultan in 1573, thus putting the [[Utheemu dynasty]] in power until 1697.<ref>{{Cite web |last=GihKiyaafa |date=3 November 2018 |title=The story of Muhammad Thakurufaanu is a story of bravery and freedom |url=https://www.facebook.com/GihKiyaafa/photos/the-story-of-muhammad-thakurufaanu-is-a-story-of-bravery-and-freedom-from-the-co/2183144661898463/?_rdr |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240629122023/https://www.facebook.com/GihKiyaafa/photos/the-story-of-muhammad-thakurufaanu-is-a-story-of-bravery-and-freedom-from-the-co/2183144661898463/?_rdr |archive-date=29 June 2024 |access-date=29 June 2024 |via=Facebook}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2025}}

Every first day of Rabi' al-Awwal, the Maldives observes the [[Qaumee Dhuvas (Maldives National Day)|Gaumee Dhuvas]], or Maldives National Day, in remembrance of Muhammad Thakurufaanu. His home in Utheemu is known locally as Utheemu Ganduvaru or Utheemu Palace. Many pieces of furniture that were inside the house are now located inside the [[National Museum (Maldives)|Maldives National Museum]] in [[Malé]]. A memorial center is also located near Utheemu Ganduvaru.

=== Dutch hegemony ===
{{Main|Dutch Ceylon|History of Sri Lanka}}
In the mid-17th century, the [[Dutch colonial empire|Dutch]] came to take over the Maldives, and in the late 1650s (around 1658), the Dutch colonised the islands. They administered their colony in [[Dutch Ceylon|Ceylon]], which in turn was administered by the [[Dutch East India Company]]. They then established [[hegemony]] over Maldivian affairs without directly involving themselves in local matters, which remained governed according to centuries-old Islamic customs.

In 1796, the local revolt disrupted the colonists; with [[British Empire|British]] interference and pressure, the Dutch stepped down from the islands.<gallery class="center">
File:1662 Tabula Indiae Orientalis by Wit BPL 15922 detail.png|Map from the 1662 ''Tabula Indiae orientalis'' by [[Frederik de Wit]]
File:18th-century Maldives map by Pierre Mortier.jpg|18th-century map by [[Pierre Mortier]] of the [[Netherlands]] depicting, with detail, the islands of the [[Maldives]]
File:AriAtoll 1753.jpg|1753 Van Keulen map of [[Ari Atoll]]
File:Huvadu 1753.jpg|1753 Van Keulen map of [[Huvadu Atoll]] (inaccurate)
</gallery>

=== British protectorate ===
{{See also|British Ceylon}}
[[File:Corbin at Maldivia.png|thumb|left|The wreck of the ''Corbin'', 1865]]
The British expelled the Dutch from Ceylon in 1796, after which they designated Maldives as a British-protected area.<ref name=":2">{{Harvnb|Ryavec|1995|p=259}}.</ref> Britain had gotten involved with the Maldives as a result of domestic disturbances which targeted the settler community of [[Musta'li|Bora]] merchants, who were British subjects in the 1860s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Working Together to Protect U.S. Organizations Overseas |url=https://www.osac.gov/Country/Maldives/Content/Detail/Report/b725fb42-776a-444d-8002-16688cc101ce |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101095043/https://www.osac.gov/Country/Maldives/Content/Detail/Report/b725fb42-776a-444d-8002-16688cc101ce |archive-date=1 November 2021 |access-date=1 November 2021 |website=Overseas Security Advisory Council}}</ref> The rivalry between two dominant families, the Athireege clan and the Kakaage clan, was resolved with the former winning the favour of the British authorities in Ceylon.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QPsYEAAAQBAJ&dq=maldives++kakaage&pg=PA202|title=Constitutional Foundings in South Asia
|page=202|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|year=2021|last1=Tan|first1=Kevin|last2=Hoque|first2=Ridwanul|isbn=978-1509930272}}</ref> The status of Maldives as a [[British protectorate]] was officially recorded in an 1887 agreement.<ref name=":2" />

On 16 December 1887, the Sultan of the Maldives [[Muhammad Mueenuddeen II]] signed a contract with the British [[Governor of Ceylon]], turning the Maldives into a [[British protectorate|British-protected state]] and thus giving up the islands' [[sovereignty]] in matters of [[foreign policy]] but retaining internal self-government. 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]]. The status of the islands thus was akin to other British protectorates in the Indian Ocean region, i.e.[[Zanzibar]] and the [[Trucial States]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

During the British era, which lasted until 1965, the Maldives continued to be ruled by a succession of [[sultan]]s.<ref name=":2" /> It was a period during which the Sultan's authority and powers were increasingly and decisively 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 thus the Maldives' first Constitution was proclaimed in 1932. However, the new arrangements favoured neither the Sultan nor the 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.

The Maldives were only marginally affected by the [[Second World War]]. The [[Italian auxiliary cruiser Ramb I]] was sunk off [[Addu Atoll]] in 1941. In March 1944, the [[German submarine U-183]] fired through the Gan channel, torpedoing the oil tanker ''British Loyalty'' that had been anchored in the Addu lagoon. The tanker was damaged but not sunk, and its oil spilt out into the lagoon and beaches. Over time, the ''British Loyalty'' was repaired and remained in the atoll for storage through the rest of the war. It was finally scuttled in January 1946 inside the atoll southeast of Hithadhoo.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://maldivestraveller.mv/en/news/maldives-stories/how-british-brought-world-war|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240623121700/https://maldivestraveller.mv/en/news/maldives-stories/how-british-brought-world-war|archive-date=2024-06-23|title=Fascinating History of How WWII Brought to the Maldives|first=Jonathan|last=Kearney|date=2020-09-23|website=Maldives Traveller|access-date=2024-11-12}}</ref>

After the death of Sultan [[Abdul Majeed Didi|Majeed Didi]] and his son, the members of the parliament elected [[Mohamed Amin Didi]] as the next person in line to succeed him as Sultan.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=President Al Ameer Mohamed Amin |url=https://presidency.gov.mv/PO/FormerPresident/7 |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=[[The President's Office]]}}</ref> However, Didi refused to take up the throne.<ref name=":7" /> Afterwards, a [[1952 Maldivian constitutional referendum|referendum]] was held in 1952, and the Maldives became a republic with Amin Didi as the [[Maldivian presidential election, 1952|first elected]] president, marking the abolition of the 812-year-old sultanate.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Al Ameer Mohamed Amin - The President's Office |url=https://presidency.gov.mv/PO/FormerPresident/7 |access-date=2025-10-29 |website=presidency.gov.mv}}</ref>

While serving as [[Prime Minister of the Maldives|prime minister]] during the 1940s, Didi nationalised the fish export industry.<ref name=":2" /> He has also been remembered as a reformer of the education system and a promoter of [[women's rights]].<ref name=":2" /> However, while he was in Ceylon for medical treatment, a revolution was instigated by the people of [[Malé]], headed by his deputy [[Ibrahim Muhammad Didi|Velaanaagey Ibraahim Didi]].<ref name=":42">{{Cite news |last=Hamdhoon |first=Mohamed |date=16 October 2020 |title=އިބްރާހިމް ދީދީ: ބާރުވެރިކަން، އިންގިލާބު އަދި އަރުވާލުން! |trans-title=Ibrahim Didi: Power, Revolution and Exile! |url=https://mihaaru.com/report/81661 |access-date=10 May 2024 |work=[[Mihaaru]]}}</ref> When Amin Didi returned, he was confined to [[Dhoonidhoo]] Island.<ref name=":42" /> He escaped to Malé and tried to take control of Bandeyrige but was beaten by an angry mob. He died soon after.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Faiza |first=Aminath |author-link=Aminath Faiza |title=އަމީނުގެ ހަނދާން |year=1999 |trans-title=Amin's remembrance}}{{Page needed|date=June 2024}}</ref><ref name=":52">{{Cite news |date=15 November 2015 |title=Killed, exiled or deposed |url=https://maldivesindependent.com/feature-comment/killed-exiled-and-deposed-119827 |access-date=10 May 2024 |work=Maldives Independent}}</ref>

After the fall of Didi, a [[1953 Maldivian constitutional referendum|referendum]] was held in 1953. Ultimately, 98% of the people voted in favour of restoration of the monarchy,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vnews.mv/29455|title=Republic Day: The celebrations of November 11th|access-date=2 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830174416/http://vnews.mv/29455|archive-date=30 August 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> so the country was once again declared a Sultanate. A new parliament was elected, as the former had been dissolved after the end of the revolution. The new parliament members decided to take a secret vote to elect a sultan, after which Prince [[Muhammad Fareed Didi]] was elected as the 84th Sultan in 1954. His first Prime Minister was [[Ibrahim Ali Didi|Ibraahim Ali Didi]], later known as Ibraahim Faamuladheyri Kilegefaan. On 11 December 1957, the Prime Minister was forced to resign, and Velaanagey Ibrahim Nasir was elected in his place the following day.

<gallery class="center">
Part of the reception-room of the High Priest, showing the bed and shields used by the fencers, 1885 - The Graphic 1886.gif|Illustration by CW Rosett in ''The Graphic'' depicting the royal palace
Thottiyan hut.jpg|A hut of Tottiyan from Male island (illustration by Edgar Thurston, 1909)
Mohamed Amin.jpg|[[Muhammad Amin Didi]], President of the First Maldivian Republic (1953)
</gallery>

=== British military presence and Suvadive secession ===
[[File:1920_Maldives_map_BPL_12595_detail.png|thumb|right|1920 British map of the Maldives]]
Beginning in the 1950s, political history in Maldives was largely influenced by the British military presence in the islands.<ref name=":2" /> In 1954, the restoration of the sultanate still perpetuated the rule of the past.<ref name=":3">{{Harvnb|Ryavec|1995|p=260}}.</ref> Two years later, however, the United Kingdom obtained permission to reestablish its wartime [[RAF Gan]] airfield in [[Addu Atoll]].<ref name=":3" /> The Maldives then granted the British a 100-year lease on Gan that required them to pay {{Currency|2000|£}} a year and around 440,000 square meters on Hitaddu for radio installations.<ref name=":3" /> This served as a staging post for British military flights to the east and Australia, replacing [[RAF Mauripur]] in Pakistan (which had been relinquished in 1956).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Association of RAF Mauripur |url=http://rafmauripur.org.uk/home%20page.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705140246/http://rafmauripur.org.uk/home%20page.htm |archive-date=5 July 2008 |website=Association of RAF Mauripur}}</ref>

In 1957, Nasir called for a review of the agreement in the interest of shortening the lease and increasing the annual payment.<ref name=":3" /> He also announced a new tax on boats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The history of Maldives achieving its Independence |url=https://edition.mv/report/25379 |access-date=2026-05-01 |website=edition.mv |language=en}}</ref> However, Nasir was challenged in 1959 by a local secessionist movement in the southern atolls which benefited economically from the British presence on [[Gan (Addu Atoll)|Gan]].<ref name=":3" /> This group cut ties with the Maldives government and formed an independent state, the [[United Suvadive Republic]], with [[Abdullah Afeef]] as president.<ref name=":3" /> The short-lived state (1959–63) had a combined population of 20,000 inhabitants scattered over [[Huvadhu Atoll|Huvadu]], [[Addu Atoll|Addu]] and [[Fuvahmulah|Fua Mulaku]].<ref name=":3" />

Afeef pleaded for support and recognition from Britain in the 25 May 1959 edition of [[The Times|''The Times of London'']].<ref name="times19590529">{{Cite web |date=25 May 1959 |title=Situation in the Maldives (Letter to the Editor) |url=https://maldivesroyalfamily.com/maldives_suvadive_afif_letter.shtml |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=Maldives Royal Family}}</ref> However, the initial lukewarm support from the British for the small breakaway nation was withdrawn in 1961 when the British signed a treaty with the Maldive Islands without involving Afeef.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} Following that treaty, the Suvadives had to endure an economic embargo.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} Furthermore, in 1962, Nasir sent [[gunboat]]s from Malé, with government police on board, to eliminate elements opposed to his rule.<ref name=":3" /> One year later, the United Suvadive Republic was scrapped,{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} and Abdullah Afif went into exile to the [[Seychelles]]<ref name=":3" /> where he later died in 1993.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abdullah Afif Didi (Hansard, 5 December 1963) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1963/dec/05/abdullah-afif-didi |access-date=2024-09-02 |publisher=Parliament of the United Kingdom}}</ref>

Meanwhile, in 1960, the Maldives had allowed the United Kingdom to continue to use both the [[RAF Gan|Gan]] and the Hitaddu facilities for a 30-year period with a payment of {{Currency|750,000|£}} over the period of 1960–1965 for the purpose of Maldives' economic development.<ref name=":3" /> 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.<ref name="gan.philliptsmall.me.uk">{{cite web |url=http://gan.philliptsmall.me.uk/00%20-%20Articles/PeterGeary%20%5BBritish%20Empire%5D.htm |title=The Sun never sets on the British Empire |publisher=Gan.philliptsmall.me.uk |date=17 May 1971 |access-date=2 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919212227/http://gan.philliptsmall.me.uk/00%20-%20Articles/PeterGeary%20%5BBritish%20Empire%5D.htm |archive-date=19 September 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

<gallery class="center">
Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945 CF619.jpg|[[RAF]] camp on Addu Atoll established in 1944 as a base for [[flying boat]]s operating in the Indian Ocean
Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945 CF620.jpg|[[RAF]] [[Short Sunderland]] moored in the lagoon at Addu Atoll during World War II
File:Royal Air Force Operations in the Far East, 1941-1945 CF632.jpg|A wind break constructed from ration boxes protecting the small RAF camp at [[Kelai, Maldives|Kelai]], Maldive Islands, which served as a refuelling base for flying boats operating in the Indian Ocean
Abdullah Afeef.png|[[Abdullah Afif]], leader of the secessionist [[United Suvadive Republic]] (1959–1963)
Coat of arms the United Suvadive Republic.svg|Coat of arms of the secessionist [[United Suvadive Republic]]
</gallery>

==Independence==
On 26 July 1965, Maldives gained independence under an agreement signed with United Kingdom.<ref name=":3" /> However, the British government retained the use of the [[RAF Gan|Gan]] and Hithadhoo facilities.<ref name=":3" /> Later, in a national [[1968 Maldivian constitutional referendum|referendum in March 1968]], Maldivians abolished the sultanate and established a republic.<ref name=":3" />

In line with the broader British policy of [[decolonisation]] on 26 July 1965, an agreement was signed on behalf of His Majesty the Sultan by [[Ibrahim Nasir]] Rannabandeyri Kilegefan, Prime Minister, and on behalf of [[Elizabeth II|Her Majesty The Queen]] by Sir [[Michael Walker (diplomat)|Michael Walker]], British ambassador designate to the Maldive Islands. This ended the British responsibility for the "Defence and External Affairs" of the Maldives. The islands thus achieved full political independence, with the ceremony taking place at the British High Commissioner's Residence in [[Colombo]]. After this, the sultanate continued for another three years under [[Muhammad Fareed Didi]], who declared himself King rather than Sultan.

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 favour of a republic. On 15 March 1968, [[1968 Maldivian constitutional referendum|a national referendum]] was held on the question, and 81.23% of those taking part voted in favour of establishing a republic.<ref>{{Cite web |date= 15 March 1968|title=Malediven, 15. März 1968 : Staatsform |trans-title=Maldives, 15 March 1968: Form of government |url=https://www.sudd.ch/event.php?id=mv011968 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170314152455/http://www.sudd.ch/event.php?lang=en&id=mv011968 |archive-date=14 March 2017 |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=Direct Democracy |language=de}}</ref> The republic was declared on 11 November 1968, thus ending the 853-year-old monarchy. [[Ibrahim Nasir]], the former prime minister, became the republic's first president. Under the new constitution, Nasir was elected indirectly to a four-year presidential term by the [[Majlis]] (legislature)<ref name=":3" /> and his candidacy later ratified by [[1968 Maldivian presidential election|referendum]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} He appointed [[Ahmed Zaki (politician)|Ahmed Zaki]] as the new prime minister.<ref name=":3" /> As the Maldives' king had held little real power before, this was seen as a cosmetic change and required few alterations in the structures of government.

===Nasir presidency===
In 1973, Nasir was elected to a second term under the constitution as amended in 1972, which extended the presidential term to five years and also provided for the election of the prime minister by the parliament.<ref name=":3" /> In March 1975, Zaki was arrested in a bloodless coup and was banished to a remote atoll.<ref name=":3" /> Observers suggested that Zaki had been becoming too popular and hence posed a threat to the Nasir faction.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ryavec|1995|pp=260–261}}.</ref>

Nasir is widely credited with modernising the long-isolated and nearly unknown Maldives by introducing new avenues to connect with the rest of the world, including the development of its first international airport ([[Malé International Airport]]) in 1966 and ushering the Maldives into [[Member states of the United Nations|United Nations membership]]. He also strengthened the economic foundations of the nation by modernising the [[Fishing industry in the Maldives|fisheries industry]] with mechanised vessels and triggered the [[Tourism in the Maldives|tourism industry]]—the two prime drivers of today's Maldivian economy. [[Tourism in the Maldives]] developed further through the 1970s; the first resort was [[Kurumba Maldives]] which welcomed its first guests on 3 October 1972.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hyde |first=Neil |date=21 November 2012 |title=Maldives magic uncorked |url=https://express.co.uk/travel/articles/358753/Maldives-magic-uncorked |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[Daily Express]]}}</ref>

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. He also brought television and radio to the country with formation of ''[[Television Maldives]]'' and ''[[Radio Maldives]]'' for broadcasting radio signals nationwide. Furthermore, he abolished Vaaru, a tax on the people living on islands outside [[Malé]]. The first accurate census was held in December 1977 and showed 142,832 persons residing in Maldives.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ryavec|1995|p=265}}.</ref>

However, during the 1970s, the economic situation in Maldives suffered a setback when the Sri Lankan market for Maldives' main export of dried fish collapsed.<ref name=":4">{{Harvnb|Ryavec|1995|p=261}}.</ref> Additionally, the British closed its airfield on [[Gan (Seenu Atoll)|Gan]] in 1975.<ref name=":4" /> A steep commercial decline followed its evacuation.<ref name=":4" /> As a result, the popularity of Nasir's government suffered.<ref name=":4" /> Furthermore, Nasir was generally criticised for his authoritarian methods against opponents, as well as for his iron-fisted methods in handling an insurrection by the [[Addu Atoll|Addu]] islanders who formed a short-lived breakaway government, the [[United Suvadives Republic]], with closer ties to the British.<ref name="obit">{{cite news |last1=Lang |first1=Olivia |last2=Rasheed |first2=Zaheena |date=22 November 2008 |title=Former President Nasir Dies |url=http://www.minivannews.com/news_detail.php?id=5533 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126080901/http://www.minivannews.com/news_detail.php?id=5533 |archive-date=26 January 2009 |access-date=22 November 2008 |work=Minivan News |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Additionally, Nasir's hasty introduction of the Latin alphabet ([[Malé Latin]]) in 1976, instead of the local [[Thaana]] script, which was reportedly done to promote the use of [[Telegraphy|telex]] machines in the local administration, was widely criticised. Clarence Maloney, a Maldives-based US anthropologist, lamented the inconsistencies of the "Dhivehi Latin" which ignored all previous linguistic research on the [[Maldivian language]] and didn't follow the modern [[International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration|Standard Indic transliteration]].<ref>Clarence Maloney. ''People of the Maldive Islands''</ref> At the time of [[romanisation]], every island's officials were required to use only one script, making them illiterate overnight. (Officials were relieved when the Tāna script was reinstated by President [[Maumoon Abdul Gayoom]] shortly after he took power in 1978. However, [[Malé Latin]] continues to be widely used.)

Maldives's 20-year period of authoritarian rule under Nasir ended in 1978 when he fled to Singapore.<ref name=":4" /> A subsequent investigation revealed that he had absconded with millions of dollars from the state treasury.<ref name=":4" /> When Nasir relinquished power, Maldives was debt-free and the national shipping line with more than 40 ships remained a source of national pride.<ref name="obit" />

===Maumoon presidency===
[[File:Maumoon-Abdul-Gayoom.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Maumoon Abdul Gayoom]], [[President of the Maldives]] (1978–2008)]]

As Ibrahim Nasir's second term was coming to an end, he decided not to pursue re-election. Thus, in June [[1978 Maldivian presidential election|1978]], the Maldives' legislative body, the [[Majlis of the Maldives|Majlis]], convened to nominate a presidential candidate. Nasir received 45 votes (despite his stated intention to not seek re-election), with the remaining 3 votes cast for [[Maumoon Abdul Gayoom]], a former university lecturer and Maldivian ambassador to the United Nations.<ref name="CS">{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://countrystudies.us/maldives/1.htm |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=[[Library of Congress Country Studies|Country Studies]] |publisher=[[Library of Congress]]}}</ref> Another ballot was called on 16 June. Maumoon received 27 votes, emerging as the sole candidate.

Five months later, Maumoon was elected the new [[President of the Maldives]] with 92.96% of the votes. (He would be later re-elected five times as the sole candidate).<ref name="CS" /> The peaceful election was seen as ushering in a period of political stability and economic development due to Maumoon's stated priority to develop rural islands.<ref name=":4" /> In 1978, Maldives joined the [[International Monetary Fund]] and the [[World Bank]].<ref name=":4" /> Tourism also increased in importance to the local economy; the country had more than 120,000 visitors in 1985.<ref name=":4" /> The local populace appeared to benefit from increased tourism, as well as the corresponding increase in foreign contacts involving various development projects.<ref name=":4" />

[[File:FuaMulaku_Demonstration_1981.jpg|thumb|left|A demonstration (Muzhaahira) in [[Fua Mulaku]] in support of the government (1981)]]
There were three attempts to overthrow Maumoon's government during the 1980s: in 1980, 1983, and 1988.<ref name=":4" /> Whereas the 1980 and 1983 coup attempts against Maumoon's presidency weren't considered serious, the [[1988 Maldives coup attempt|third coup attempt in November 1988]] alarmed the international community,<ref name=":4" /> as about 80 armed mercenaries of the [[People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam|PLOTE Tamil]] [[Militant|militant group]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Country Data – Maldives |url=http://www.ipcs.org/ipcs/databaseIndex2.jsp?database=1001&country2=Maldives |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060713060301/http://www.ipcs.org/ipcs/databaseIndex2.jsp?database=1001&country2=Maldives |archive-date=13 July 2006 |access-date=28 October 2006 |website=Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies |df=dmy-all}}</ref> landed on Malé aboard used cargo vessels before dawn; they had taken almost 2 days to arrive Male' and failed to take over the capital city.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}} Their plan was ill-prepared, and by noon, the PLOTE militants and their Maldivian allies fled the country, realising they had already lost. Soon after the militants had left, the [[Indian Armed Forces|Indian Military]] arrived on the request of President Gayoom, and their gun ships chased the fleeing militant vessels. 19 people died in the ensuing fight, including several hostages held by the militants, when the Indian gun ships opened fire. Many mercenaries along with the mastermind of the attempted coup were tried and sentenced to death, and committed to life in prison. Some were eventually pardoned.{{Citation needed|date=August 2021}}

Despite coup attempts, Maumoon served three more presidential terms.<ref name=":4" /> In the [[Maldivian presidential election, 1983|1983]], [[Maldivian presidential election, 1988|1988]], and [[Maldivian presidential election, 1993|1993 elections]], Maumoon received more than 95% of the vote.<ref name=":4" /> Although the government didn't allow any legal opposition, Maumoon was opposed in the early 1990s by the growth of Islamist radicalisation, as well as by some powerful local business leaders.<ref name=":4" />

Maumoon's tenure was marked by several allegations of corruption, autocratic rule, human rights abuses, and corruption.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Naseem |first=Azra |date=21 October 2010 |title=MP Moosa Manik files torture complaint against former President Gayoom |url=http://minivannews.com/news-in-brief/mp-moosa-manik-files-torture-complaint-against-former-president-gayoom-12524 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150217013312/http://minivannews.com/news-in-brief/mp-moosa-manik-files-torture-complaint-against-former-president-gayoom-12524 |archive-date=17 February 2015 |access-date=21 August 2013 |work=Minivan News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=11 September 2008 |title=Gayoom is fully aware of torture in the Maldives |url=http://maverickmagazine.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/gayoom-aware-torture-maldives/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809123948/http://maverickmagazine.wordpress.com/2008/09/11/gayoom-aware-torture-maldives/ |archive-date=9 August 2011 |access-date=21 August 2013 |website=Maverick Magazine}}</ref> Maumoon's opponents and international human rights groups continuously accused him of employing terror tactics against dissidents, such as [[Arbitrary arrest and detention|arbitrary arrests]], [[Indefinite detention|detention without trial]],<ref>{{cite news |date=19 May 2005 |title=Maldives dissident denies crimes |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4560421.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127104359/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4560421.stm |archive-date=27 January 2011 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> employing torture, forced confessions, and politically motivated killings.<ref name="AIR">{{cite web |date=26 May 2004 |title=Amnesty International Report 2004 – Maldives |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,AMNESTY,,MDV,40b5a1fbc,0.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416022139/http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/publisher,AMNESTY,,MDV,40b5a1fbc,0.html |archive-date=16 April 2013 |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=Refworld |publisher=[[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] }}</ref>

==21st century==
=== Democratization ===

During the later part of Maumoon's rule, independent political movements emerged in Maldives which challenged the then-ruling [[Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party]] (Maldivian People's Party, MPP) and demanded democratic reform.

Dissident journalist [[Mohamed Nasheed]] founded the [[Maldivian Democratic Party]] (MDP) in 2003 while in exile. He had been imprisoned a total of 16 times under Maumoon's rule. His activism, as well as other events of civil unrest that year, pressured Maumoon into allowing for gradual political reforms.<ref name="brownpoliticalreview.org">{{Cite web |last1=Brechenmacher |first1=Victor |last2=Mendis |first2=Nikhita |date=22 April 2015 |title=Autocracy and Back Again: The Ordeal of the Maldives |url=https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2015/04/autocracy-and-back-again-the-ordeal-of-the-maldives/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164352/https://brownpoliticalreview.org/2015/04/autocracy-and-back-again-the-ordeal-of-the-maldives/ |archive-date=14 January 2021 |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=Brown Political Review |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== 2003 civil unrest ===
{{Main|2003 Maldives civil unrest}}Since 2003, following the death in custody of a prisoner, [[Hassan Evan Naseem]], the Maldives experienced several anti-government [[Political demonstration|demonstrations]] calling for political reforms, more freedoms, and an end to torture and oppression. Naseem had been killed in [[Maafushi Prison]] after suffering torture by prison staff. An attempt to cover up the death was foiled when the mother of the deceased discovered evidence of torture on his body and made the knowledge public, which triggered widespread protests.

A subsequent disturbance at the prison resulted in three deaths when police guards at the prison opened fire on unarmed inmates. Several government buildings were set on fire during the riots. 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. The report of an inquiry into the prison shootings was heavily censored by the Government, citing "national security" grounds. Pro-reformists claim this was to cover-up the chain of authority and circumstances that led to the killings.

=== Black Friday protests ===
[[File:Old parliament building onfire.jpg|thumb|Building set on fire in Malé during the [[2003 Maldives civil unrest|September 2003 protests]]]]{{Main|Black Friday (Maldives)}}
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.

Beginning on 12 August 2004, up to 5,000 demonstrators got involved. This unplanned and unorganised demonstration was the largest such protest in the country's history. Protesters initially demanding the freeing of the pro-reformists were arrested that afternoon. As the protest continued to grow, people demanded the resignation of president [[Maumoon Abdul Gayoom]], who had been in power since 1978.

What started as a peaceful demonstration ended after 22 hours, marking the country's darkest day in recent history. Several people were severely injured as personnel from the Maldivian National Security Service (NSS)—later known as the Maldivian National Defence Force—used riot batons and teargas on unarmed civilians. After two police officers were reportedly stabbed, allegedly by government [[Agent provocateur|agents provocateur]], President Maumoon declared a [[State of Emergency]] and suppressed the demonstration, suspending all human rights guaranteed under the Constitution and thus banning demonstrations and the expression of views critical of the government. At least 250 pro-reform protesters were arrested. 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.[[File:Ilyas_Black.jpg|thumb|left|Protesters in Malé in August 2004]]As a result of these activities, political parties were eventually allowed in June 2005. The main parties registered in Maldives are: the [[Maldivian Democratic Party]] (MDP), the [[Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party|Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party]] (DRP), the [[Islamic Democratic Party (Maldives)|Islamic Democratic Party]] (IDP), and the [[Adhaalath Party]] (AP). The first party to register was the MDP, headed by popular opposition figures such as Nasheed (Anni) and [[Mohamed Latheef]] (Gogo). The next was the [[Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party]] (DRP), headed by Maumoon.

=== 2005 protests ===
{{Main|2005 Maldives civil unrest}}
[[File:Civil unrest in the Maldives (2005).jpg|thumb|Protesters in Malé in August 2005]]
New civil unrest broke out in [[Malé]] on [[Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll]], as well as [[Addu Atoll]], on 12 August 2005, which led to events that supported the democratic reform of the country. This unrest was provoked by Nasheed's arrest and the subsequent [[demolition]] of the Dhunfini tent used by the members of the [[Maldivian Democratic Party]] (MDP) for their gatherings.

Supporters of MDP were quick to demonstrate. They started calling for the resignation of Maumoon soon after Nasheed's arrest. The tent's demolition complicated the situation further provoking the unrest. Several arrests were made on the first night. The unrest grew violent on the third night, on 14 August 2005, due to the methods used in the attempts by the authority to stop the demonstration. The unrest lasted from 12 to 14 August 2005, and by 15 August 2005, the uprising was controlled with the presence of heavy security around Malé. Almost a fourth of the city had to be cordoned off during the unrest.

=== Tsunami impact ===
{{Main|Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on the Maldives}}
[[File:2004 Indian Ocean earthquake Maldives tsunami wave.jpg|thumb|right|The tsunami that struck Malé on 26 December 2004; photo taken by Sofwathulla Mohamed while standing on his doorstep; his apartment was entirely washed out, damaging all his belongings]]
On 26 December 2004, following the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]], the [[Effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on the Maldives|Maldives were devastated]] by a tsunami. Only nine islands were reported to have escaped any flooding,<ref>{{cite web |title=Maldives – Country Review Report on the Implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action for LDCS |url=http://www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/ldc/MTR/Maldives.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921081046/http://www.un.org/special-rep/ohrlls/ldc/MTR/Maldives.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2013 |publisher=United Nations |agency=Ministry of Planning and National Development |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Maldives Skyscraper – Floating States |url=http://www.evolo.us/architecture/maldives-skyscraper-floating-states/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152057/http://www.evolo.us/architecture/maldives-skyscraper-floating-states/ |archive-date=10 October 2017 |access-date=30 April 2017 |website=eVoLo}}</ref> while 57 islands faced serious damage to critical infrastructure. 14 islands had to be totally evacuated, and six islands were destroyed. A further 21 resort islands were forced to close because of serious damage. The total damage was estimated at more than US$400&nbsp;million, or around 62% of the country's GDP.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 December 2010 |title=UNDP: Discussion Paper – Achieving Debt Sustainability and the MDGs in Small Island Developing States: The Case of the Maldives |url=http://undp.org.mv/v2/publication_files/4d3d53b1f2a35.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112232609/http://undp.org.mv/v2/publication_files/4d3d53b1f2a35.pdf |archive-date=12 January 2012 |website=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=15 February 2005 |title=Maldives tsunami damage 62 percent of GDP: WB |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-02/15/content_416614.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924065316/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-02/15/content_416614.htm |archive-date=24 September 2015 |access-date=18 September 2015 |work=[[China Daily]]}}</ref> 102 Maldivians and 6 foreigners reportedly died in the tsunami.<ref name="cnn_sinking">{{cite news |date=11 November 2008 |title=Sinking island nation seeks new home |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/11/maldives.president/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206023636/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/11/maldives.president/index.html |archive-date=6 December 2008 |access-date=12 November 2008 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref>

The destructive impact of the waves on the low-lying islands was mitigated by the absence of a continental shelf or land mass upon which the waves could gain height. The tallest waves were reported to be {{convert|14|ft|m}} high.<ref>{{cite web |title=Republic of Maldives – Tsunami: Impact and Recovery |url=http://www.undp.org.mv/v2/publication_files/4b36072ca065c.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328060124/http://www.undp.org.mv/v2/publication_files/4b36072ca065c.pdf |archive-date=28 March 2012 |access-date=18 September 2015 |work=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}}</ref>

=== Nasheed presidency ===
{{Main|Cabinet of the Maldives#Mr. Mohamed Nasheed's Cabinet}}

A new [[Constitution of the Maldives|Constitution]] was ratified in August 2008, paving the way for the Maldives' [[Maldivian presidential election, 2008|first multi-party presidential election]] two months later.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Buerk |first=Roland |date=7 August 2008 |title=Maldives adopt new constitution |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7547725.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201106031847/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7547725.stm |archive-date=6 November 2020 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-10-08 |title=Voting extended in Maldives poll |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7656655.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506121425/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7656655.stm |archive-date=6 May 2021 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="afp">{{Cite news |date=8 October 2008 |title=Vote count underway after landmark Maldives election |url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzn93B6k35o1gCMbKAeK6gr7Qk_Q |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520175641/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jzn93B6k35o1gCMbKAeK6gr7Qk_Q |archive-date=20 May 2011 |access-date=8 October 2008 |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Standing as the DRP candidate, Maumoon lost in the election's second round; he received 45.75% of the vote against 54.25% for his opponents. The MDP's candidate, Nasheed, accordingly succeeded Maumoon as president on 11 November 2008, with [[Gaumee Itthihaad]]'s candidate [[Mohamed Waheed Hassan]] in the new post of [[Vice President of the Maldives|Vice-president]].

One year later, the [[2009 Maldivian parliamentary election|2009 parliamentary election]] saw the [[Maldivian Democratic Party]], headed by Nasheed, receive the most votes with 30.81%, thus gaining 26 seats. However, Maumoon's MPP, with 24.62% of the vote, received the most seats with 28.

Nasheed's government faced many challenges including the huge debt left by the previous government, the economic downturn following the 2004 tsunami, overspending (by means of overprinting of local currency [[rufiyaa]]) during his regime, as well as national issues pertaining to unemployment, corruption, and increasing drug use.<ref>{{cite news |date=7 May 2009 |title=The Quality of Political Appointees in the Nasheed Administration |url=http://raajjenews.blogspot.com/2009/06/quality-of-political-appointees-in.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164400/http://raajjenews.blogspot.com/2009/06/quality-of-political-appointees-in.html |archive-date=14 January 2021 |access-date=21 February 2012 |work=Raajje News}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=April 2013}} Additionally, 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 above 65 years of age, single parents, and those with special needs.

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. The government reportedly considered locations in Sri Lanka and India due to cultural and climate similarities, as well as faraway locations like Australia.<ref name="cnn_sinking" /> An October 2009 cabinet meeting was held underwater (ministers wore scuba gear and communicated with hand signals) to publicise the threat of global warming on the low-lying islands of the Maldives.<ref name="Maldives begin historic election">{{Cite news |date=17 October 2009 |title=Maldives cabinet makes a splash |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8311838.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825210331/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8311838.stm |archive-date=25 August 2017 |access-date=2024-06-29 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref>

=== Political crisis ===
{{Main|2011–12 Maldives political crisis}}
A series of peaceful protests broke out in the [[Maldives]] on 1 May 2011. They eventually escalated into the resignation of Nasheed amid disputed circumstances in February 2012.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 February 2012 |title=Maldives crisis: Top 10 facts |url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/maldives-crisis-top-10-facts-568965 |access-date=29 June 2024 |publisher=[[NDTV]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hull |first=C. Bryson |date=11 February 2012 |title=Pressure builds for probe into Maldives' crisis |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-maldives-idUSTRE81A0HQ20120211 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202145845/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-maldives-idUSTRE81A0HQ20120211 |archive-date=2 December 2018 |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Lang |first=Olivia |date=17 February 2012 |title=Q&A: Maldives crisis |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16950214 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119180556/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16950214 |archive-date=19 November 2016 |access-date=22 June 2018 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite news |date=23 February 2012 |title=Maldives crisis: Commonwealth urges early elections |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17135582 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319040034/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17135582 |archive-date=19 March 2012 |access-date=22 June 2018 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=12 February 2012 |title=Maldives crisis means trouble for India |url=http://zeenews.india.com/news/exclusive/maldives-crisis-means-trouble-for-india_757990.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417211916/http://zeenews.india.com/news/exclusive/maldives-crisis-means-trouble-for-india_757990.html |archive-date=17 April 2012 |access-date=2 August 2013 |work=[[Zee News]]}}</ref>

The primary cause for the protests had been rising commodity prices and a poor economic situation in the country.<ref>{{cite news |last=Radhakrishnan |first=R. K. |date=3 May 2011 |title=Blake leaves strong message for Maldivian opposition |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/blake-leaves-strong-message-for-maldivian-opposition/article1988267.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203140254/http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article1988267.ece |archive-date=3 February 2016 |access-date=9 May 2017 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> Demonstrators protested what they considered the government's mismanagement of the economy, thus calling for Nasheed's ouster. The main political opposition party in the country, the MPP, led by Maumoon, accused President Nasheed of "talking about democracy but not putting it into practice."

=== Waheed presidency ===
[[File:VPMaldivesWaheed.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mohamed Waheed Hassan]]]]

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 of the Maldives|Criminal Court]], on 16 January. The Chief Justice was released from detention after Nasheed resigned from his post.

The [[Maldives Police Service|Maldives police]] had joined protesters after refusing to use force on them and took over a state-owned television station, after which they{{Which|date=February 2012}} forcibly switched the broadcast to Maumoon's call for people to come out to protest. The Maldives Army then clashed with police and other protesters who were with the police. All this time, none of the protesters tried to invade any security facility, including headquarters of MNDF.

Shortly after, Vice-president [[Mohamed Waheed Hassan]] was sworn as the new president of Maldives. Nasheed's supporters clashed with security personnel during a rally on 12 July 2012; they sought the ouster of President Waheed.<ref>{{cite news |date=13 July 2012 |title=Nasheed supporters, police clash in Maldives |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/nasheed-supporters-police-clash-in-maldives/article3634476.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203140254/http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3634476.ece |archive-date=3 February 2016 |access-date=9 May 2017 |work=[[The Hindu]] |location=Chennai, India}}</ref> Nasheed then stated the following day that he was forced out of office at gunpoint, though Waheed supporters maintained that the transfer of power was voluntary and constitutional.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lawson |first=Alastair |date=6 April 2012 |title=Maldives elections will not be in 'foreseeable future' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17636199 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304143903/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17636199 |archive-date=4 March 2020 |access-date=22 June 2018 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref name="reuters1">{{cite news |date=7 February 2012 |title=Maldives president quits after police mutiny, protests |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-maldives-protests-idUKTRE81609X20120207 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306040449/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-maldives-protests-idUKTRE81609X20120207 |archive-date=6 March 2016 |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

A later [[British Commonwealth]] meeting concluded that it could not "determine conclusively the constitutionality of the resignation of President Nasheed" but called for an international investigation.<ref name="commonwealth">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17135582 |title=Maldives crisis: Commonwealth urges early elections |date=22 February 2012 |work=BBC News |access-date=2 April 2012 |archive-date=19 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319040034/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17135582 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Maldives' Commission of National Inquiry, appointed to investigate the matter, found that there was no evidence to support Nasheed's version of events.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sen |first=Ashish Kumar |date=30 August 2012 |title=Maldives panel: President was not forced to resign |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/30/maldives-panel-president-was-not-forced-resign/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831070913/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/aug/30/maldives-panel-president-was-not-forced-resign/ |archive-date=31 August 2012 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[The Washington Times]]}}</ref> Many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, were subsequently quick to sideline Nasheed, instead endorsing his successor. (The United States backtracked in late 2012 in response to widespread criticism.)<ref name="brownpoliticalreview.org"/> On 23 February 2012, the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] suspended the Maldives from its democracy and human rights [[wikt:watchdog|watchdog]] while the ousting was being investigated; it also backed Nasheed's call for elections before the end of 2012.<ref>{{cite news |last=Griffiths |first=Peter |date=22 February 2012 |title=Commonwealth suspends Maldives from rights group, seeks elections |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/maldives-commonwealth-idINDEE81L0JO20120222 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403133937/https://in.reuters.com/article/maldives-commonwealth-idINDEE81L0JO20120222 |archive-date=3 April 2019 |access-date=5 July 2021 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>

On 8 October 2012, Nasheed was arrested after failing to appear in court to face charges that he had ordered the illegal arrest of a judge while in office. However, his supporters have claimed that this detention was politically motivated to prevent him from campaigning for the [[Maldivian presidential election, 2013|2013 presidential elections]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Mallawarachi |first=Bharatha |date=8 October 2012 |title=Mohamed Nasheed, Former Maldives President, Arrested After Failing To Appear in Court |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/08/mohamed-nasheed-maldives-former-president-arrested_n_1947348.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310062645/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/08/mohamed-nasheed-maldives-former-president-arrested_n_1947348.html |archive-date=10 March 2016 |work=[[HuffPost]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Later, in March 2013, Nasheed was convicted under the country's terrorism laws for ordering the arrest of an allegedly corrupt judge in 2012 and jailed for 13 years. Maldives' international partners—including the EU, US, UK and the United Nations—have said that Nasheed's rushed trial was seriously flawed following a UN panel ruling in the former president's favour. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention called for his immediate release. Nasheed also appealed to the Indian Prime Minister [[Narendra Modi]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Naafiz |first=Ali |date=20 October 2015 |title=Maldives opposition seeks India's help in jailed leader's release |url=http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/63227 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021134808/http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/63227 |archive-date=21 October 2015 |access-date=24 October 2015 |work=[[Haveeru Daily]]}}</ref>

=== Yameen presidency ===
[[File:Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom in January 2014.jpg|thumb|Yameen in 2014]]

During Nasheed's imprisonment, Waheed announced that a presidential election would be held in 2013.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Francis |first=Krishan |date=18 April 2012 |title=Maldives Election: President Mohammed Waheed Hassan Calls For Early Vote In 2013 |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/maldives-election_n_1433449.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307231418/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/maldives-election_n_1433449.html |archive-date=7 March 2016 |work=[[HuffPost]]}}</ref> The [[2013 Maldivian presidential election|elections in late 2013]] ended up being highly contested. Nasheed won the most votes in the first round, but contrary to the assessment of international election observers, the Supreme Court cited irregularities and annulled it. In the end, the opposition merged to gain a majority. [[Abdulla Yameen|Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom]], half-brother of Maumoon, won the election.<ref name="brownpoliticalreview.org"/>

Yameen implemented a foreign policy shift toward increased engagement with China, improving diplomatic relations between the two countries. Additionally, Yameen employed [[Islam]] as a tool of identity politics, framing religious mobilisation as the solution to perceived Western attempts to undermine Maldivian national sovereignty. Yameen's policy of conflating Islamic views with anti-Western rhetoric represented a new paradigm shift in the country.<ref name="brownpoliticalreview.org"/>

On 11 May 2013, Yameen's first vice-president, [[Mohamed Jameel Ahmed]], was removed from office via a [[Motion of no confidence|no confidence motion]] by parliament after Yameen's party accused him of plotting to overthrow him.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rehan |first=Mohamed |date=12 February 2018 |title=Ruling party accuses ex-VP Jameel on 'plot to overthrow govt' |url=https://avas.mv/en/44659 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=Avas}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Muhsin |first=Mohamed Fathih Abdul |date=15 February 2021 |title=Was removed from office without being allowed a proper defense: Dr Jameel |url=https://timesofaddu.com/2021/02/15/was-removed-from-office-without-being-allowed-a-proper-defense-dr-jameel/ |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=The Times of Addu}}</ref>

On 28 September 2015, there was an attempt to assassinate Yameen when he returned from the [[hajj]] pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. As his speedboat was docking at Malé, there was an explosion on board. The right-hand door of the boat was blasted off the hinges and slammed onto the jetty as thick smoke billowed from the cabin, screams renting the air. Three people were injured, including the First Lady. Yameen remained unscathed.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Iyengar |first=Rishi |date=28 September 2015 |title=Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Escapes Unhurt After Explosion on His Boat |url=https://time.com/4051674/maldives-president-abdulla-yameen-boat-blast/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164358/https://time.com/4051674/maldives-president-abdulla-yameen-boat-blast/ |archive-date=14 January 2021 |access-date=29 June 2024 |magazine=[[TIME (magazine)|Time]]}}</ref> Following a probe on the incident, Vice-president [[Ahmed Adeeb|Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Ghafoor]] was arrested on 24 October 2015 at the airport upon his return from a conference in China. 17 of Adeeb's supporters were also arrested for "public order offences." The government subsequently began instituting a broader crackdown against political dissent.

On 4 November 2015, Yameen declared a 30-day [[state of emergency]] ahead of a planned anti-government rally.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 November 2015 |title=Maldives declares 30-day emergency |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34718916 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164358/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34718916 |archive-date=14 January 2021 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> The next day, the [[People's Majlis]] fast-paced the process to remove Adeeb from office with a [[no confidence vote]] that had been submitted by PPM-majority parliament. The no confidence vote passed with a majority of 61 members favouring it, thus ending Adeeb's role as vice-president.<ref name="majlis.gov.mv">{{cite web |date=5 November 2015 |title=Majlis passes declaration to remove VP from office |url=http://www.majlis.gov.mv/en/2015/11/05/majlis-passes-declaration-to-remove-ahmed-adeeb-abdul-gafoor-from-the-post-of-vice-president/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714204131/http://www.majlis.gov.mv/en/2015/11/05/majlis-passes-declaration-to-remove-ahmed-adeeb-abdul-gafoor-from-the-post-of-vice-president/ |archive-date=14 July 2016 |website=[[People's Majlis]] |df=dmy-all}}</ref> On 10 November 2015, President Yameen revoked the state of emergency, citing no imminent threats in the country.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 November 2015 |title=Maldives revokes state of emergency amid global outcry and tourism worries |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/maldives-revokes-state-of-emergency |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114164354/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/10/maldives-revokes-state-of-emergency |archive-date=14 January 2021 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

In 2016, an investigation led by [[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]] exposed the [[Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation scandal]] in which over US$79,000,000 was embezzled.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 February 2016 |title=US$79m embezzled in Maldives' biggest corruption scandal |url=https://maldivesindependent.com/politics/us79m-embezzled-in-maldives-biggest-corruption-scandal-122013 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=Maldives Independent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 February 2019 |title=Maldives government must ac on new details in corruption scandal |url=https://www.transparency.org/en/press/maldives-government-must-act-on-new-details-in-corruption-scandal |access-date=29 June 2024 |website=[[Transparency International]]}}</ref> In the same year, the Maldives left the Commonwealth due to alleged human rights abuses and corruption.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Safi |first=Michael |date=13 October 2016 |title=Maldives quits Commonwealth over alleged rights abuses |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/13/maldives-quits-commonwealth-over-alleged-rights-abuses |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

===Growth of Islamic radicalism===

{{Main|Islam in the Maldives|2007 Malé bombing}}

In the late 1990s, [[Wahhabism]] began challenging more traditional moderate practices. Saudi-funded preachers gained influence soon after the 2004 tsunami. Within just a decade, [[Islamic fundamentalism|fundamentalist]] practices began dominating the culture.<ref name="itimes">{{cite news |author=Boland |first=Mary |date=16 August 2014 |title=Tourists blissfully unaware of Islamist tide in Maldives |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/tourists-blissfully-unaware-of-islamist-tide-in-maldives-1.1898425 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170607103108/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/tourists-blissfully-unaware-of-islamist-tide-in-maldives-1.1898425 |archive-date=7 June 2017 |access-date=30 April 2017 |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]}}</ref><ref name="g150226">{{cite news |author=Burke |first=Jason |date=26 February 2015 |title=Paradise jihadis: Maldives sees surge in young Muslims leaving for Syria |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/26/paradise-jihadis-maldives-islamic-extremism-syria |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424110906/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/26/paradise-jihadis-maldives-islamic-extremism-syria |archive-date=24 April 2017 |access-date=30 April 2017 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

Scores of Maldivian youth were [[radicalised]] and some even enlisted to fight for [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]] militants in the Middle East.<ref name="reuters.com">{{cite news |last=Bosley |first=Daniel |date=24 October 2015 |title=Maldives vice president arrested in probe of explosion targeting president |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/maldives-politics-idUSKCN0SI05520151024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630193851/http://www.reuters.com/article/maldives-politics-idUSKCN0SI05520151024 |archive-date=30 June 2016 |access-date=10 May 2016 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> In 2015, ''[[The Guardian]]'' estimated that 50–100 fighters from the Maldives have joined [[Islamic State|ISIS]] and [[al-Qaeda]].<ref name= g150226/> [[Financial Times|''The Financial Times'']] put the number at 200.<ref>{{cite news |author=Mallet |first=Victor |date=4 December 2015 |title=The Maldives: Islamic Republic, Tropical Autocracy |url=https://www.ft.com/content/aa9620dc-98f6-11e5-9228-87e603d47bdc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918032538/https://www.ft.com/content/aa9620dc-98f6-11e5-9228-87e603d47bdc |archive-date=18 September 2019 |access-date=30 April 2017 |work=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref> Most radicals were found to be young men who suffer from [[lethargy]], unemployment, [[Drug abuse in the Maldives|drug abuse]], and the need to affirm their masculinity.<ref name="g150226" /> Radicalization also occurred in jail where the "only thing to read is the Qur'an or religious literature. There are also lots of older militants and young guys look up to them."<ref name= g150226/>

===Solih presidency===
[[File:Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in November 2023.jpeg|thumb|Solih in November 2023]]
[[Ibrahim Mohamed Solih]] was selected as the new presidential candidate<ref>{{cite news |last=Junayd |first=Mohamed |date=1 July 2019 |title=Maldives opposition selects veteran Ibrahim Solih for Sept presidential poll |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-maldives-politics/maldives-opposition-selects-veteran-ibrahim-solih-for-sept-presidential-poll-idUSKBN1JQ0VR |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924052700/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-maldives-politics/maldives-opposition-selects-veteran-ibrahim-solih-for-sept-presidential-poll-idUSKBN1JQ0VR |archive-date=24 September 2018 |access-date=24 September 2018 |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> for the coalition of opposition parties in the 2018 election after Nasheed changed his mind about running.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Munavvar |first=Rae |date=1 July 2018 |title=MP Ibu declared MDP's Presidential Candidate |url=https://edition.mv/news/6369 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[The Edition]]}}</ref> In the [[2018 Maldivian presidential election|2018 elections]], Solih won the most votes and was sworn in as the new president on 17 November 2018 after Yameen's five-year term expired. Solih was the seventh president of the Maldives and the country's third democratically elected president. He promised to fight against widespread corruption and investigate the human rights abuses of the previous regime.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Solih also ushered in a change in foreign relations. Yameen had been politically very close to China with some "anti-India" attitude, but Solih reaffirmed the Maldives' previous India-First Policy, after which the Maldives and India strengthened their close relationship.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rasheed |first=Zaheena |date=17 November 2018 |title=Ibrahim Mohamed Solih sworn in as new Maldives president |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/17/ibrahim-mohamed-solih-sworn-in-as-new-maldives-president |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201223034240/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/11/17/ibrahim-mohamed-solih-sworn-in-as-new-maldives-president |archive-date=23 December 2020 |access-date=29 June 2024 |publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rajagopalan |first=Rajeswari Pillai |date=28 September 2018 |title=Maldives Shock Election: China's Loss and India's Win? |url=https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/maldives-shock-election-chinas-loss-and-indias-win/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201220541/https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/maldives-shock-election-chinas-loss-and-indias-win/ |archive-date=1 December 2020 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Malsa |first=Mariyam |date=8 June 2019 |title=President Solih reaffirms India-first policy |url=https://edition.mv/news/10924 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617111550/https://edition.mv/news/10924 |archive-date=17 June 2019 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[The Edition]]}}</ref>

On 19 November 2018, Solih announced that the Maldives was set to return to the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], a decision recommended by his Cabinet, considering that the Maldives was a [[republic in the Commonwealth of Nations]] from 1982 to 2016.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 November 2018 |title=Maldives to participate in the Commonwealth again |url=https://presidency.gov.mv/Press/Article/19812 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[The President's Office]]}}</ref> On 1 February 2020, Maldives officially re-joined the Commonwealth.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 February 2020 |title=Maldives becomes 54th member of Commonwealth family |url=https://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/maldives-becomes-54th-member-commonwealth-family |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314002257/https://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/maldives-becomes-54th-member-commonwealth-family |archive-date=14 March 2021 |access-date=31 October 2021 |website=[[Commonwealth of Nations]]}}</ref>

In the [[2019 Maldivian parliamentary election|2019 parliamentary election]], the MDP won a landslide victory. It took 65 of 87 seats of the parliament.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 April 2019 |title=Maldives election: Early results show victory for president's party |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47842303 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211121842/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47842303 |archive-date=11 December 2020 |access-date=25 February 2021 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> This was the first time in Maldivian history that a single party was able to get such a high number of seats in the parliament.<ref>{{Cite news |date=11 April 2019 |title=Majlis 19: An overview in numbers |url=https://avas.mv/en/62819 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225111535/https://avas.mv/en/62819 |archive-date=25 February 2021 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=Avas}}</ref> Additionally, Yameen was sentenced to five years in prison in November for money laundering. The [[High Court of the Maldives|High Court]] upheld the jail sentence in January 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Zalif |first=Zunana |date=21 January 2021 |title=High Court upholds ex-president's five-year jail sentence |url=https://raajje.mv/94119 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122005946/https://raajje.mv/94119 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |access-date=29 June 2024 |publisher=[[Raajje TV]]}}</ref> Later, the [[Supreme Court of the Maldives|Supreme Court]] acquitted Yameen from the charges on 30 November 2021 due to the lack of substantial evidence.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Junayd |first1=Mohamed |title=Maldives' ex-president Yameen walks free after graft conviction overturned |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/maldives-ex-president-yameen-walks-free-after-graft-conviction-overturned-2021-11-30/ |work=Reuters |date=30 November 2021 |language=en |access-date=5 March 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303175531/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/maldives-ex-president-yameen-walks-free-after-graft-conviction-overturned-2021-11-30/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Muizzu presidency===
[[File:Dr Muizzu in December 2023.jpg|thumb|Muizzu in January 2024]]
On 17 July 2020, Yameen was selected as the PPM's presidential candidate for the election. However, the Supreme Court rejected Yameen's candidacy because of his sentence.<ref>{{Cite news |date=17 July 2020 |title="PPM's presidential candidate for 2023 will be ex-president Yameen" |url=https://www.southasiamonitor.org/maldives/ppms-presidential-candidate-2023will-be-ex-president-yameen |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=South Asia Monitor}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 August 2023 |title=Supreme Court upholds rejection of Yameen's candidacy |url=https://psmnews.mv/en/124384 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[PSM news]]}}</ref> As a result, [[Mohamed Muizzu]] was elected as a backup candidate for the Progressive Congress Coalition ([[Progressive Party of Maldives]] and [[People's National Congress (Maldives)|People's National Congress]], PNC) on 3 August 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 August 2023 |title=Muizz wins PNC ticket to contest as Yameen's 'backup' candidate |url=https://atolltimes.mv/post/news/4888 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=Atoll Times}}</ref>

On 30 September 2023, Muizzu won the second-round runoff of the Maldives [[2023 Maldivian presidential election|presidential election]], beating Solih with 54% of the vote.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Junayd |first=Mohamed |date=2023-10-01 |title=Maldives opposition candidate Muizzu wins presidential vote |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/maldives-opposition-candidate-muizzu-wins-presidential-vote-2023-10-01/ |access-date=2023-11-10 |work=[[Reuters]] |language=en}}</ref> On 17 November 2023, Muizzu was sworn in as the eighth President of the Republic of Maldives.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-11-18 |title=Mohamed Muizzu sworn in as Maldives president, says will remove 'foreign' troops |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/mohamed-muizzu-sworn-in-as-maldives-president-says-will-remove-foreign-troops/articleshow/105303033.cms?from=mdr |access-date=2023-11-24 |work=[[The Times of India]] |issn=0971-8257 |agency=[[Press Trust of India]]}}</ref> Mohamed Muizzu has been widely seen as pro-China, thus souring the country's relations with India.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ovigwe |first=Eguegu |date=24 January 2024 |title=What the China-Maldives-India Triangle Tells Us About 21st Century Balancing |url=https://thediplomat.com/2024/01/what-the-china-maldives-india-triangle-tells-us-about-21st-century-balancing/ |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]]}}</ref>

In the [[2024 Maldivian parliamentary election|2024 parliamentary election]], Muizzu's PNC party won a landslide in the parliament.<ref>{{Cite news |date=22 April 2024 |title=Pro-China party on course for landslide victory in Maldives election |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/22/pro-china-party-on-course-for-landslide-victory-in-maldives-election |access-date=29 June 2024 |publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ethirajan |first=Anbarasan |date=22 April 2024 |title=Maldives: Pro-China party led by Muizzu wins by landslide |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-68852720 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> It won 70 out of the 93 seats in parliament, making it the second time that a single party was able to get a high number of seats in Maldivian history.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mohamed |first=Mariyath |date=21 April 2024 |title=Parliament Elections 2024: PNC wins supermajority with 70 seats |url=https://edition.mv/news/32995 |access-date=29 June 2024 |work=[[The Edition]]}}</ref> As a result, the party earned a super-majority—enough seats to make constitutional changes.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rasheed |first1=Zaheena |title='Absolute power': After pro-China Maldives leader's big win, what's next? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/24/absolute-power-after-pro-china-maldives-leaders-big-win-whats-next |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> In the same year, the High Court overturned Yameen's conviction and ordered a new trial.<ref>{{Cite news |date=18 April 2024 |title=Maldives High Court overturns ex-President Abdulla Yameen's prison sentence |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/18/maldives-high-court-frees-jailed-ex-president-abdulla-yameen |access-date=29 June 2024 |publisher=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Hinduism in Maldives]]
* [[History of Asia]]
* [[History of India]]
* [[History of South Asia]]
* [[List of Maldivian monarchs]]
* [[List of presidents of the Maldives]]
* [[Maldivian Folklore]]
* [[National Museum (Maldives)|National Museum of the Maldives]]
* [[National Library of Maldives]]
* [[Politics of the Maldives]]
* [[Sultanate of Maldives]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Works cited==
*{{source-attribution|1={{cite encyclopedia |last=Ryavec |first=Karl E.|year=1995 |entry=Maldives |title=Indian Ocean: five island countries |publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]] |location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/95016570/ |editor-last=Metz |editor-first=Helen Chapin |editor-link=Helen Chapin Metz |edition=3rd |isbn=0-8444-0857-3 |oclc=32508646}} }}

{{Maldives topics}}
{{History of Asia}}

{{British overseas territories}}
{{Portuguese overseas empire}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maldives history}}
[[Category:History of the Maldives| ]]
[[Category:National histories|Maldives, The]]