History And Geography

History

The history of the Maldives can be traced back at least two thousand years, when it was inhabited by Buddhist and Hindu monks. The region witnessed increasing trade and cultural links with the Arabs during the first half of the 12th century, which eventually lead to the establishment of an Islamic sultanate in July 1153. It took a long time for the Arab rulers to spread Islam to all the islands located in the region. The measures taken to do so included dissolution of all non-Muslim beliefs and practices and the redrafting of all historic texts in Arabic. However, the practice of using ancient Sanskrit titles alongside messages written in Arabic continued for many years during their reign.

The Portuguese attacked and captured the sultanate in the 15th century, but it managed to fight back and regained its independence in 1573. The region witnessed many battles after this, most of which were fought for neutralizing the dubious designs of the Ali Rajas of Connore, who repeatedly kidnapped princes and influential nobles and carried them off to the Laccadives.

The region later came under Dutch control and remained under their rule for almost two centuries. After remaining isolated from the rest of the world for many centuries, the region created interest in many colonial powers of that period including the Germans, Italians, and the French. The British soon realized the gravity of the situation and moved in fast to declare the region as their protectorate in 1887. The indifferent rules and policies of the British lead to many revolts, most of which were nipped at the bud.

However, due to an increasing public outcry against the British rule, the Sultanate managed to come to power in 1965. The ambitious politicians during that period conspired against the king and managed to engineer a referendum that lead to the establishment of a republic on 11th November 1968. The new regime was no better than the earlier one and the corrupt administrators continued to grant peerage titles and even created a few of their own.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was declared as the next president of the republic in 1978. He vowed to overhaul the prevailing administrative system and restore civil rights by creating a proper rapport at the grass-root level and by initiating the welfare of the islands located at the fringes of the republic. In spite of all the promises made by the new president, his rule was marred with many allegations of nepotism and corruption throughout the 1980's and early 1990's. It is generally believed that the president's relatives who hold key positions in the presidency system and are against the initiation of democratic reforms are influencing the president.

Geography

The Maldives lie on the equator and are located southwest of Sri Lanka. The Republic of Maldives is a group of 1,190 small coral islands, which form the archipelago of 26 natural atolls. These natural atolls are arranged into nineteen administrative atolls along with the capital island of Male that forms the 20th atoll. When viewed from the air, these atolls and their islands form many stunning patterns against the deep blue waters of the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives are 511 miles long from north to south and have an average width of 81 miles. Only two hundred islands out of 1,190 are inhabited and some 88 islands have been converted into exclusive resort islands. The sea covers around 99 percent of the country's territory as only 115 square miles of the overall 34,750 square miles is land.

All islands in the region are the peaks and mountains of a vast submerged mountain range, which also includes the Lakshadweep islands to the north and the Chagos Islands to the south. The crest of this submerged mountain range is home to the beautiful and vibrant coral reefs that have been there for several millennia.

Most of the islands in the region are small with an average length of 1.24 miles, which can be traversed in ten to fifteen minutes. Even the longest island, Hithadhoo, which is located in the southernmost Addu Atoll, is only around five miles in length. However, you will not realize the compact nature of the islands as the merged beaches, sparkling waters and azure sky together create a feeling of infinite vastness that is rare as well as pleasant.

The surface on most of these islands consists of a six-inch layer of dark humus, composed of a mixture of sand and organic matter accumulated over the years. The next layer is made up of sand and sandstone, where fresh water is easily available. Some islands with a high water table have freshwater lakes. The tropical climate of the region has endowed the region with lush green vegetation including coconut trees that tower above dense shrubs and flowering plants. The available land in the region consists of arable land (10 %), permanent pastures (3%), forests and woodland (3%), and others (84%).