HISTORY
A Nation Built on the Ocean
The Maldives is not, as it might appear from the air, a collection of uninhabited sandbanks that were discovered and developed for tourism. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited island nations in the world, with a documented history stretching back over three thousand years, a pre-Islamic civilisation of considerable sophistication, a sultanate that endured for more than eight centuries, and a series of colonial encounters that left almost no permanent trace on the culture or language of its people.
Understanding this history gives the Maldives a dimension that most visitors never access, and that changes how the destination is experienced. The coral ruins at Kudahuvadhoo in Dhaalu Atoll are not decorative; they are the remains of a Buddhist temple from the 12th century. The Friday Mosque in Male is not a recent construction; it was built in 1658 from coral stone by hand. The Maldivian people's relationship with the ocean is not a tourism narrative; it is the product of millennia of necessity.
The First Maldivians
The Maldives was almost certainly settled by seafarers from the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka between 1500 and 500 BCE, with linguistic and genetic evidence pointing to the Dravidian populations of southern India and Sri Lanka as the primary ancestral group. The Dhivehi language, still spoken today, belongs to the Indo-Aryan family and is most closely related to Sinhala, the primary language of Sri Lanka, confirming the oceanic connection between the two island nations that TSC serves today.
The earliest settlers navigated the Indian Ocean using the monsoon wind system, the same southwest monsoon that drives the Maldives surf season, exploiting the predictable seasonal currents to reach and inhabit islands that lay beyond the visible horizon from any continental coast. This navigational mastery defined Maldivian civilisation for three millennia and explains why the archipelago became a landmark on every major Indian Ocean trade route from the ancient world onward.
Archaeological evidence of the earliest settlements is fragmentary, as the low-lying coral islands preserve organic material poorly. The most significant pre-Islamic remains are the hawitta, coral stone mound structures of uncertain function, found across multiple atolls, that are believed to date from the Buddhist period beginning around the 3rd century BCE.
The Buddhist Civilisation
From approximately the 3rd century BCE, the Maldives was a Buddhist nation, a fact that surprises many visitors to a country that is today 100% Muslim. The Buddhist period lasted nearly 1,500 years and produced the most sophisticated pre-Islamic material culture in the archipelago's history.
The Arab scholar Ibn Battuta, who visited the Maldives in the 14th century, noted the presence of earlier Buddhist structures across multiple atolls that had been repurposed or demolished during the Islamic conversion. Archaeological excavations in the 20th century confirmed his observations, Buddhist temples, stupas, and monastic complexes were found beneath or adjacent to later mosques throughout the archipelago.
The most significant surviving Buddhist site is at Kudahuvadhoo island in Dhaalu Atoll, where a large coral stone structure, believed to be the remains of a Buddhist temple, is one of the best-preserved pre-Islamic monuments in the Maldives. TSC partner Angsana Velavaru (Dhaalu Atoll) is the natural base for visiting this site. The National Museum in Male also holds an extraordinary collection of Buddhist artefacts, including stone Buddha heads and brass oil lamps from the pre-Islamic period.
How the Maldives Became Muslim
The conversion of the Maldives to Islam is one of the most precisely documented events in the pre-colonial history of the Indian Ocean. According to the Maldivian chronicle Tarikh and confirmed by Ibn Battuta's account, a Moroccan saint named Abu Al-Barakat Yusuf Al-Barbari arrived in the Maldives around 1153 CE and converted King Dhovemi, the reigning Buddhist monarch, to Islam. The king subsequently decreed the conversion of the entire nation.
The speed and completeness of the conversion, an entire island nation changing religion within a generation, with no recorded resistance, no civil war, and no surviving heterodox community, remains one of the most remarkable transitions in Indian Ocean religious history. Historians attribute it partly to the trading position of the Maldives on the Arab sea routes, where Muslim merchants had maintained a presence for generations before the formal conversion.
The year 1153 marks the beginning of the Maldivian Sultanate. The Friday Mosque (Hukuru Miskiy) in Male, built in 1658 from coral stone by master craftsmen, is the most visible monument of this era and remains one of the most architecturally significant buildings in the Indian Ocean.
The Sultanate of the Maldives
The Sultanate of the Maldives operated continuously from 1153 to 1968, an 815-year unbroken Islamic monarchy, one of the longest in history. At its height, the Maldives was one of the most strategically important nodes in the Indian Ocean trade network, not for its land resources (it had almost none) but for two commodities that were essential to pre-modern maritime commerce.
The first was cowrie shells, Cypraea moneta, the Maldivian money cowrie, which were harvested from the Maldivian reefs in enormous quantities and exported throughout the Indian Ocean world as currency. At various points in history, cowrie shells from the Maldives were used as currency from West Africa to Bengal.
The second was coir, coconut fibre rope, produced from the abundant coconut palms of the island interiors and used throughout the Indian Ocean for ship rigging and construction. The combination of cowrie and coir gave the sultanate a commercial leverage entirely disproportionate to its land area.
Colonial Encounters
The Maldives has one of the most unusual colonial histories of any Indian Ocean nation: it was occupied, fought over, and ultimately left largely intact by three successive European powers, none of whom succeeded in permanently altering the language, religion, or social structure of the islands.
The Portuguese Occupation (1558 to 1573)
Portugal established a garrison in Male in 1558, seeking to control the strategic sea lane. The occupation lasted 15 years and ended in 1573 when the Maldivian hero Muhammad Thakurufaanu led a successful resistance campaign that expelled the Portuguese and restored the sultanate. Thakurufaanu is now the national hero of the Maldives.
Dutch and British Influence
The Dutch established a trading relationship in the 17th century but never attempted occupation. The British entered a protectorate agreement in 1887, taking control of Maldivian foreign affairs while allowing internal governance to remain with the sultanate. This arrangement was protective but non-invasive.
The RAF maintained a base on Addu Atoll (now Seenu) from World War II until 1976. The runway at Gan, still the longest in the Maldives, is the most visible legacy of the British military presence.
Independence, Democracy, and Tourism
The modern history of the Maldives is defined by its transition to an independent republic and the rapid development of a luxury tourism industry that transformed the nation's economy.
1953 - 1968
1953: First Republic declared, the sultanate abolished briefly and replaced by a republican government. Restored within months.
1965: Full independence from Britain on 26 July. The Maldives joins the United Nations.
1968: Second Republic declared following a national referendum. The sultanate is permanently abolished.
1970s - 2008
1970s: The tourism industry begins. The first resort, Kurumba Village, opens in 1972. Overwater bungalows introduced in the 1980s.
1978 to 2008: Maumoon Abdul Gayoom governs for 30 years. Economic development accelerates. Tourism becomes dominant.
2004: The Indian Ocean tsunami causes catastrophic damage. Major recovery effort launched.
Modern Day
2008: First multi-party democratic election. The Maldives becomes a fully functioning parliamentary democracy.
Climate Change: The Maldives is the most prominent global voice on climate change. Sea level rise poses an existential threat.
Tourism Today: Hosts over 1.7 million tourists annually. It is the luxury travel destination with the highest revenue per tourist.
| First settlement
Seafarers from southern India and Sri Lanka arrive via the monsoon wind system.
| First settlement
Seafarers from southern India and Sri Lanka arrive via the monsoon wind system.
Buddhist era |
Temples, stupas, and hawitta mound structures built across the atolls.
| Buddhist era
Temples, stupas, and hawitta mound structures built across the atolls.
| Conversion to Islam
King Dhovemi converts. The Sultanate of the Maldives is established.
| Conversion to Islam
King Dhovemi converts. The Sultanate of the Maldives is established.
Ibn Battuta visits |
His account provides the most detailed medieval description of Maldivian society.
| Ibn Battuta visits
His account provides the most detailed medieval description of Maldivian society.
| Portuguese occupation
Portuguese occupy Male. Expelled by Muhammad Thakurufaanu in 1573.
| Portuguese occupation
Portuguese occupy Male. Expelled by Muhammad Thakurufaanu in 1573.
Friday Mosque completed |
(Hukuru Miskiy) completed in Male, the oldest surviving mosque in the Maldives.
| Friday Mosque completed
(Hukuru Miskiy) completed in Male, the oldest surviving mosque in the Maldives.
| British protectorate
Foreign affairs ceded to Britain, internal governance remains with the sultanate.
| British protectorate
Foreign affairs ceded to Britain, internal governance remains with the sultanate.
British RAF base |
Established on Addu Atoll (Gan). Longest runway in Maldives still in use today.
| British RAF base
Established on Addu Atoll (Gan). Longest runway in Maldives still in use today.
| Brief First Republic
The first republic is declared but the Sultanate is restored within months.
| Brief First Republic
The first republic is declared but the Sultanate is restored within months.
Independence from Britain |
Full independence gained on 26 July. The Maldives gains UN membership.
| Independence from Britain
Full independence gained on 26 July. The Maldives gains UN membership.
| Second Republic
Second Republic declared. The Sultanate is permanently abolished.
| Second Republic
Second Republic declared. The Sultanate is permanently abolished.
First resort opens |
Kurumba Village opens in North Male Atoll. Modern tourism begins.
| First resort opens
Kurumba Village opens in North Male Atoll. Modern tourism begins.
| Indian Ocean tsunami
69 inhabited islands affected. The nation mounts a major recovery effort.
| Indian Ocean tsunami
69 inhabited islands affected. The nation mounts a major recovery effort.
First multi-party election |
First multi-party democratic election held. Mohamed Nasheed elected.
| First multi-party election
First multi-party democratic election held. Mohamed Nasheed elected.
| Underwater cabinet meeting
Held as a global symbol of the climate change threat to the Maldives.
| Underwater cabinet meeting
Held as a global symbol of the climate change threat to the Maldives.
1.7 million+ tourists |
Annually. The highest luxury tourism revenue per visitor in the world.
| 1.7 million+ tourists
Annually. The highest luxury tourism revenue per visitor in the world.
Discover the Maldives with The Signature Collection
A destination shaped by centuries of ocean trade, Buddhist scholarship, and Islamic devotion, and now home to the finest overwater villas and marine experiences in the world.