Since
very ancient times, the Maldives were ruled by kings (Radun) and occasionally
queens (Ranin). Historically Maldives has had a strategic importance because of
its location on the major marine routes of the Indian Ocean. Maldives' nearest
neighbors are Sri Lanka and India, both of which have had cultural and
economic ties with Maldives for centuries. The Maldives provided the main
source of cowrie shells, then used as a currency throughout Asia and
parts of the East African coast.
After
the 16th century, when European colonial powers took over much of the trade in
the Indian Ocean, first the Portuguese, and then the Dutch, and the French
occasionally meddled with local politics. However, these interferences ended
when the Maldive became a British Protectorate in the 19th century and the
Maldivian monarchs were granted a good measure of self-governance.
Maldives
gained total independence from the British in 1965. However, they continued to
maintain an air base on the island of Gan in the southernmost
atoll until 1976. The British departure in 1976 at the height of the Cold War almost immediately triggered foreign speculation
about the future of the air base. Apparently the Soviet Union made a move to
request the use of the base, but the Maldives refused.
The
greatest challenge facing the republic in the early 1990s was the need for
rapid economic development and modernization, given the country's limited
resource base in fishing, agriculture and tourism. Concern was also evident
over a projected long-term rise in sea level, which would prove disastrous to
the low-lying coral islands
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