Maldives

The Maldives is an Indian Ocean archipelago of coral islands that became a sultanate in the thirteenth century, during Ibn Battuta’s lifetime.

Maldivian conversion to Islam: The adoption of Islam in the Maldives, traditionally dated to the twelfth century. Islamic conversion preceded the sultanate and reshaped Maldivian political and cultural life.
Maldives geography: The physical arrangement of the Maldives, a chain of low coral islands in the Indian Ocean. The archipelago’s dispersed, low-lying form defines its settlement and transport.
British protectorate of the Maldives: The period from 1887 to 1965 when Britain controlled the Maldives’ external affairs under a protectorate agreement. Protectorate status reshaped the sultanate’s relations with foreign powers.
Malé: The capital and most populous city of the Maldives, located on an island in North Malé Atoll. Malé has long concentrated political authority in the island state.
Ibn Battuta: A fourteenth-century Moroccan traveler whose journeys took him across Africa and Asia. His account describes the Maldives during its sultanate period.
Atoll: A ring-shaped coral reef, island, or chain of islands surrounding a lagoon. Atolls are the basic geological structures of the Maldivian archipelago.
Independence of the Maldives: The Maldives’ end of British protectorate status and emergence as an independent state in 1965. Independence established the country’s modern sovereignty.
Utheemu: An island in the Maldives’ Haa Alif Atoll, known as the birthplace of Sultan Mohamed Thakurufaanu. It is associated with the ruler who expelled Portuguese forces in the sixteenth century.
Indian Ocean trade: A network of maritime exchange linking the shores and islands of the Indian Ocean. Trade connected the Maldives to wider commercial and cultural currents.
Coral reef: A marine ecosystem built chiefly by reef-forming corals and their calcium-carbonate structures. Reefs create the islands’ foundations and protect them from waves.

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