The inhabitants were Buddhist, probably since Ashoka's periodfact: date=November 2008, in the 3rd century BC and possibly Hindu before that. Islam was introduced in 1153. The Maldives then came under the influence of the Portuguese (1558) and the Dutch (1654) seaborne empires. In 1887 it became a British protectorate. In 1965, the Maldives obtained independence from Britain (originally under the name "Maldive Islands"), and in 1968 the Sultanate was replaced by a Republic.

The Maldives is the smallest Asian country in terms of both population and area; it is the smallest predominantly Muslim nation in the world. It is also the country with the lowest highest point in the world.

History

main: History of the Maldives

Comparative studies of Maldivian oral, linguistic and cultural traditions and customs confirm that the first settlers were Dravidian peopleXavier Romero-Frias, The Maldive Islanders, A Study of the Popular Culture of an Ancient Ocean Kingdom from the nearest coasts, most probably fishermen from the southwest coasts of the modern Indian Subcontinent and the western shores of modern Sri Lanka during the early Chera period. One such community is the Giraavaru people who claim ancestry from ancient Tamils. One theory suggests that the Giraavaru islanders may not have been the only early settlers in the Maldives.Fact: date=November 2008 They are mentioned in ancient legends and local folklore about the establishment of the capital and kingly rule in Malé. The Giraavaru people are considered to be one of the earliest communities of settlers on the islands, predating the Christian era. The arrival of Sinhalese who were descended from the exiled Prince Vijaya and his party of several hundred who arrived on the island between 543 to 483 BCE of an Indo-Aryan stock after having been made to leave their native regions of Orissa and the Sinhapura kingdom in north west India, settled in Sri Lanka and some in the Maldives marks the development of the Indo-Aryan language Dhivehi (a dialectic derivation of Sinhala).Fact: date=November 2008 There are some signs of Arab and east Asian inhabitants mostly in southernmost atolls.Fact: date=November 2008

Buddhism came to the Maldives at the time of Emperor Ashoka's expansion and became the dominant religion of the people of the Maldives until the 12th century AD.

Western interest in the archaeological remains of early cultures on the Maldives began with the work of H.C.P. Bell, a British commissioner of the Ceylon Civil Service. Bell was shipwrecked on the islands in 1879, and returned several times to investigate ancient Buddhist ruins. He studied the ancient mounds, called havitta or ustubu (these names are derived from chaitiya or stupa) ( ) by the Maldivians, which are found on many of the atolls.