the Maldives . This event is now commemorated as National Day .
In the mid-17th century , the Dutch , who had replaced the Portuguese as the dominant power in Ceylon , established responsibility over Maldivian affairs without involving themselves directly in local matters , which remained governed according to centuries-old Islamic customs .
In 1796 The British expelled the Dutch from Ceylon and the Maldives became a British protectorate in 1887 . In this agreement , the sultan accepted British influence over Maldivian external relations and defense while retaining home rule , which continued to be regulated by traditional Muslim institutions .
The Maldives ’ ruling family sultanate changed the constitution of Maldivian law to republican , and the monarchy ended when the country ’ s first president , Mohammed Ameen Didi , was voted into office in 1953 . He ruled for eight months before the republic was abolished and again replaced by the ruling monarchy headed by King Mohamed Fareed .
Fareed stayed in power from 1953 to 1967 when Ibrahim Nasir , the Maldives ’ second republican president , was voted into power . This saw the end of the ruling kings in the Maldives .
The Maldives ’ independence from the British was not declared until July 26 , 1965 , by Prime Minister Ibrahim Nasir . This day is now celebrated as a national holiday of independence .
However , this was not the only British influence in the Maldives . 1941 , the southern atoll of Addu became one of the British Armed
Force ’ s most critical strategic outposts .
With the outbreak of World War II , the Maldives became an essential link in allied defenses against the Japanese in the Indian Ocean .
The British secretly began building their base , known as “ Port T ,” in 1941 . Gan Island was cleared of vegetation to make way for a runway , and its villagers were relocated . Operations spread to other parts of Addu , with a base for seaplanes built at Hithadhoo Lagoon , where planes flew in from as far away as Singapore and Sri Lanka ; underground bunkers for supplies and bombs were constructed at Maradhoo . A series of causeways were built between the main islands , and anti-submarine nets and mines were installed around the atoll .
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