Question

Explain the Decolonisation in Asia.

Maldives

Answer 1

In the first half of the twentieth-century decolonization did not take very long, in many Asian and African countries. The process of decolonization was accelerated in a short time because of the conflicts among European coloniser countries, the occurrence of the First and Second World Wars, and the anti-colonial movements in the colonies.

Maldives:

1. Portuguese entered the Maldives in 1507. Since then Maldives began paying tribute to the Portuguese in Goa.
2. In 1573 Portuguese rule was ended by Muhammad Thakuruphanu Al Azam from Malabar.
3. After his accession as the Sultan of Maldives, he made a treaty with the Dutch and gave them the administrative responsibility of the Maldives.
4. From thereon, the Sultan of Maldives began to pay tribute to the Dutch in Sri Lanka (Ceylon).
5. Later, Maldives was taken over by the British. They built a naval base and a radio transmission centre in the Maldives.
6. They also took Indian labourers to work in the paddy fields in the Maldives.
7. Maldives became independent on 26th July 1965, by a treaty signed at Colombo.

As a result, the Asian continent Maldives was decolonized.