Maldives
Syllabification: (Mal·dives)
Pronunciation: /ˈmôlˌdēvz, -ˌdīvz, ˈmäl-/
(also Maldive Islands)
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The islands were probably first settled from southern India and Sri Lanka, but later came under Arab influence. A British protectorate from 1887, the Maldives became independent within the Commonwealth of Nations under the rule of a sultan in 1965 and then as a republic in 1968
