Maldives High Sea

The Maldives form a chain of coral atolls in the Indian Ocean, southwest of India and Sri Lanka. Their islands supplied cowrie shells that circulated as money across much of Asia and parts of East Africa. Chinese ceramics found in the archipelago bear witness to contacts, direct or indirect, with China; the fleets of Zheng He visited in 1411 and 1430. Portuguese forces occupied the Maldives in 1558, but were expelled fifteen years later.