Maldives High Sea

The Maldives form a chain of low coral atolls in the Indian Ocean. Their waters carried a trade in cowrie shells and coir fibre, connecting the islands with distant markets; cowries were used as money in Bengal and other parts of Asia as well as on the East African coast. The Moroccan traveller Ibn Battuta spent nine months in the islands in the fourteenth century, serving as chief judge and marrying into the ruling family before leaving amid tensions with its leaders.