A Portuguese invasion resulted in their capture of the Maldives for a period of fifteen years after which they were overthrown by a mixture of early guerilla tactics and the difficulty of logistical support for the occupying forces. Events around this time are recounted by the French sailor Francois Pyrard de Laval, who was shipwrecked in the Maldives in 1602 and lived there for five years.
With the growth of British influence with the expansion of their Empire, the Maldives became a British protectorate, in an unusual arrangement where the British ensured the defence of the islands yet were not involved in any way with the running of the country. The close relationships with the British ensured a period of peace and freedom from foreign interference. During the Second World War, The British had forward bases in the north and south of the archipelago and, in 1957, the RAF established a base in Gan in the south. This airbase closed in 1976.
The Maldives became a fully independent nation on July 26, 1965, and a Republic on November 11, 1968.


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