father was killed in 1931, and Malcolm
had a difficult childhood. He dropped
out of school after the eighth grade. As a
young man he moved to New York City
and became involved in crime.
Nation of Islam
Little was in prison when he learned of a
group called the Nation of Islam. The
Nation of Islam followed some of the
teachings of Islam. It also taught that
blacks were superior to whites.
Little joined the Nation of Islam in
1952. He gave up his last name because
he believed that slaveholders had given it
to his ancestors. He replaced it with an
X. The X stood for his unknown African
family name.
Malcolm X was a gifted speaker. He won
many new members for the Nation of
Islam. At the time, the civil rights movement
was beginning in the United
States. Its leaders sought equal rights for
blacks. For example, they wanted black
children to be able to attend the same
schools as white children. Malcolm X
did not agree with the ideas of the civil
rights movement. Instead he wanted to
establish a separate black nation. He did
not rule out violent methods.
Last Years
Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam in
1964. He converted to traditional Islam
and took the name el-Hajj Malik
el-Shabazz. He made a pilgrimage, or
religious journey, to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
He changed his views about whites.
Malcolm X’s new beliefs angered some
people. On February 21, 1965, he was
speaking in New York City when he was
shot and killed. Three members of the
Nation of Islam were convicted of his
murder.
#More to explore
African Americans • Civil Rights
Movement • Islam
Alex Haley
wrote The
Autobiography
of Malcolm X.
He based it on
interviews with
Malcolm X.
Malcolm X
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Malcolm X 29
Maldives
The Republic of Maldives is a chain of
about 1,200 small islands in the Indian
Ocean. People live on only about 200 of
the islands. Male is the capital.
Maldives lies southwest of India. The
islands extend more than 475 miles (764
kilometers) from north to south and 80
miles (130 kilometers) from east to west.
Maldives has a hot, humid climate.
Maldives’ islands are made of coral. The
coral sits on the peaks of old underwater
volcanoes. Some islands are still being
formed. Others are being washed away.
Lots of plants, including coconut palms
and breadfruit trees, cover the islands.
Many fish and sea turtles live in the
waters around the islands.
The people of Maldives have a mixture
of Indian, Sri Lankan, and Arab roots.
They speak the Divehi language. Nearly
everyone is Muslim. Most of the people
live in villages on small islands. The
population includes many people from
other countries who work in Maldives.
Tourism and fishing are the most important
parts of Maldives’ economy.Workers
also build boats, repair boats, and
make clothing. A small number of
people grow fruits and vegetables.
People from southern Asia came to
Maldives more than 2,000 years ago. By
the AD 1600s the Dutch controlled the
islands. The British took over in 1796.
In 1965 Maldives won full independence
from Great Britain. In 2004 a
huge wave called a tsunami destroyed
some of the islands and killed many
people.
..More to explore
Coral • Male
Maldives is a group of islands located to the
southwest of India in the Indian Ocean.
Facts About
MALDIVES
Population
(2008 estimate)
386,000
Area
115 sq mi (298
sq km)
Capital
Male
Form of
government
Republic
Major city
Male
30 Maldives BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
Male
Male is the capital of Maldives, a country
made up of many small islands in the
Indian Ocean. It is the largest city in
Maldives. The city occupies all of Male
Island, which is the country’s largest
island.
About one fourth of the people of
Maldives live in Male. The city features
several schools, markets, and mosques
(Muslim houses of worship). It is also
home to the National Museum.
Male is a center for trade and tourism.
The main goods produced in the city are
fish, coconuts, breadfruit, and woven
palm mats.
People from Sri Lanka and India settled
on the islands of Maldives more than
2,000 years ago. Male has long been the
main settlement on the islands. In the
1500s Portugal took control of the
islands. Later the Dutch and then the
British ruled the islands. In 1965
Maldives became an independent country
with Male as its capital. In 2004 a
huge wave called a tsunami flooded
much of the city.
#More to explore
Maldives
Malecite
The Malecite were a group of Native
American people who lived in what are
now Canada and the U.S. state of
Maine. They were members of the
Abnaki, a larger group of Native Americans
who spoke the language called
Algonquian.
The Malecite grew corn and hunted and
fished for food. They used bark and
wood to make tools and weapons. Two
chiefs and representatives of each family
governed the Malecite.
Europeans began to settle on Malecite
land in the 1600s. The Malecite traded
with French settlers, and eventually
some Malecite people married French
people. The French and the English
often fought over land in North
America. The Malecite sided with the
French against the English.
Later the English took over Malecite
land. By the middle of the 1800s, the
