The+Colonial+past+of+Sri+Lanka

** Colonial Past of Sri Lanka ** 

**ANCIENT SRI LANKA**

Around 500 BC there were people called the Sinhalese that migradted from India. According to legend the first settlers were led by a man named Vijaya.

According to tradition, Buddhism was introduced into Sri Lanka in 260 BC by a man named Mahinda. It soon became a part of Sinhalese culture.

At first Sri Lanka was divided into different states, but Dutthagamani (161-137 BC) united them into a single kingdom.

Dutthagamani was a powerful ruler, and a great builder. He had built palaces and temples.

The capital of the first Sri Lankan kingdom was at Anuradhapura.

The main food for Sri Lankan people was rice but to grow rice needs to stand in water. However in Sri Lanka’s hot climate caused water to evaporated. Some water was provided by rain. (in the rainy season, which is October to April) but it was not enough. To gain extra water the people dammed streams and rivers. Soon it became the ruler’s responsibility to provide water for farming. King Mahensa (274-303) built large reservoirs and irrigation canals to take water from one area to another. The network of reservoirs and canals gradually became bigger and more complex.

In the 2nd 3rd and 4th centuries AD Sri Lanka became a rich kingdom. Sri Lanka traded with India, China, Persia and Ethiopia. In 5th century and after that, Sri Lanka suffered from invasions from India. In the 10th century the Chola kingdom became powerful in southern India.

In 993 the Cholas captured northern Sri Lanka and they made Polonnaruwa the capital.

In 1017 they captured the south of Sri Lanka. However the Sinhalese continued to resist and in 1030 the Cholas withdrew from Rohana, in the Southeast. In 1070 the Sinhalese ruler Vijayabahu recaptured the north. However after Vijayabahu’s death in 1111, the weak rulers had succeeded him. Sri Lanka broke up into independent states.

Then in 1153 Parakrama Bahu the Great became king of the realm of Dakkinadesa. This great ruler reunited Sri Lanka and he repaired the irrigation system.

In the 13th century Sri Lankan power declined.

There were many invasions from India and was politically instable. The irrigation system began to breakdown and the people drifted to the Southwest. In 1255 the capital Polonnaruwa was abandoned.

In the 13th century the Tamils settled in the north of Sri Lanka and by 1505 Sri Lanka was divided into 3 areas. In the north lived Tamils. There was a Sinhalese kingdom in the Southwest based in Kotte and another in the centre and east based in Kandy.

**PORTUGUESE COLONIALISM IN SRI LANKA** In 1505 the Portugeuse and arrived in Sri Lanka. The Portuguese wanted cinnamon (a very valuable spice). In 1517 they sent an expedition to Colombo and asked permission to build a fort there. King Vijayabahu of Kotte reluctantly agreed. But the Portuguese then ordered the king to sell them his cinnamon at a price fixed. When the king refused the Portuguese used force, so then in 1518 the king of Kotte was forced to agree to give cinnamon to the Portuguese each year as tribute.

The increasing Portuguese demands led to a war in 1520-21, which the Portuguese won. The king had lost the support of his people and was then overthrown by his 3 sons. The eldest son became King Bhuvanekbahu VI. He reigned until 151. King Bhuvanekbahu VI he agreed to give his 2 brothers principalities of their won within Kotte to rule. The largest of these became the kingdom of Sitavaka. The smallest was based on Rayigama but when its ruler died in 1538 it was absorbed into Sitavaka.

Kotte and Sitavaka had started to have problems, the rulers of Sitavaka resented the increasing Portuguese influence in Kotte. Kotte and Sitavaka eventually fought a number of wars. Each time Kotte was forced to ask Portuguese for help. So as a result the Portuguese influence in Kotte increased.

The Portuguese made several attempts to conquer Kandy, in 1594, 1603 and 1629, without success.

**DUTCH COLONIALISM IN SRI LANK** In 1636 King Rajsinha of Kandy turned to the Dutch for help. The power of Portugal was declining while Dutch power was increasing. In 1637 he received Dutch representatvies.

In 1638 the Portuguese invaded again but they were crushed at the battle of Gannoruwa. Afterwards the Dutch agreed to capture the Portuguese held ports on the Sri Lankan coast in return for their expenses. Between 1638 and 1640 the Dutch captured certain ports but they held onto them instead of giving them to Kandy, saying their expenses hadn’t been paid.

The Dutch and Portuguese made peace in 1640 but war resumed in 1652.

Once again the kingdom of Kandy formed an alliance with the Dutch. This time the Dutch attacked Colombo and they captured it in 1656. However they refused to hand it over to Kandy. Instead they pushed inland. In 1658 they captured Jaffna. That was the end of Portuguese rule in Sri Lanka.

The Dutch extended their rule and in 1665 they captured Tincomalee on the east coast. Kandy remained independent and continued to exist uneasily beside the Dutch colony until 1760 when war broke out between them.

The Dutch won the war and they forced Kandy to accept a humiliating treaty. Kandy was forced to recognize Dutch sovereignty over //all// the Sri Lankan coast line, even those parts that formerly belonged to Kandy, to a depth of 4 Sihanalese miles.

**BRITISH COLONIALISM IN SRI LANKA (CEYLON)** In 1796 Dutch rule gave way to British. In that year the British annexed Colombo and Jaffna and Dutch rule was over.

The British were eager to conquer Kandy. They gained their opportunity in 1815. Kandy was ruled by Sri Wickrama Rajasiha (1798-1815).

He was known as cruel king and was very unpopular with his subjects. Some of his nobles conspired with the British to get rid of him. The British army invaded Kandy and met little resistance. The king fled. However in 1817-18 there was a rebellion in parts of Kandy against British rule but it was crushed.

Trial by jury was introduced in 1811 and the British built a network of roads.

Then in 1833 they introduced wide-ranging reforms. English was made the official language and the administration was reformed. Slavery was abolished in 1844.

The early 19th century the British created large plantations for growing coffee. Import taxes on coffee in Britain were reduced, and coffee drinking became more common. Exports of Sri Lankan or Ceylonese coffee increased tremendously and large numbers of labourers from India were brought to work on the plantations. But in 1870s the coffee crop was devastated by the slow spread of a fungus called //hemileia vastratrix//. In the late 19th century tea replaced coffee as the main Ceylonese crop. Rubber and coconuts were also important crops.

Also in the late 19th century both Hinduism and Buddhism revived in Ceylon. In the early 20th century Sri Lankan nationalism grew. The Ceylon National Congress was formed in 1919. In 1910 the Ceylonese were allowed to elect one member of the legislative council and in 1924 the British made a compromise. However the Ceylonese were not happy.

In 1931 Ceylon was granted a new constitution. From then on the legislature was elected by universal suffrage. But Ceylonese demanded complete independence. Yet another constitution was introduced in 1946. In 1947 the British announced that India was to become independent.

As a result the Ceylonese then demanded their independence and in June 1947 the British agreed to make Sri Lanka a dominion.

Sri Lanka became independent on 4 February 1948.



Source: http://www.localhistories.org/srilanka.html Note: most of the information was taken from that website which was written by Tim Lambert.

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