History
Recent excavations show that even during the Neolithic Age, there were food gatherers and rice cultivators in Sri Lanka. Very little is known of this period; documented history began with the arrival of the Aryans from North India. The Aryans introduced the use of iron and an advanced form of agriculture and irrigation. They also introduced the art of government. Of the Aryan settlements, Anuradhapura grew in to a powerful kingdom under the rule of King Pandukabhaya. According to traditional history he is accepted as the founder of Anuradhapura.
During the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa, a descendant of Pandukabhaya, Buddhism was introduced in 247 B.C. by Arahat Mahinda, the son of Emperor Asoka of India. This is the most important event in Sri Lankan history as it set the country on the road to cultural greatness. As a new civilization flourished Sri Lanka became rich and prosperous.
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In the mid 2nd century B.C. a large part of north Sri Lanka came under the rule of an invader from South India. From the beginning of the Christian era and up to the end of the 4th century A.D. Sri Lanka was governed by an unbroken dynasty called Lambakarna, which paid great attention to the development of irrigation. A great king of this dynasty, Mahasen started the construction of large ‘tanks’ or irrigation reservoirs. Another great ‘tank’ builder was Dhatusena, who was put to death by his son Kasyapa who made Sigiriya a royal city with his fortress capital on the summit of the rock.
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As a result of invasions from South India the Kingdom of Anuradhapura fell by the end of the 10th century A.D. Vijayabahu (I) repulsed the attack and established his capital at Polonnaruwa in the 11th century A.D. Other great kings of Polonnaruwa were Parakramabahu the Great and Nissanka Malla both of whom adorned the city with numerous buildings of architectural beauty.
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THE ERA OF COLONIALISM
European ambitions were manifested with the advent of the Portuguese in the early 16th century (1518-1658). The aliens wanted to establish a trade settlement in the growing port city of Colombo. Control over the whole island was of more interest to the Portuguese than the seizure of the territories. In the process, they began to interfere in the internal affairs of coastal areas. By 1600, the Portuguese had already completely controlled the southwestern coast of the principality of Kotte and had managed to subdue Jaffna. Attempts to take control of the Kandian state led to the end of the Portuguese government in Ceilao (as they called Lanka). To expel the Portuguese from the island, the Kandians invited the Dutch (1602).
The Dutch (1602-1796) dreamed of seizing the spice trade into their own hands. Having obtained a monopoly on trade in exchange for aid, they cleared the east and south-west coasts of the Portuguese (1641) from Portugal, leaving themselves ports: Halle in the south and Negombo in the west, and in 1658, with the capture of Jaffna, expelled the Portuguese from Ceylan. Thus, the Lancians changed one European power to another. But the Kandian state still maintained its independence. Over time, the preservation of Kandy's independence led to the separation of the Sinhalese themselves, the difference between the people living on the plains and the Kandians. Revenues from cinnamon trade have become major European incomes in Ceylon.
In the late 18th century (1795-1796), the British began to capture Ceylon from seizing ports on the coast. In 1803, they first attacked Kandy, but the attack was repulsed. And only after 12 years they were able to subordinate the state of Kandi. For the first time in the history of Sri Lanka, the entire island was controlled by a single state. The last king was captured and exiled to India, where he died in custody. In 1815, the rulers of Kandy, the Kandi Convention on the transfer of rule to the British Crown was signed.
The British government brought significant changes in the economy of Ceylon by the middle of the 19th century. The main event is the delivery of coffee, which replaced cinnamon, as the main export crop. By 1870, coffee became the king of exports. But the disease of the coffee leaf led to the destruction of the entire crop and coffee trade in general. Together with coffee, rubber from Brazil and tea from China and India were brought, which became the basis of the economy. The British dominated the trade in rubber and tea, controlled the shipping company, banks and import-export. During the Second World War, the headquarters of the Allied forces were stationed in Ceylon. The main seaports of Colombo on the west coast and Trincomale on the east, have become important links between Europe and theaters of military operations in Asia. The Japanese, well informed about the strategic position of the island, Attacked the ports in April 1942, but were defeated. After the war, on February 4, 1948, Ceylon gained independence. Unlike India and Burma, the transfer of power passed without worry. In May 1972, under a new constitution, Ceylon was renamed the Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka.
Invasion was intermittent and the capital was moved constantly until the Portuguese arrived in 1505, when the chief city was established at Kotte, in the Western lowlands. The Portuguese came to trade in spices but stayed to rule until 1656 in the coastal regions, as did the Dutch thereafter. The Dutch rule lasted from 1656 to 1796, in which year they were displaced by the British. During this period the highland Kingdom, with its capital in Kandy, retained its independence despite repeated assaults by foreign powers who ruled the rest of the country. In 1815 the whole island came under British power when the last Sinhalese King Keerthi Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe was captured. Modern communications, Western medical services, education in English, as well as the plantation industry developed during the British rule. By a process of peaceful, constitutional evolution, Sri Lanka won back her independence in 1948 and is now a sovereign republic, with membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and the United Nations Organization.
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