SRI LANKA > HISTORY

History

The first large-scale migrations from the Indian subcontinent to the island now known as Sri Lanka began around 500 bc. Indo-Aryan people migrated from the northern areas of the Indian subcontinent. Over time they became known as the Sinhalese and developed a distinct language, Sinhala, based on the Sanskrit language. Early migrations to the island also took place from south India among Dravidian peoples, who spoke the Tamil language.

The principal source for the early history of Sri Lanka is the Mahavamsa (Great Chronicle), written by Buddhist monks in the 500s ad. It provides a legendary account of the first Sinhalese ruler in the 5th century bc and documents the rise and fall of successive Buddhist kingdoms. Later Sinhalese history is chronicled in the Dipavamsa (Lesser Chronicle), completed in the late 1700s ad. Because the chronicles were written to glorify Buddhism and its royal patrons, they present a relatively one-sided narrative of events.

According to the Mahavamsa, the first ruler of the island was Vijaya, a banished prince from northern India, whose arrival coincided with the parinibbana (passing away) of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, in 483 bc. This legend helped establish the powerful belief among the Sinhalese that they were the chosen guardians of Buddhism.

Ancient Kingdoms

In 377 bc the Sinhalese established Anuradhapura as the capital of their kingdom. In 250 bc Sinhalese king Devanampiya Tissa converted to Buddhism during a missionary visit by Mahinda, son of Indian emperor Ashoka. The Sinhalese monarch became a powerful patron of Buddhism, firmly establishing it as the official religion of his kingdom. The art and architecture of Anuradhapura flourished under Buddhist influence and state patronage.

The kingdom prospered under a system of settled agriculture. By the 1st century ad, the Sinhalese had built several large-scale irrigation works that included a complex system of dams, reservoirs, and canals. The irrigation works allowed them to cultivate rice and other crops on a grand scale in the dry north central plains, where Anuradhapura was centered.

Despite recurring invasions from south India, Sinhalese kings held sway over Anuradhapura for several centuries. In the late 900s, however, the Cholas (a Tamil-speaking people from south India) conquered the capital and annexed Rajarata, the agricultural center of the Sinhalese kingdom.

In 1070 Sinhalese king Vijayabahu I drove the Cholas out of Sri Lanka and established a new capital at Polonnaruwa, about 80 km (about 50 mi) southeast of Anuradhapura. The kingdom prospered until about 1200, when it entered a period of decline marked by dynastic succession disputes, social and economic instability, and repeated invasions from south India. When the kingdom finally collapsed in the late 1200s, the Sinhalese abandoned their settlements in the north central plains and migrated to the southwest. In the north, meanwhile, a Tamil kingdom centered at Nallur (near present-day Jaffna) in the Jaffna Peninsula expanded its influence during the 1200s and 1300s.

Foreign Contacts


Sri Lanka was known to seafarers since ancient times. Maps that the Greek astronomer Ptolemy compiled in the 2nd century labeled the island Tabrobane. Arab seafarers called it Serendip. From as early as the 700s, Muslim traders called Moors established coastal trading communities in the island. Muslim communities began to claim a significant share of maritime trade in the Indian Ocean in the 1100s.

From about the 1400s, European maps identified the island as Seylan, which was later anglicized to Ceylon. In the 1500s Portugal and Spain established their dominance in the maritime trade of South and Southeast Asia. In the 1600s the Dutch emerged as the dominant colonial power in the region, followed in the 1700s by the British.

Period of Colonial Rule


When Europeans first came to the island of present-day Sri Lanka in the early 1500s, it was fragmented between three local polities: two Sinhalese kingdoms, centered in Sri Jayawardenepura (Kotte) in the southwest and Kandy in the central highlands, and a Tamil kingdom centered in the Jaffna Peninsula.

Portuguese and Dutch Rule


The Portuguese decided the island of present-day Sri Lanka, which they knew as Ceilao, was strategically important for dominating trade in the Indian Ocean. In 1517 the Portuguese founded a fort and trading post at Colombo. By 1619 they controlled all but the central highlands, where the Kingdom of Kandy successfully thwarted their attempts to seize control. The Portuguese waged a vigorous campaign to convert the people of the island to Roman Catholicism, destroying many Buddhist and Hindu temples. Kandy became a place of refuge for Buddhist monks and others disaffected with Portuguese rule. Roman Catholicism became the most enduring legacy of Portuguese colonial rule.

In the early 1600s the Dutch sought to wrest control of the maritime spice trade from Portugal. With the help of local leaders, the Dutch attacked Portuguese strongholds in the island, winning major victories in 1639 and 1640. The Portuguese surrendered their last stronghold at Jaffna in 1658. The Dutch developed a robust trade in cinnamon. They developed a network of inland canals to transport the cinnamon and other goods to the coastal ports. Like the Portuguese, the Dutch were unsuccessful in gaining control of the Kingdom of Kandy. The Dutch tried with little success to supplant Roman Catholicism with Protestantism. The most enduring legacy of Dutch rule was the development of a well-organized judicial system based in Roman-Dutch law, modified to some extent by Muslim and Tamil customary laws.

British Rule


In 1796 the British expelled the Dutch from the island. Ceylon, as it was known to the British, officially became the first British crown colony in 1802. Following several British military campaigns, the Kingdom of Kandy capitulated to British sovereignty in 1815. Although segments of the Sinhalese population rebelled in 1818 and 1848, the British used their superior military power to ruthlessly suppress the uprisings. The 1848 rebellion forced the colonial government to reassess some of its policies. It repealed some taxes that had alienated Sinhalese farmers and adopted a more conciliatory policy toward Buddhism.

In 1833 the British began to govern the country under a single administration. Previously, the island had been governed under administrative divisions along ethnic and cultural lines. The British also created an economy based on plantation agriculture. The administration took over vast areas of land in the central highlands, sold them cheaply to British nationals, and encouraged the development of large plantations. Tea, rubber, and coconuts became the colony’s principal exports. When local Sinhalese refused to work in the plantations, the colonial administration brought in large numbers of Tamils from southern India to work as migrant laborers.

The indigenous struggle for representative government led to some modest improvements in 1910 and 1924. In 1931 a new constitution established universal adult franchise and allowed significantly more indigenous representation in government. However, the British governor general and British ministers retained control over most matters.

During World War II (1939-1945) Sri Lanka was an important base of operations in the Allied offensive against the Japanese and a major source of rubber, foodstuffs, and other materials vital to the war effort. Negotiations during and after the war between local leaders and British administrators resulted in the Ceylon Independence Act of 1947. Ceylon formally became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth of Nations on February 4, 1948.

Developments since Independence


The constitution of independent Ceylon was modeled on that of Britain. The nominal head of state was a governor general, who represented the British monarch, but executive authority was exercised by a prime minister and cabinet of ministers who were responsible to the legislature.

From: Encartar


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