A BRIEF HISTORY OF SRI LANKA ANCIENT SRI LANKA About 500 BC when a people called the Sinhalese migrated there 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 an integral part of Sinhalese culture. However at first Sri Lanka was divided into different states. A man named Dutthagamani (161-137 BC) united them into a single kingdom. As well as being a powerful ruler Dutthagamani was a great builder and he erected palaces and temples. The capital of the first Sri Lankan kingdom was at Anuradhapura. The staple diet of the Sri Lankan people was rice but to grow rice needs to stand in water. However in Sri Lanka’s hot climate water soon evaporated. Some water was provided by rain in the rainy season (October to April) but it was not enough. To gain extra water the people dammed streams and rivers. However in time 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. She traded with India, China, Persia and Ethiopia. however from the 5th century onwards 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. In1017 they captured the south. 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 his death in 1111 weak rulers 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. He died in 1183. In the 13th century Sri Lankan power declined. There were repeated invasions from India and political instability. 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 A new era in the history of Sri Lanka began in 1505 when the Portuguese arrived. The Portuguese sought 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 assented. However the Portuguese then ordered the king to sell them his cinnamon at a price fixed by them. When the king refused the Portuguese used force. In 1518 the king of Kotte was forced to agree to give cinnamon to the Portuguese each year as tribute. Increasing Portuguese demands led to a war in 1520-21, which the Portuguese won. The king lost the support of his people and he was overthrown by his 3 sons. The eldest son became King Bhuvanekbahu VI. He reigned until 1551. However 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. In time the states of Kotte and Sitavaka began to quarrel. The rulers of Sitavaka resented the increasing Portuguese influence in Kotte. So Kotte and Sitavaka fought a number of wars. Each time Kotte was forced to look to the Portuguese for help. So inevitably Portuguese influence in Kotte increased. In 1551 King Bhuvankbahu was assassinated and the Portuguese installed a puppet ruler in Kotte. Meanwhile Catholic missionaries were at work in Kotte. In 1557 the puppet ruler became a Catholic. Many of his subjects also converted. Finally in 1597 the Portuguese annexed Kotte and Sitavaka. In 1619 they annexed Jaffna. Only Kandy was still independent. 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 envoys. 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, claiming their expenses had not 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 recognise Dutch sovereignty over all the Sri Lankan coast line, even those parts that formerly belonged to Kandy, to a depth of 4 Sihanalese miles.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 09:56:07 +0000
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