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The British Ceylon period is the history of Sri Lanka between 1815 and 1948. It follows the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom into the hands of the British Empire. [ 6 ] It ended over 2300 years of Sinhalese monarchy rule on the island. [ 7 ]
Sri Lanka was a front-line British base against the Japanese during World War II. Sri Lankan opposition to the war was led by the Marxist organizations, and the leaders of the LSSP pro-independence group were arrested by the Colonial authorities.
In the early 17th century, Sri Lanka was partly ruled by the Portuguese and partly by Sri Lankan (primarily of Sinhalese origin) kingdoms, who were constantly battling the Portuguese. Although the Portuguese were not winning the war, their rule was oppressive to the people of those areas controlled by them.
Hindu temples, particularly in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, have faced significant destruction and desecration by European powers during the Transitional, Kandyan and British Ceylon periods. The arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial powers led to the demolition, looting and repurposing of many Hindu temples.
The defenses of Sri Lanka were beefed up to three British army divisions because the island was strategically important, holding almost all the British Empire's resources of rubber. Rationing was instituted so that Sri Lankans were comparatively better fed than their Indian neighbours, in order to prevent disaffection among the natives.
Dutch colonisation of Ceylon did not span the whole island, which was mostly ruled by the interior Kingdom of Kandy. European settlement was instead concentrated at coastal strips surrounding the significant ports of Colombo on the west coast and Trincomalee on the east, supplemented by smaller trading factories and settlements elsewhere. [5]
The Royal Palace of Kandy (Sinhala: කන්ද උඩරට මාලිගාව) is a historical palace complex located in the city of Kandy, Sri Lanka, and was the official residence of the kings of the Kingdom of Kandy before the British colonization in 1815. The palace complex is a remarkable example of traditional Kandyan architecture ...
The other big transformation was the introduction of tea to central Sri Lanka in 1867 and the massive settlement of Tamils in the region. Central Sri Lanka is now dominated by the vast tea estates that helped make Sri Lanka the world's biggest exporter of tea for a while, and were still owned by British companies in 1971.