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201
Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka
In 200 BC Buddhism was brought to Sri Lanka by an Indian prince. Many people in Sri Lanka were Buddhist in ancient times, and Buddhism is currently one of the major religions in the country. This shows how important Buddhism is in Sri Lanka, because even in modern times it is still just as significant as it was a long time ago. -
275
King Mahasen became king and built many reservoirs
King Mahasen was a Sinhalese leader in Sri Lanka from 275-301 AD. He built many reservoirs in order to store water in Sri Lanka. Some of his reservoirs that were built in ancient times were still working long after they were built. One of them was even working in the 1600's. King Mahasen's reservoirs greatly benefited Sri Lanka. -
Jan 1, 1070
A Sinhalese Buddhist civilization in Polonnaruwa
By 500 AD there was already a large Sinhalese civilization, with Anuradhapura as the biggest city. In 1070 a different Sinhalese city called Polonnaruwa became the most important city of that time in Sri Lanka. Both of these cities were part of the same Buddhist civilization. -
Jan 1, 1300
The Tamils established a kingdom
In 1300 the Tamils established a kingdom in the north part of Sri Lanka. They came from the south part of India. The Sinhalese Buddhists were already in the country. They had come from the north part of India. The two groups started fighting for control of the island until the Europeans came and started colonizing Sri Lanka. After Sri Lanka got its independence, the Tamils and the Sinhalese started fighting again. They are still fighting today. -
Jan 1, 1500
Kandyan Dance
Kandyan dancing is considered to be Sri Lanka's national dance. It was most popular in the 1500-1800's. Kandyan dancers dressed in decorated clothing and told stories through song and movement. Kandyan dancing was even used in a Buddhist festival. The dance was a very important form of entertainment in Sri Lanka. -
Jan 1, 1505
Colonizing Sri Lanka
In 1505 the Europeans started colonizing Sri Lanka. First, the Portuguese took over in 1505, then in the 1600%u2019s the Dutch took control of the coasts, and finally in 1796 the British took over and named the island Ceylon. The British eventually took control of the whole island, later made it a colony, and had the most influence on all of Sri Lanka. They exported spices and grew tea, which had an impact on Sri Lanka's economy. -
Independence
Sri Lanka got independence from Britain on February 4th, 1948. It got independence peacefully, without a war. It is a democratic country. Even after getting independence from Britain, the country's name was Ceylon until 1972, when its name was changed to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka means "resplendent island". -
A riot and a civil war
In 1983 the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam) killed 13 soldiers from the Sinhalese government. Then Sinhalese people started a riot. This ended up starting a civil war between the LTTE and the Sinhalese government. The Tamils want to separate the island into two countries so that they be independent. They do not believe that they are being treated fairly by the government. However, the Sinhalese consider the Tamils to be terrorists and do not want them to have their own country.
