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Jan 1, 1500
The Colonizing of Ceylon
European countries come and colonize Ceylon. The Portugese took control of Ceylon in 1505 and remained under the Portugese until 1660 -
Period: Jan 29, 1505 to
Ceylon being under Portugese rule as a colony
The timespan represents the time Ceylon was a colony of the Portugese. -
The end of Portugese rule and the start of Dutch rule on Ceylon
The Dutch had been at war with the Portugese for 22 years and now have full control of island, except for the kingdom of Kandy. The Dutch persacuted the Cathloics because the Dutch were protestants. However the Dutch let the Buddhists, Muslims, and Hindus remain on the island. -
Period: to
Time of the Dutch having control of Cylon
The island was taken away by the British and then they made it their own colony. The Dutch got the island by defeating the Portugese -
The British take over the island of Ceylon from the Dutch
The British were afraid of Napolean and the French taking control of Sri Lanka because of the Dutch being taken over by the French. So the British easily took over the coastal area of Sri Lanka and then in 1802 the British had officially taken over the entire island away from the Dutch. -
Period: to
Ceylon being a colony under British rule
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The end of the Kandy empire
The British had the first battle of Kandy in 1803 and lost. However in 1815 the second battle of Kandy happened and the British won and ended Ceylon independence. -
The cultivation of Ceylon by the British
The British had discovered that the uplands of Ceylon were great for the cultivation of tea, coffee, and rubber. The British then moved people from south India in order to cultivate their plantations, the India group (slave-like) of people took up 10% of the islands population. -
'First" Nationalist movement
Riots were created by WWI, even though the closest Sri Lanka got to the war was that a German cruiser was shot down by an Australlian ship in the Bay of Bengal. Due to this it helped with the start of riots on the island by Sinhalese and Muslims on the west coast of the island. Was considered a nationalist movement. -
The island of Ceylon used as a base for the British military
During WWII the British used Ceylon as a front line base against the Japanese. However in 1942, the capital Colombo was bombed by the Japanese -
Independence!
Ceylon gains independence from the British. This ends the 152 year-rule of the British Empire. -
Ceylon becomes Sri Lanka
The country of Ceylon officially changes its name to Sri Lanka and Buddhism is officially the main religion of the country. -
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil
The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil) is founded - successor of the Tamil New Tigers. This group emerged from Marxist-Leninist Ideals. It is founded by Velupillai Prabhakaran. They were based in Northern Sri Lanka, and is the only Seperatist Military Group to assassinate two world leaders. They are a nationalist group. -
First Strike
The first major attack carried out by the LTTE. They ambush a Sri Lankan Army Patrol near Jaffna. This led to many Tamil youths joining the LTTE to fight against the Sri Lankan Government. -
Black July
Following the LTTE's first attack on the Sri Lankan government, between 300 - 4000 Tamils were killed in response. Many Tamils flee to foreign countries following this event. This is seen as the official start to the civil war between the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE. -
A Major Tsunami
When a tsunami in December hit Sri Lanka, it killed 30,000 people. As well as around 250,000 people in Asia. -
A New President
The son of Dan Alwin Rajapkse, Mahinda Rajapakse is elected the new President of Sri Lanka. He is then able to defeat the LTTE. -
The End of the LTTE
The LTTE is officially defeated. S. Pathmanathan concedes defeat by sending an email saying that the battle is now over. Several LTTE combatants commit suicide when they became surrounded by Sri Lankan militia.
