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Recent excavations
show that even during the Neolithic Age, there were food gatherers and
rice cultivators in Sri Lanka. Very little is known of this period;
documented history began with the arrival of the Aryans from North
India. The Aryans introduced the use of iron and an advanced form of
agriculture and irrigation. They also introduced the art of
government. Of the Aryan settlements,
Anuradhapura
grew into a powerful kingdom under the rule of king Pandukabhaya.
According to traditional history he is accepted as the founder of
Anuradhapura.
During the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa, a descendent of
Pandukabhaya, Buddhism was introduced in 247 B.C. by Arahat Mahinda,
the son of Emperor Asoka of India. This is the most important event in
Sri Lankan history as it set the country on the road to cultural
greatness. As a new civilisation flourished Sri Lanka became rich and
prosperous.
In the mid 2nd century B.C. a large part of north Sri Lanka came under
the rule of an invader from South India. From the beginning of the
Christian era and up to the end of the 4th century A.D. Sri Lanka was
governed by an unbroken dynasty called Lambakarna, which paid great
attention to the development of irrigation. A great king of this
dynasty, Mahasen (3rd century A.D.) started the construction of large
`tanks' or irrigation reservoirs. Another great `tank' builder was
Dhatusena, who was put to death by his son Kasyapa who made Sigiriya a
royal city with his fortress capital on the summit of the rock.
As a result of invasions from South India the kingdom of Anuradhapura
fell by the end of the 10th century A.D. Vijayabahu 1 repulsed the
invaders and established his capital at Polonnaruwa in the 11th
century A.D. Other great kings of Polonnaruwa were Parakrama Bahu the
Great and Nissanka Malla both of whom adorned the city with numerous
buildings of architectural beauty.
Invasion was intermittent and the capital was moved constantly until
the Portuguese arrived in 1505, when the chief city was established at
Kotte, in the western lowlands. The Portuguese came to trade in spices
but stayed to rule until 1656 in the coastal regions, as did the Dutch
thereafter. Dutch rule lasted from 1656 to 1796, in which year they
were displaced by the British. During this period the highland
Kingdom, with its capital in Kandy, retained its independence despite
repeated assaults by foreign powers who ruled the rest of the
country. In 1815 the kingdom of Kandy was ceded to the British and
thus they established their rule over the whole island. Modern
communications, western medical services, education in English, as
well as the plantation industry (first coffee then tea, rubber and
coconut) developed during British rule. By a process of peaceful,
constitutional evolution, Sri Lanka won back her independence in 1948
and is now a sovereign republic, with membership in the Commonwealth
of Nations and the United Nations Organisation. |
Information provided by
Sri Lanka Tourism Board.
