Sri
Lanka / History / Colonial Times
The
Portuguese began as spice and cinnamon traders and
eventually succeeded in taking control of the whole
island except the central highlands, which remained
under the Kandyan Sinhalese kings.
The Dutch dislodged the Portuguese in 1656 and controlled
the coastal areas for 140 years restricting themselves
to trade unlike the Portuguese who also spent considerable
effort in spreading religion and extending territorial
control.
The Dutch gave way to the British and the subjugation
of Kandy in 1815 signalled the end of Sinhala resistance
to colonial rule and the absorption of the whole island
as one entity into the vast British Empire. Under
the British the country developed as a typical colonial
territory, first coffee and then tea and rubber becoming
the mainstay of the economy.
Universal adult franchise was introduced in 1931 and
it was in 1948 that independence finally came and
the first Sri Lankan government under Prime Minister
D.S Senanayake was established.
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