 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
Sri Lanka is one of the few countries that has a written record of its history dating over 2500 years. Lord Buddha, founder of Buddhism, is said to have visited the country during his lifetime even leaving an imprint of his foot on Adam’s Peak, a 7300- foot mountain in the central highlands. The first entries in the Mahavansaya – or “Great History” – date back to 543 BC, which coincides with the arrival of Prince Vijaya to Sri Lanaka. Some 300 years later commenced the Early Anuradhapura Period, with King Devanampiya Tissa, the first ruler. It was in this period that the slip of the Bo-tree, under which the Buddha attained enlightenment, was brought to Sri Lanka. The late Anuradhapura Period which began in the year 459, saw the reign of King Kashyapa, and the construction of Sigiriya. The Pollonnaruwa period, which commenced in 1073, witnessed the transfer of the capital from Anuradhapura to Pollonnaruwa. Famed explorer, Marco Polo, arrived in Sri Lanaka in the period between 1254 and 1324.
In 1505 the Portuguese captured the coastal belt, until the Dutch ousted them in 1658. The Dutch were displaced by the British in 1796. The British captured the Kandyan Kingdom in the Central hills and bought the entire country under their rule in 1815 and unified the administration in 1833. Legislative Council was established in the same year to administer the country. The Governor presided over the Legislative Council meeting and the key officials of the Government were appointed members. Unofficial members representing the different communities were also appointed, but they had no power.
The British negotiated the island’s dominion status with the leader of the State Council, D.S Sennanayake who was also Minister of Agriculture and Vice Chairman of the Board of Ministers. The negotiation ended with the Ceylon Independence Act of 1947, which formalized the transfer of power. Sennanayake was the founder and leader of the United National Party (UNP). In February 1948 Sri Lanka, or Ceylon as it was still known, became an independent member of the British Commonwealth.
