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The '''Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka''' (formerly '''Ceylon''') is a pear-shaped island off of the southern coast of [[India]] having nearly 22 million people, which obtained its independence from [[Great Britain]] in 1948. Sri Lanka has a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] majority (70%) with roughly 6,000 Buddhist monasteries, and the Tamils (who are mostly based in [[India]]) are the main ethnic minority. [[Muslim]]s comprise a smaller minority, at about 10%.  About 8% of Sri Lankans are [[Christian]], most of whom are [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]. The remaining roughly 13% are [[Hinduism|Hindu]].  For many years until their defeat in 2009 the Tamils led a civil war demanding independence.  

The '''Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka''' (formerly '''Ceylon''') is a pear-shaped island off of the southern coast of [[India]] having nearly 22 million people, which obtained its independence from [[Great Britain]] in 1948. Sri Lanka has a [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] majority (70%) with roughly 6,000 Buddhist monasteries, and the Tamils (who are mostly based in [[India]]) are the main ethnic minority. [[Muslim]]s comprise a smaller minority, at about 10%.  About 8% of Sri Lankans are [[Christian]], most of whom are [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]. The remaining roughly 13% are [[Hinduism|Hindu]].  For many years until their defeat in 2009, the Tamils led a civil war demanding independence.  

Sri Lanka has been a separate people from India for thousands of years, but they are generally on good terms diplomatically.  

Sri Lanka has been a separate people from India for thousands of years, but they are generally on good terms diplomatically.  

 

===Tamils===

===Tamils===

'''Tamils'''  who immigrated from nearby parts of India and practice the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] religion, dominate the northern part of the island; they demanded their own independence. When the British set up plantations after 1829 they brought over half a million laborers from nearby south India. From the 1820s through the 1880s these Tamils worked as seasonal harvesters on the coffee plantations. After 1880 tea was subsequently introduced which required year-round tending and could absorb family labor. The Indian plantation workers lived in isolated villages on hilltops, spoke a different language (Tamil), and practiced Hinduism, a religion different from the Buddhism of the native Sinhalese.  

'''Tamils'''  who immigrated from nearby parts of India and practice the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] religion, dominate the northern part of the island; they demanded their own independence. When the British setup plantations after 1829 they brought over half a million laborers from nearby south India. From the 1820s through the 1880s these Tamils worked as seasonal harvesters on the coffee plantations. After 1880 tea was subsequently introduced which required year-round tending and could absorb family labor. The Indian plantation workers lived in isolated villages on hilltops, spoke a different language (Tamil), and practiced Hinduism, a religion different from the Buddhism of the native Sinhalese.  

===Veddas===

===Veddas===

'''Veddas''' are the aborigines of '''Sri Lanka''', some still live in a wild state, they are extant between [[Kandy]] and the East coast.<ref>{{Nuttall|Veddas}}</ref>

'''Veddas''' are the aborigines of '''Sri Lanka''', some still live in a wild state, they are extant between [[Kandy]] and the East coast.<ref>{{Nuttall|Veddas}}</ref>

===The Polonnaruva Kingdom===

===The Polonnaruva Kingdom===

===Fragmentation 1250 to 1600===

===Fragmentation 1250 to 1600===

Starting about 1250-1300 Sinhalese civilization declined. Beginning in the 11th century invasions from southern India became more frequent. The powerful Chola dynasty in India annexed the island in 993 and ruled it as part of its empire until 1070. Even after the restoration of Sinhalese political power, invasions continued and drained the resources of the state. Southern Indian invaders settled in Ceylon and married into Sinhalese royalty. They formed powerful factions in the court and eventually seized control of the throne. Sinhalese claimants to the throne and their followers drifted away from the capital southward and southwestward, where they set up rival centers of political power, eventually at Kandy in the remote center of the island. In the north a Tamil kingdom was established in the 14th century by a dynasty that came from southern India; its capital was Jaffna.

Starting about 1250-1300 Sinhalese civilization declined. Beginning in the 11th-century invasions from southern India became more frequent. The powerful Chola dynasty in India annexed the island in 993 and ruled it as part of its empire until 1070. Even after the restoration of Sinhalese political power, invasions continued and drained the resources of the state. Southern Indian invaders settled in Ceylon and married into Sinhalese royalty. They formed powerful factions in the court and eventually seized control of the throne. Sinhalese claimants to the throne and their followers drifted away from the capital southward and southwestward, where they set up rival centers of political power, eventually at Kandy in the remote center of the island. In the north a Tamil kingdom was established in the 14th century by a dynasty that came from southern India; its capital was Jaffna.

Political instability caused the decline of the agrarian system of the north central plains. The state was too weak to maintain the elaborate irrigation works, which breached and silted up. Repeated damage to the works during the frequent wars was never fully repaired. The plains were thus deprived of water, and as productivity declined, the population migrated toward the rain-fed areas of the south and southwest. Within two centuries, the once fertile fields of the north were overgrown with jungle; disease spread in the swamps of stagnant water.

Political instability caused the decline of the agrarian system of the north central plains. The state was too weak to maintain the elaborate irrigation works, which breached and silted up. Repeated damage to the works during the frequent wars was never fully repaired. The plains were thus deprived of water, and as productivity declined, the population migrated toward the rain-fed areas of the south and southwest. Within two centuries, the once fertile fields of the north were overgrown with jungle; disease spread in the swamps of stagnant water.