The Dutch possessions were then taken by the British, who later extended their control over the whole island, colonising it from 1815 to 1948. After the Sinhalese-Portuguese war, the Dutch and the Kingdom of Kandy took control of those areas. Part of Sri Lanka became a Portuguese possession. During a period of great political crisis in the Sinhalese kingdom of Kotte, the Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka (largely by accident) and then sought to control the island's maritime regions and its lucrative external trade. The country's trade in luxury goods and spices attracted traders of many nations, which helped to create Sri Lanka's diverse population. Because its location made it a major trading hub, it was already known to both Far Easterners and Europeans as long ago as the Anuradhapura period. Sri Lanka's geographic location and deep harbours have made it of great strategic importance, from the earliest days of the ancient Silk Road trade route to today's so-called maritime Silk Road. The earliest known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, known collectively as the Pāli canon, date to the fourth Buddhist council, which took place in 29 BCE. Sri Lanka's documented history goes back 3,000 years, with evidence of prehistoric human settlements that dates to at least 125,000 years ago. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and the Maldives. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka ( UK: / s r i ˈ l æ ŋ k ə, ʃ r iː -/, US: /- ˈ l ɑː ŋ k ə/ ( listen) Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාව, romanized: Śrī Laṅkā ( IPA: ) Tamil: இலங்கை, romanized: Ilaṅkai ( IPA: )), formerly known as Ceylon, and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. (1 - 10m) deep in some areas.You may need rendering support to display the Indic text in this article correctly. Today, the bridge is 18 miles (30 km) long, and ranges from 3 - 30ft. Off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka a chain of limestone shoals, known as Adam's Bridge, separates the Gulf of Mannar from the Palk Strait, and runs along the water to the southeastern coast of India.Īt one point it was completely passable, but Adam's Bridge broke apart in the late 15th century when a cyclone hit the region. Numerous short and narrow rivers rise in the central highland the most significant include the Kala, Kalu, Kirindi and Yan rivers. The country's lowest point is the Indian Ocean at 0 m. (2,518 m), along with Adam's Peak (the country's famous religious site) both rise in the mountains directly east of Colombo. Pidurutalagala, the country's highest point at 8,261 ft. About 40% of the landmass is heavily forested. Intermixed throughout those mountains are numerous deep valleys and gorges. The coastal areas merge into a flat coastal plain, one that gently rises into the foothills of a mountainous region, central and south. km.Īs observed on the physical map above, most of Sri Lanka is low-lying and is ringed by (almost endless) sandy beaches, and small, irregular lagoons. Sri Lanka is an island country located to the south of the Indian Peninsula in the Indian Ocean and has an area of 65,610 sq.
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