Category: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, is an Asian island country, bathed by the Indian Ocean and almost leaning against southern India. There are 22 million residents (2016). The executive capital and most populous city is Colombo. Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital. Around the 5th century BC, the island was invaded by Sinhalese. The Buddhism was introduced in the 3rd century BC. The Portuguese arrived in 1505 and ruled Ceylon from Kotte. In 1565, the Portuguese moved the capital to Colombo. In 1658, the Ceylon was conquered by the Dutch. In 1796, the Island was dominated by the British. Independence was achieved in 1948 and the name of the country was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972.