Sri Lanka, formerly referred to as Ceylon, and also officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It depends on the Indian Sea, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and also southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait.

Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India as well as the Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legal capital, and also Colombo is its largest city and also economic centre.

Sri Lanka’s recorded history returns 3,000 years, with evidence of prehistoric human settlements that dates to at least 125,000 years back. It has an abundant cultural heritage.

The earliest known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, understood jointly as the Pāli canon, day to the 4th Buddhist council, which took place in 29 BCE. Sri Lanka’s geographical place as well as deep harbours have actually made it of fantastic critical importance, from the earliest days of the ancient Silk Road trade route to today’s supposed maritime Silk Road. Because its location made it a significant trading hub, it was already understood to both Much Easterners as well as Europeans as long ago as the Anuradhapura period.

The nation’s sell luxury products and also seasonings brought in traders of numerous nations, which helped to develop Sri Lanka’s diverse population. Throughout a period of terrific political dilemma in the Sinhalese kingdom of Kotte, the Portuguese showed up in Sri Lanka (mainly by accident) and after that sought to regulate the island’s maritime regions as well as its profitable external profession.

Part of Sri Lanka ended up being a Portuguese possession. After the Sinhalese-Portuguese war, the Dutch as well as the Kingdom of Kandy took control of those areas. The Dutch belongings were after that taken by the British, that later expanded their control over the entire island, colonising it from 1815 to 1948.

A nationwide motion for political independence arose in the very early 20th century, as well as in 1948, Ceylon ended up being a preeminence. The rule was prospered by the republic called Sri Lanka in 1972. Sri Lanka’s more recent background was ruined by a 26-year civil battle, which started in 1983 as well as finished decisively in 2009, when the Sri Lanka Armed Forces defeated the Freedom Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Today, Sri Lanka is a multinational state, residence to diverse cultures, languages, and also ethnicities. The Sinhalese are the majority of the nation’s populace. The Tamils, who are a big minority group, have actually also played a significant function in the island’s background. Various other long well-known teams consist of the Moors, the Burghers, the Malays, the Chinese, and the native Vedda.