| |||||
| Decades: | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See also: | Other events in 1815 Timeline of Sri Lankan history | ||||
1815 in Sri Lanka marks the turn from the Kandyan period to the British Ceylon period, when the Kingdom of Kandy was disestablished and the creation of British Ceylon as the sole polity on the island.
Kandy is a major city located in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is both an administrative and religious city and the capital of the Central Province. Kandy is the home of the Temple of the Tooth Relic, one of the most sacred places of worship in the Buddhist world. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. Historically the local Buddhist rulers resisted Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonial expansion and occupation.
The Kandyan Wars refers generally to the period of warfare between the British colonial forces and the Kingdom of Kandy, on the island of what is now Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 1818. More specifically it is used to describe the expeditionary campaigns of the British Army in the Kingdom of Kandy in 1803 and 1815.
Great Rebellion of 1817–1818, also known as the 1818 Uva–Wellassa Rebellion , was the third Kandyan War in the Uva and Wellassa provinces of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which is today the Uva province of Sri Lanka. The rebellion started against the British colonial government under Governor Robert Brownrigg, three years after the Kandyan Convention ceded Kingdom of Kandy to the British Crown.
Sri Vikrama Rajasinha, born Kannasamy, was the last of four kings to rule the Kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka. Being crowned king in 1798 with the backing of Pilamathalawe Adikaram, his capture by the British in 1815 effectively concluded the 2,300-year Sinhalese monarchy on the island. The Nayak Kings were of Telugu origin and practiced Shaivite Hinduism and were patrons of Theravada Buddhism. The Nayak rulers played a huge role in reviving Buddhism in the island. They spoke Telugu and Tamil, and used Tamil as the court language in Kandy alongside Sinhala.
Radala refers to a small minority group in Sri Lanka in the former provinces of the Kingdom of Kandy, who are either descendants of chiefs and courtiers of the King of Kandy of Nayaks of Kandy or descendants of native headmen appointed by the British colonial administration following the Uva Rebellion in 1818.
The Nayaks of Kandy, also known as the Kandyan Nayak Dynasty were the rulers of the Kingdom of Kandy from 1739 to 1815. They were the last dynasty to rule Sri Lanka before its full colonisation by the British. The term "Nayak" is derived from the Sanskrit word Nāyaka, meaning "leader" or "governor."
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century.
Sir John D'Oyly, 1st Baronet was a British colonial administrator.
The kingdom of Sitawaka was a kingdom located in south-central Sri Lanka. It emerged from the division of the kingdom of Kotte following the Spoiling of Vijayabahu in 1521. Over the course of the next seventy years it came to dominate much of the island. Sitawaka also offered fierce resistance to the Portuguese, who had arrived on the island in 1505. Despite its military successes, Sitawaka remained unstable, having to contend with repeated uprisings in its restive Kandyan territories, as well as a wide-ranging and often devastating conflict with the Portuguese. Sitawaka disintegrated soon after the death of its last king Rajasimha I in 1593.
Sri Dalada Maligawa, commonly known in English as the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic, is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the Royal Palace Complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha. Since ancient times, the relic has played an important role in local politics because it is believed that whoever holds the relic holds the governance of the country. The relic was historically held by Sinhalese kings. The temple of the tooth is a World Heritage Site mainly due to the temple and the relic.
In the history of Sri Lanka, the Kandyan Convention was a treaty signed on 2 March 1815 between the British governor of Ceylon, Sir Robert Brownrigg, and the chiefs of the Kandyan Kingdom, British Ceylon, for the deposition of King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha and ceding of the kingdom's territory to the British Crown. It was signed in the Magul Maduwa of the Royal Palace of Kandy.
The Mahâ Adigâr was a Great Officer in the Amātya Mandalaya, or Sinhalese Council of State, in the Sinhalese Kingdoms of monarchical Sri Lanka. The office was second in power and dignity to the King. Like many of the existing high offices at the time it had combined legislative and judicial powers and functioned primarily equivalent to that of a prime minister and chief justice, but also had duties in the governance of a province. During the Kandyan period there were two Adigars, who were styled Mahâ Nilames, the Pallegampahê Mahâ Nilamê and the Udagampahê Mahâ Nilamê, the former taking precedence over the latter.
The Mahâ Dissâvas was a Great Officer in the Amātya Mandalaya, or Sinhalese Council of State, in the Sinhalese Kingdoms of monarchical Sri Lanka. Like many of the existing high offices at the time it had combined legislative and judicial powers and functioned primarily equivalent to that of a Provincial governor. The office of Dissava was retained under the successive European colonial powers, namely the Portuguese Empire, the Dutch East India Company and the British Empire. A Dissava was the governor of a province known as a Disavanies. Within his province, the Dissava held both executive and judicial authority.
Madduma Bandara Ehelapola, mostly known as Madduma Bandara, was one of the national heroes of Sri Lanka. Bandara and his family were executed in 1814 by the King for treachery. His bravery at the time of his execution made him a legendary child hero in Sri Lanka.
Ehelapola Wijesundara Wickramasinghe Chandrasekara Seneviratna Jayatillake Ekanayaka Amarakone Wahala Panditha Mudiyanse, commonly known as Ehelapola Nilame, was a courtier of the Kingdom of Kandy. He was the Pallegampahe Adigar, and held the honorary title of Maha Nilame from 1811 to 1814 under the reign of Sri Vikrama Rajasinha of Kandy. Ehelapola joined a revolt against King Rajasinha in Sabaragamuva province after he was sent to conquer it, and his entire family was executed. He helped the British launch an invasion against the Kandy Kingdom, overthrow Rajasinha, and subjugate Kandy to the British monarchy under the Kandyan Convention. Various records of Sri Lankan history suggest that he aided the British with the plan to later overthrow them. He was later convicted of treason by the British following the Great Rebellion of 1817–18, and was exiled to Mauritius.
Between 1518 and 1658, armed conflict took place between the native Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms of Sri Lanka, and the Portuguese Empire. It spanned from the Transitional to the Kandyan periods of Sri Lankan history. A combination of political and military moves gained the Portuguese control over most of the island, but their invasion of the final independent kingdom was a disaster, leading to a stalemate in the wider war and a truce from 1621. In 1638 the war restarted when the Dutch East India Company intervened in the conflict, initially as an ally of the Sinhalese against the Portuguese, but later as an enemy of both sides. The war concluded in 1658, with the Dutch in control of about half the island, the Kingdom of Kandy the other half, and the Portuguese expelled.
The Kandyan period covers the history of Sri Lanka from 1597–1815. After the fall of the Kingdom of Kotte, the Kandyan Kingdom was the last Independent monarchy of Sri Lanka. The Kingdom played a major role throughout the history of Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1476. The kingdom located in the central part of Sri Lanka managed to remain independent from both the Portuguese and Dutch rule who controlled coastal parts of Sri Lanka; however, it was colonised by the British in 1815.
The Jayewardene family is a Sri Lankan family that is prominent in law and politics. Along with many members who have been successful politician across generations, the family includes Presidents and Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka.
Ehelepola Walauwa was the ancestral home of Ehelepola Disawe and his family and is located in Kandy, Sri Lanka.
