Climate
Sri Lanka has a tropical climate and lush green forests. Most of the land is flat and rolling mountains in the south-central region rise to over 8,000 ft (2,438 m), with hundreds of rivers flowing through them, often cascading in awesome waterfalls where up to 50% electricity generation is hydro powered.
Sri Lanka has two monsoon seasons, the South-West from June to October and the North-East from December to March. Sunny and warm days are the rule even during the height of the monsoons.
History
The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom.
In 1505 the Portuguese took possession of Ceylon until the Dutch India Company usurped control (1658–1796), the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. The British developed coffee, tea, and rubber plantations. On Feb. 4, 1948, after pressure from Ceylonese nationalist leaders (which briefly unified the Tamil and Sinhalese), Ceylon became a self-governing dominion of the Commonwealth of Nations.
As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. |
