|
Year |
|
|
1505 |
The
coastal areas of Sri Lanka falls into the hands the Portuguese |
|
1521 – 1594 |
The rise and fall of the
Sitawaka Kingdom The Kingdom totally collapsed after the death of King
Rajasingha (1593). Sitawaka, during its existance presented one of the
most vigorous oppositions to Imperialist rule in Sri Lankan history.
1597, the Portuguese emissary, the captain-general, took formal
possession of the kingdom. |
|
1580 |
Don Juan
Dharmapla, the Sri Lankan Prince who was a puppet in the hands of the
Portuguese, makes out a deed donating his dominions to the King of
Portugal |
|
1597 |
Dharmapala dies The
Portuguese Emissary, the captain General takes formal possession of the
Kingdom During this period the Portuguese Missionaries have been
successfully working on converting a large number of Sinhalese Buddhists
and also Jaffna Tamils into Christianity |
|
1619 |
The Jaffna
Peninsula is added to the Portuguese territory |
|
1630 |
Yet another attempt by the
Portuguese to annex the Kandyan kingdom to their territory, which would
have assured total control over the island fails, as the Kandyans ambush
and massacre an ambitious Portuguese force |
|
1638 |
The Dutch
begin negotiations with King Rajasinha II of Kandy In a treaty between
the King and the Dutch, the King is assured assistance in his war
against the Portuguese in exchange for a monopoly of the major trade
goods, particularly cinnamon. The King also promises the Dutch's
war-related expenses. |
|
1639 |
The Dutch captures the
Eastern ports of Trincomalee and Batticaloa in and restores them to the
Sinhalese King |
|
1640 |
The Dutuch
capture Galle and Negombo They refuse to hand them over to the Kandyan
king, fraudulently claiming that the king is due to reimburse a vast
amount of their military expenditure |
|
1656 |
The Portuguese surrender
Colombo to the Dutch |
|
1658 |
The
Portuguese surrender Jaffna to the Dutch The Dutch were able to gain
political control over the country, now that the Kandyan kingdom was
trapped in the highlands and they took effective control over trade.
Their contribution to the judicial system of the country is still
significant. They were able to leave an impact on the administrative
system too |
|
1796 |
Britain gains control over
the Dutch |
|
1797 |
London
decides to retain Ceylon as a British possession. The British East India
Company shares in the administration of the island The Governor –
responsible for law and order The Director of East India Company –
Responsible for financial and commercial matters |
|
1801 |
The Dutch formally hands
over the control to the British (Peace of Amiens) Sri Lanka becomes the
“first crown colony” of the British |
|
1803 |
The first
Kandyan War |
|
1815 |
The British and the Kandyan
chieftains sign the Kandyan Convention |
|
1829 |
British
Colonial Office sends a Royal Commission of Eastern Inquiry--the
Colebrooke-Cameron Commission--to assess the administration of the
island. |
|
1833 |
Adoption and enforcement of
the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission Proposals under the Charter of Justice |
|
1910 |
A small
electorate of Sri Lankans gains permission to send one of their members
to the Legislative Council. Other seats held by Sri Lankans retained the
old practice of communal representation. |
|
1927 |
A royal commission under the
Earl of Donoughmore visits Sri Lanka to ascertain why representative
government as chartered by the 1924 constitution had not succeeded and
to suggest constitutional changes necessary for the island's eventual
self-rule. |
|
1931 |
The
Donoughmore Constitution Universal adult franchise and an experimental
system of government to be run by executive committees is established |
|
1944 |
Lord Soulbury is appointed
head of a commission charged with the task of examining a new
constitutional draft that the Sri Lankan ministers had proposed. The
commission makes recommendations that lead to a new constitution. The
constitution was amended to incorporate a provision giving Sri Lanka
dominion status at the end of World War II |
|
1947 |
The Ceylon
Independence Act sees daylight after negotiations with the Sri Lankan
leaders The First Election in the History of the Island, D S Senanayake
elected as the First Prime Minister |
|
February 4th
1948 |
Ceylon gains freedom |
|
1951 |
Sri Lanka
Freedom Party (SLFP) was created by S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike |
|
1952 |
The Second Election. United
National Party (UNP) wins |
|
1953 |
The Third
Election. UNP win again. Sir John Kotelawala elected as Prime Minister. |
|
1956 |
Fourth Election. SLFP wins.
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike becomes the prime minister |
|
1959 |
Prime
Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike is assassinated on the 25th of
September |
|
1960 |
Fifth Election. The Fourth
Parliament of Sri Lanka lasts for only thirty days as the newly elected
Prime Minister, Dudley Senanayake is defeated by a motion of
no-confidence. |
|
1960 |
Sixth
Election. Sirimavo Bandaranaike of the SLFP becomes the prime minister
and the world's first woman prime minister. SLFP formes a coalition
government with small parties. |
|
1965 |
UNP wins in the Election and
Dudley Senanayake becomes the prime minister. |
|
1970 |
SLFP-led
coalition wins at the election and Sirimavo Bandaranaike is the Prime
Minister. |
|
1972 |
The new Republican
Constitution is introduced. Lanka is re-named ‘Sri Lanka’ |
|
1977 |
UNP wins
the election and J.R. Jayawardene is the prime minister. |
|
1978 |
A new constitution
introduced creating the powerful Executive Presidency. R Premadasa
becomes the Prime Minister of President J R Jayawardene’s Cabinet |
|
1982 |
Repeated
victory for J R Jayawardene at the Presidential election |
|
1982 |
The UNP majority Parliament
is extended until 1989 at the referendum |
|
1989 |
Presidential election. R Premadasa of the UNP is the new President |
|
1989 |
Parliament election: UNP
wins the majority seats. D.B.Wijetunge becomes the new Prime Minister |
|
1993 |
President
R Premadasa falls victim to a suicide bomber marking another death in a
line of political assassinations. D B Wijetunge assumes office as the
new President and Ranil Wickramasinghe is his Prime Minister. |
|
1994 |
Presidential election:
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga of the SLFP led coalition People's
Alliance (PA) gains victory |
|
1994 |
Parliament
election: Sirimavo Bandaranaike becomes the Prime Minister as PA gets
the majority seats. |
|
1998 |
Ratnasiri Wickramanayake
becomes the Prime Minister |
|
2000 |
Presidential election: Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga of the SLFP
led coalition People's Alliance (PA) win the election |
|
2001 |
Parliament election: UNP-led
coalition United National Front (UNF) win majority seats. |