British Ceylon

British Ceylon was a colony in Tamil south and Sri Lanka (South Asia) that lasted from 1796 to 1948 CE, about 152 years. Its people spoke Germanic languages (Gothic, Frankish, English, German, Dutch, Norse).

A Crown colony from 1802 that took Kandy in 1815 and covered the hills with coffee and then tea estates worked by Tamil laborers from India. Ceylon won independence peacefully in 1948.

See British Ceylon on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates

1796 to 1948 CE

Duration

152 years

Type

Colony

Region

Tamil south and Sri Lanka, South Asia

Language family

Germanic

Capital

Colombo

Came from

• Kingdom of Kandy 1469 to 1815 CE
• Dutch Ceylon 1640 to 1796 CE

Became

• Sri Lanka 1948 CE to the present

Events in South Asia during its time

• 1857 Indian Rebellion
• 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre
• 1930 Gandhi's Salt March
• 1947 Independence and partition

Neighbours in South Asia

• Mughal Empire 1526 to 1857 CE
• British Raj 1858 to 1947 CE
• Republic of India 1947 CE to the present
• Ahom Kingdom 1228 to 1826 CE
• Kingdom of Mysore c. 1399 to 1950 CE
• Kingdom of Kandy 1469 to 1815 CE
• Kingdom of Nepal 1768 to 2008 CE
• Hyderabad State 1724 to 1948 CE
• Maratha Confederacy 1674 to 1818 CE
• Company rule in India 1757 to 1858 CE

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

• Republic of Venice c. 697 to 1797 CE, Europe
• Holy Roman Empire 962 to 1806 CE, Europe
• Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE, North and West Africa
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Europe
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Middle East
• Portuguese Empire 1415 to 1999 CE, Europe
• Kingdom of Kongo c. 1390 to 1914 CE, Central and Southern Africa
• Portuguese Brazil 1500 to 1815 CE, South America
• New Spain 1521 to 1821 CE, Mesoamerica and Caribbean
• Viceroyalty of Peru 1542 to 1824 CE, South America

Questions