1505 Portuguese arrive in Ceylon during the existence of three sovereign kingdoms, one Tamil-based in Jaffna, and two Sinhalese-based in Kotte and Kandy.
1619 Tamil sovereignty ends when Portuguese defeats the Tamil king and annex the Jaffna kingdom.
1796 British arrive in Ceylon. 1802 Ceylon becomes a British Crown Colony.
1833 For the first time in over 2,500 years of its recorded history, the entire island of Ceylon is brought under a single administration based on the recommendations of the Colebrook-Cameron Report.
1948 The British leave and Ceylon becomes a self-governing dominion with a government dominated by the Sinhalese elite assuming power
1949 Formation of the Tamil Federal Party under the leadership of S. J. V. Chelvanayagam. ------------------------------------------ 1951 First convention of the Federal Party (FP), declaring its intention to campaign for a federal structure of governance, and for regional autonomy for Tamils living in North and East. -----------------------------------------
1956 UNP ousted from power in the general elections by SLFP, riding on the wave of Sinhalese- Buddhist nationalism with strong anti-Tamil overtones.Sinhalese is proclaimed as the sole official language of Ceylon as the Official Language Act in passed in parliament. Colvin R. de Silva speaks out against "Sinhala Only," warning it will divide the country along ethnic lines --------------------------------------------
