History of Tamils in Sri Lanka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The history of the Tamils in Sri Lanka goes back many centuries.
The exact time of Tamil settlement in Sri Lanka remains a matter of dispute. The views of historians tend to be strongly influenced by their views of the current ethnic conflict. Sinhalese historians tend to claim that there was only a minimal Tamil presence on the island until about 1200 AD. Tamil historians claim a much earlier date, possibly preceding the arrival of Sinhalese settlers in Sri Lanka (usually dated to 700 BC); the famous Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana are cited in favour of this theory.
The Sinhala epic poem, the Mahavamsa describes Tamil invasions from India as far back as 250 BC. In 205 BC, the Tamil king Elara established Tamil rule over Sri Lanka. Elara is described as eventually being overthrown by the Sinhalese prince Dutugemunu. In 104 BC, another Tamil invasion led to a dynasty of five Tamil kings lasting sixteen years. Another dynasty of Tamil kings reigned from AD 428-452. Throughout the intervening centuries, Sinhalese kings often employed Tamil mercenaries from India. Trade and commerce (and possibly, settlement) between the Tamil mainland and the island were extensive.
In AD 993, the Indian Tamil Chola dynasty conquered Sri Lanka. By then, a substantial Tamil community was taking shape in the north and east of the island. After the Chola withdrawal, Sri Lanka was divided into three kingdoms: two Sinhalese states with capitals in Kotte and Kandy, and a Tamil one with Jaffna as its capital. None of the three kingdoms was ethnically homogeneous; there were Tamils in the two southern kingdoms, and Sinhalese in the north.
The Jaffna Kingdom lasted over 400 years, ending only with conquest at the hands of Portugal. Portuguese rule over Jaffna made use of Tamil intermediaries, mostly Catholic converts who adopted the Portuguese religion as a way of currying favour with their European rulers. Roman Catholicism remains the second-largest religion (after Hinduism) among Sri Lankan Tamils to this day.
Jaffna and Kotte passed to Dutch rule in the 1700s, and were ceded to the British Empire in 1802. The British eliminated the three states as separate entities and merged them into a single colony, Ceylon.
The British increased the Tamil population of the island by importing Tamil indentured servants from India to work in the coffee and later tea plantations in the hill country near Kandy. The estate Tamils, as they were called, spoke a different dialect of Tamil than those of the north and east. They lived very harsh conditions and were given little access to education. In contrast, the Tamils of the north and east prospered under British rule. Missionary schools where English was taught were widespread, providing a steady stream of Tamils qualified for coveted civil service jobs.
After independence relations between the Tamils and the Sinhalese deteriorated sharply, leading to today's civil war.
