British Ceylon

Ceylon
(1796–1802)
British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies
(1802–1833)
Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies
(1833–1931)
Island of Ceylon and its Dependencies
(1931–1948)
Ceylon; (1796–1802)British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies; (1802–1833)Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies; (1833–1931)Island of Ceylon and its Dependencies; (1931–1948)
1796–1948
	Flag
	Anthem: God Save the King/Queen
	British Ceylon map, published in Leipzig, c. 1914
	Territorial evolution of British Ceylon
Status	Chartered territory of East India Company under India (1795/96–1802); Crown colony of the United Kingdom (1802–1948);
Capital	Colombo
Common languages	English (official); Sinhala; Tamil;
Government	Oligarchy (1796–1798); Dual administration (1798–1802); Monarchy (1802–1948);
Monarch
• 1815–1820	George III (first)
• 1820–1830	George IV
• 1830–1837	William IV
• 1837–1901	Victoria
• 1901–1910	Edward VII
• 1910–1936	George V
• 1936	Edward VIII
• 1936–1948	George VI (last)
Governor
• 1798–1805	Frederick North (first)
• 1944–1948	Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore (last)
Prime Minister
• 1947–1948	Don Stephen Senanayake
Legislature	Legislative Council (1833–1931); State Council (1931–47); Parliament (1947–48);
History
• Capture of Dutch Ceylon	5 March 1796
• Establishment of dual administration	12 October 1798
• Proclamation of the Crown colony	25 March 1802
• Signing of Kandyan Convention	2 March 1815
• Independence	4 February 1948
Area
1946	65,993 km2 (25,480 sq mi)
Population
• 1827	889,584
• 1901	3,565,954
• 1946	6,657,339
Currency	Ceylonese rixdollar (1815–28); British pound (1825–71); Ceylonese rupee (1872–1948);
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Kingdom of Kandy
	Dutch Ceylon
	Vanni chieftaincies
Dominion of Ceylon
Today part of	Sri Lanka

British Ceylon refers to the imperial possessions of the United Kingdom in the island of Ceylon, present-day Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 4 February 1948. Initially, the area it covered did not include the Kingdom of Kandy, which was a protectorate, but from 1817 to 1948 the British possessions included the whole island. The British Ceylon period is the history of Sri Lanka between 1815 and 1948. It follows the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom into the hands of the British Empire, ending over 2300 years of Sinhalese monarchy. The British rule on the island lasted until 1948 when the country regained independence following the Sri Lankan independence movement.