British Ceylon
Sri Lankan British Crown colony
Ceylon (Sinhala: බ්රිතාන්ය ලංකාව, Brithānya Laṃkāva; Tamil: பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, Birithaniya Ilangai) was the British Crown colony of present-day Sri Lanka between 1815 and 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 of Ceylon, now the nation of Sri Lanka.
Ceylon | |||||||||||||
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1815–1948 | |||||||||||||
Anthem: God Save the King/Queen (1815–1948) | |||||||||||||
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![]() British Ceylon, ca. 1914 | |||||||||||||
Status | British Colony | ||||||||||||
Capital | Colombo | ||||||||||||
Common languages | English (Official), Sinhala and Tamil | ||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||
Monarch | |||||||||||||
• 1815–20 | George III (first) | ||||||||||||
• 1936–48 | George VI (last) | ||||||||||||
Governor | |||||||||||||
• 1798–1805 | Frederick North (first) | ||||||||||||
• 1944–48 | Sir Henry Monck-Mason Moore (last) | ||||||||||||
Prime Minister | |||||||||||||
• 1947–48 | Don Stephen Senanayake | ||||||||||||
Legislature | Legislative Council (1833–1931) State Council (1931–47) Parliament (1947—48) | ||||||||||||
Historical era | British Ceylon period | ||||||||||||
5 March 1815 | |||||||||||||
4 February 1948 | |||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||
1881 | 65,610 km2 (25,330 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
1891 | 65,610 km2 (25,330 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
1901 | 65,610 km2 (25,330 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
1924 | 65,992 km2 (25,480 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
1946 | 65,610 km2 (25,330 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||
• 1881 | 2,759,700 | ||||||||||||
• 1891 | 3,007,800 | ||||||||||||
• 1901 | 3,565,900 | ||||||||||||
• 1924 | 4,574,550 | ||||||||||||
• 1946 | 6,657,300 | ||||||||||||
Currency | Ceylonese rixdollar (1815–28) British pound (1825–71) Ceylonese rupee (1872—1948) | ||||||||||||
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Today part of | ![]() | ||||||||||||
Source for 1924 area and population:[1] |
References
change- ↑ "The British Empire in 1924". The British Empire. Retrieved 7 November 2017.