Kingdom of Kandy
| මහනුවර රාජධානිය | |||||
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Mahanuwara Rajadhaniya |
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| Kingdom of Kandy | |||||
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| Official language | Singhal | ||||
| Capital | Kandy | ||||
| Form of government | monarchy | ||||
| Head of state , also head of government | king Sena Sammatha Wickramabahu (1473–1511) |
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The Kingdom of Kandy ( Mahanuwara Rajadhaniya , Sinhalese: මහනුවර රාජධානිය) was the last Sinhalese kingdom on Ceylon , which was able to hold its own against numerous attempts at conquest by the colonial powers until it was conquered by the British in 1815. The capital was Kandy .
history
The Sinhalese kingdom of Kotte ruled all of Ceylon from 1450 to 1477. Sena Sammatha Wickramabahu came from this ruling family of Kotte. He managed to make the Kingdom of Kandy independent and also secure it against the Portuguese . His great-granddaughter Dona Catherina was deposed by Tikiri Banda, King of Sitawaka. With Vimaladharmasuriya I. the dynasty Dinajara (1590-1739) came to power. After the death of the childless king Vira Narendra Singha in 1739 the Nayak , who were related by marriage and came from South India, came to power. Kandy was able to hold its own against numerous attempts at conquest by the colonial powers Portugal, the Netherlands and Great Britain . The Portuguese took Kandy for the first time in 1796, but lost it again to the kings of Kandy after nine months. An English detachment that took the capital on February 20, 1803, had to surrender to the Sinhalese again on June 23. The war was only resumed at the end of 1814, when King Vikrama was captured in Kandy on February 19, 1815.
The last Sinhalese kingdom on Ceylon ended on March 10, 1815 with the Convention of Kandy . The entire island finally became British. Vikrama Rajasingha died in Vellore Fort in southern India in 1832 .
List of kings of Kandy
Siri Sanga Bo dynasty (1473–1592)
- Sena Sammatha Wickramabahu (1473-1511)
- Jayaweera Astana (1511–1551)
- Karaliyadde Bandara (1551–1581)
- Dona Catherina (= Kusumasana Devi) (1581), deposed by:
- Rajasingha I. (= Tikiri Banda, King of Sitawaka) (1581–1591)
Dinajara dynasty (1590–1739)
- Vimaladharmasuriya I (1590-1604)
- Senarat (1604-1635)
- Rajasingha II. (1635 - November 25, 1687)
- Vimaladharmasuriya II (November 25, 1687 - June 4, 1707)
- Vira Narendra Singha (June 4, 1707 - May 13, 1739)
Nayak of Kandy (1739-1815)
- Vijaya Rajasingha (= Rajasingha III.) (May 13, 1739 - August 11, 1747)
- Kirti Rajasingha (August 11, 1747 - January 2, 1782)
- Rajadhi Rajasingha (January 2, 1782 - July 16, 1798)
- Vikrama Rajasingha (= Rajasingha IV.) (July 26, 1798 - March 5, 1815), deposed