Sri Lanka

An island country in the Indian Ocean off southeast India. Inhabited originally by the Vedda, the island was later invaded by the Singhalese (6th century B.C.) and the Tamil (11th and 12th centuries A.D.). The lucrative spice trade on the island was controlled successively by Arab, Portuguese, Dutch, and British traders from the 12th century. It became a British colony in 1798 and achieved independence in 1948. In 1972 the island was declared a republic, and it adopted the Singhalese name of Sri Lanka. Colombo is the capital and the largest city. Population: 20,900,000.