British Ceylon

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)
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 Coat of arms
	Anthem: God Save the King (1796–1837; 1901–1948); God Save the Queen (1837–1901)
	British Ceylon map, published in Leipzig, c. 1914
Status	Company rule; (1795 – 12 October 1798); Crown & Company dual control; (12 October 1798 – 1 January 1802); Crown Colony of the United Kingdom; (25 March 1802 – 4 February 1948);
Capital	Colombo
Common languages	English (official); Sinhala; Tamil;
Government	Monarchy
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);
Historical era	British Ceylon period
• 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 (Sinhala: බ්‍රිතාන්‍ය ලංකාව, romanized: Britānya Laṃkāva; Tamil: பிரித்தானிய இலங்கை, romanized: Biritthāṉiya Ilaṅkai), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833,^[3] then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931^[4] and finally the Island of Ceylon and its Dependencies from 1931 to 1948,^[5] was the British Crown colony of 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^{[citation needed]}, but from 1817 to 1948 the British possessions included the whole island of Ceylon, now the nation of Sri Lanka.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ "The British Empire in 1924". The British Empire. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c The Population of Sri Lanka (PDF). Population Growth: C.I.C.R.E.D. Series. 1974. pp. 3–4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
^ "Sri Lanka". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
^ "Sri Lanka". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
^ "Sri Lanka". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 17 January 2023.

[TheEmpirein1924-3] "The British Empire in 1924". The British Empire. Retrieved 7 November 2017.

[cicred-5] The Population of Sri Lanka (PDF). Population Growth: C.I.C.R.E.D. Series. 1974. pp. 3–4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.

[6] "Sri Lanka". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 17 January 2023.

[7] "Sri Lanka". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 17 January 2023.

[8] "Sri Lanka". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 17 January 2023.

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