Editing Colombo (section)

== History ==
Traveller [[Ibn Battuta]] who visited the island in the 14th century, referred to it as ''Kalanpu''.<ref>{{cite book| last = John
| first = Still| author-link = John Still
| title = Index to the Mahawansa:Together with Chronological Table of Wars and Genealogical Trees
| publisher = [[Asian Educational Services|AES]]| year = 1996
| page = 85
| isbn = 978-81-206-1203-7}}</ref> Arabs, whose primary interests were trade, began to settle in Colombo around the eighth century AD mostly because the port helped their business by the way of controlling much of the trade between the [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] kingdoms and the outside world. It was popularly believed that their descendants comprised the local [[Sri Lankan Moors|Sri Lankan Moor]] community, but their genetics are predominantly South Indian.<ref name="HoC"/><ref>{{cite web
 |last         = Prof. Manawadu
 |first        = Samitha
 |title        = Cultural Routes of Sri Lanka As Extensions of International Itineraries : Identification of Their Impacts on Tangible & Intangible Heritage
 |page         = 3
 |url          = http://www.icomos.org/xian2005/papers/4-30.pdf
 |access-date   = 2007-01-17
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20160321051032/http://www.icomos.org/xian2005/papers/4-30.pdf
 |archive-date = 21 March 2016
 |url-status   = dead
}}</ref>

===Portuguese era===
[[Portugal|Portuguese]] explorers led by Dom [[Lourenço de Almeida]] first arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505. During their initial visit they made a treaty with the King of [[Kingdom of Kotte|Kotte]], [[Parakramabahu VIII]] (1484–1518), which enabled them to trade in the island's crop of [[cinnamon]], which lay along with the coastal areas of the island, including in Colombo.<ref name="cs1"/> As part of the treaty, the Portuguese were given full authority over the coastline in exchange for the promise of guarding the coast against invaders. They were allowed to establish a [[trading post]] in Colombo.<ref name="cs1"/> Within a short time, however, they expelled the [[Sri Lankan Moors|Muslim]] inhabitants of Colombo and began to build a [[fort]] in 1517.

The Portuguese soon realised that control of Sri Lanka was necessary for the protection of their coastal establishments in India, and they began to manipulate the rulers of the Kotte kingdom to gain control of the area. After skilfully exploiting rivalries within the royal family, they took control of a large area of the kingdom and the Sinhalese King Mayadunne established a new kingdom at Sitawaka, a domain in the Kotte kingdom.<ref name="cs1"/> Before long he annexed much of the Kotte kingdom and forced the Portuguese to retreat to Colombo, which was repeatedly besieged by Mayadunne and the later kings of Sitawaka, forcing them to seek reinforcement from their major base in [[Goa]], India. Following the fall of the kingdom in 1593, the Portuguese were able to establish complete control over the coastal area, with Colombo as their capital.<ref name="cs1">{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/8.htm |title=European Encroachment and Dominance:The Portuguese |access-date=2006-12-02 |work=Sri Lanka: A Country Study |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005225344/http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/8.htm |archive-date=2006-10-05 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cs2">
{{cite book
| last =Ross
| first = Russell R.
|author2=Savada, Andrea Matles
| title = Sri Lanka: A Country Study
| publisher = Defence Dept., Army
| date = 1990
| pages = 360
| isbn = 978-0-16-024055-3}}</ref>
This part of Colombo is still known as [[Fort (Colombo)|Fort]] and houses the presidential palace and the majority of Colombo's [[hotel rating|five star]] hotels. The area immediately outside Fort is known as [[Pettah, Sri Lanka|Pettah]] ({{langx|si|පිට කොටුව}},{{langx|ta|புறக் கோட்டை}} ''piṭa koṭuva'', "outer fort") and is a commercial hub.

===Dutch era===
[[File: Colombo, after Kip.jpg|thumb|left|Dutch engraving of Colombo in about 1680]]

In 1638 the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] signed a treaty with King Rajasinha II of Kandy which assured the king assistance in his war against the Portuguese in exchange for a monopoly of the island's major trade goods. The Portuguese resisted the Dutch and the Kandyans but were gradually defeated in their strongholds beginning in 1639.<ref name="cs4"/> The Dutch captured Colombo in 1656 after an epic siege, at the end of which a mere 93 Portuguese survivors were given [[Safe-conduct|safe conduct]] out of the fort. Although the Dutch (e.g., [[Rijcklof van Goens]]) initially restored the captured area back to the Sinhalese kings, they later refused to turn them over and gained control over the island's richest cinnamon lands including Colombo which then served as the capital of the Dutch maritime provinces under the control of the [[Dutch East India Company]] until 1796.<ref name="cs4">{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/9.htm |title=European Encroachment and Dominance: The Dutch |access-date=2006-12-02 |work=Sri Lanka: A Country study |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005225414/http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/9.htm |archive-date=2006-10-05 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cs3">
{{cite book
| last =Ross
| first = Russell R.
|author2=Savada, Andrea Matles
| title = Sri Lanka: A Country Study
| publisher = Defense Dept., Army
| date = 1990
| pages = 360
| isbn = 978-0-16-024055-3 }}</ref>

===British era===

[[File:Map of Colombo (Baedeker, 1914).jpg|thumb|left|Map of Colombo, c. 1914]]

Although the British captured Colombo in 1796, it remained a [[British Armed Forces|British military]] outpost until the Kandyan Kingdom was ceded to them in 1815 and they made Colombo the capital of their newly created [[British overseas territories|crown colony]] of [[British Ceylon]]. Unlike the Portuguese and Dutch before them, whose primary use of Colombo was as a military fort, the British began constructing houses and other civilian structures around the fort, giving rise to the current City of Colombo.<ref name="HoC"/>

Initially, they placed the administration of the city under a "[[District collector|Collector]]", and John Macdowell of the [[Madras Presidency|Madras]] Service was the first to hold the office. Then, in 1833, the [[Government Agent (Sri Lanka)|Government Agent]] of the Western Province was charged with the administration of the city. Centuries of [[Colonialism|colonial rule]] had meant a decline of indigenous administration of Colombo and in 1865 the British conceived a Municipal Council as a means of training the local population in [[self-governance]]. The [[Legislative Council of Ceylon]] constituted the Colombo Municipal Council in 1865 and the Council met for the first time on 16 January 1866. At the time, the population of the region was around 80,000.<ref name="HoC"/>

During the time they were in control of Colombo, the British were responsible for much of the planning of the present city. In some parts of the city, [[tram]] car tracks and granite flooring laid during the era are still visible today.<ref name="cs3"/><ref name="cs5">{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/11.htm |title=European Encroachment and Dominance: The British Replace the Dutch |access-date=2006-12-02 |work=Sri Lanka: A Country study |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061005225028/http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/11.htm |archive-date=2006-10-05 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== After independence ===
[[File:SL Independence.jpg|thumb|The formal ceremony marking the start of self-rule at [[Independence Square, Colombo|Independence Square]].]]
This era of colonialism ended peacefully in 1948 when Ceylon gained independence from Britain.<ref name="PostI">
{{cite book  | last =Adrian  | first = Wijemanne  | title = War and Peace in Post-Colonial Ceylon 1948–1991  | publisher = Orient Longman  | date = 1996 | pages = 111  | isbn = 978-81-250-0364-9 }}</ref> Due to the tremendous impact this caused on the city's inhabitants and on the country as a whole, the changes that resulted at the end of the colonial period were drastic. An entire new culture took root. Changes in laws and customs, clothing styles, religions and [[proper names]] were a significant result of the colonial era.<ref name="PostI"/> These cultural changes were followed by the strengthening of the island's economy. Even today, the influence of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British is visible in Colombo's architecture, names, clothing, food, language and attitudes. Buildings from all three eras stand as reminders of the turbulent past of Colombo. The city and its people show an interesting mix of European clothing and lifestyles together with local customs.<ref name="PostI"/>

Historically, Colombo referred to the area around the ''[[Fort (Colombo)|Fort]]'' and ''[[Pettah Market]]'' which is known for the variety of products available as well as the [[Khan Clock Tower]], a local landmark. At present, it refers to the city limits of the [[Colombo Municipal Council]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Administrative Districts of the Colombo Municipal Council |url=http://www.cmc.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=85 |publisher=Colombo Municipal Council |access-date=11 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130106233608/http://www.cmc.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=64&Itemid=85 |archive-date=6 January 2013 }}{{Circular reference|date=February 2016}}</ref> More often, the name is used for the [[Conurbation]] known as [[Greater Colombo]], which encompasses several [[Municipal council]]s including [[Kotte]], Dehiwela and Colombo.

Although Colombo lost its status as the capital of Sri Lanka in the 1980s to Sri Jayawardanapura, it continues to be the island's commercial centre. Despite the official capital of Sri Lanka moving to the adjacent Sri Jayawardanapura Kotte, most countries still maintain their [[diplomatic mission]]s in Colombo.<ref name="emb1">''GoAbroad.com'', [http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-in/sri-lanka Embassies located in Sri Lanka] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302031441/http://embassy.goabroad.com/embassies-in/sri-lanka |date=2016-03-02 }}</ref>