Crisis of the Sixteenth Century

Main article: History of Sri Lanka

The Crisis of the Sixteenth Century was the later part of the Transitional period of Sri Lanka, that began with the decline of the Kingdom of Kotte, with the Vijayabā Kollaya (the spoiling of Vijayabahu) in 1521, culminated in the collapse of the Kingdom of Sitawaka, and with Portuguese dominance of Sri Lankan coasts, if not control by 1597, over two of three kingdoms that had existed at the start of the century. The Kingdom of Kandy was the only independent Sinhalese kingdom to survive. The period was characterised by the fragmentation of the Sinhalese polity, intervention of foreign forces and constant military conflict.

Overview

Periodization of Sri Lanka history:

Dates	Period	Period	Span (years)	Subperiod	Span (years)	Main government
300,000 BP–~1000 BC	Prehistoric Sri Lanka	Stone Age	–		300,000	Unknown
		Bronze Age	–
~1000 BC–543 BC		Iron Age	–		457
543 BC–437 BC	Ancient Sri Lanka	Pre-Anuradhapura	–		106	Monarchy
437 BC–463 AD		Anuradhapura	1454	Early Anuradhapura	900
463–691				Middle Anuradhapura	228
691–1017	Post-classical Sri Lanka			Late Anuradhapura	326
1017–1070		Polonnaruwa	215	Chola conquest	53
1055–1232					177
1232–1341		Transitional	365	Dambadeniya	109
1341–1412				Gampola	71
1412–1592	Early Modern Sri Lanka			Kotte	180
1592–1739		Kandyan	223		147
1739–1815				Nayakkar	76
1815–1833	Modern Sri Lanka	British Ceylon	133	Post-Kandyan	18	Colonial monarchy
1833–1948					115
1948–1972	Contemporary Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka since 1948	76	Dominion	24	Constitutional monarchy
1972–present				Republic	52	Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic

See also

• Crisis of the Third Century – a similar period in Roman history
• Sengoku period – a similar period in Japanese history
• Warring States period – a similar period in Chinese history

References

Bibliography

• De Silva, K. M. (2014). A history of Sri Lanka ([Revised.] ed.). Colombo: Vijitha Yapa Publications. ISBN 978-955-8095-92-8.