Kingdom of Kandy

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The Flag of the Kingdom of Kandy, which was later used as the first Flag of Ceylon.

Kingdom of Kandy (Sinhalese: මහනුවර රාජධානිය; mahanuvara rājadhāniya) is the English name for the historical Kingdom of Maha Nuvara (Senkadagalapura) which existed in the central hills of Sri Lanka.

[edit] Founding

It was initially founded by Wickrama Samantha, the son of Vijaya Bahu VI, who was killed by his sons in 1492. The incident caused the country to get separated into 4 different parts. The Kingdom of Sitawake was formed by King Mayadunna, the Kingdom of Kotte by King Parakramabahu VI, the Kingdom of Raigama by King Raigam Bandara and the Kandy kingdom to Wickrama Samantha.

[edit] Portuguese Era

In 1505 the Portuguese landed on the west coast of Ceylon belonging to the Kotte Kingdom. They befriended Parakramabahu VI who was the ruler of Kotte at that time. When the ruler of the Sitawake Kingdom built an army and attacked the Kotte Kingdom, the king deployed the help of the Portuguese who offered their services as mercenaries. After the demise of Mayadunna, his son Rajasinge I preceded as the ruler of the Sitawaka Kingdom. As internal feuds continued, he finally managed to defeat both the Kotte Kingdom and the Kandy Kingdom. The new king established Kandy as his new ruling capital. His time as the new ruler was short lived though: he was soon poisoned. Karaliyadde Bandara was the first king to officially rule from Kandy. He renamed himself as Wimaladharmasuriya I, and this was the start of the of the Second Mahanuwara Dynasty, one of the prominent Dynasties of the Kandy Kingdom. The Second Mahanuwara Dynasty lasted until the death of King Sri Vira Parakrama Narendra Singha in 1739.

[edit] Nayakkar Dynasty

The next notable Dynasty was the Nayakkar Dynasty. It began with the rule of King Kirti Sri Raja Singha in 1747. The Nayakkar Dynasty saw the Kandyan Wars, wars fought between the British and the local kings. The British, who at the time occupied some of the coastal areas, finally managed to ally with of the Kandyan nobility. The Nayakkar Dynasty ended in 1815 with occupation by the British Empire and the exile of the last King to rule the island, King Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. The signing of the Kandy convention on 2 March of 1815 marked the start of the British rule of Ceylon, making it a part of the growing British Empire.