Timeline of Sri Lanka

Anuradhapura is sacked by South Indian Pandyans

Anuradhapura is destroyed by the Chola king, Rajaraja. He then establishes a new capital at Polonnaruwa.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSrTpbw9zqPk3abXkyuWyQ0KYniaNsiBoJMVsZbsdlH43WzJexy

Vijayabahu drives Cholas from the island and re-establishes Sinhalese rule.

Reign of Parakrambahu the Great and the golden Age of Polonnaruwa

Reign of Parakramabahu VI of Kotte
The island is reunited under Sinhalese rule for the last time.

In 1815, the Kandy Kingdom falls to the British. It was the last independent Sinhalese kingdom. The island is united under British rule.
http://www.tamilweek.com/images/king_of_Kandy.jpg

A Portuguese fleet was blown off course and ended up not far from modern day Colombo.

The Portuguese build a fort in Colombo

The Kingdom of Kotte split into three different kingdoms: the kingdom of Sitawake, of Rayagama, and of Kotte.
Mayadunne, the ruler of Sitawake, begins to launch attacks against the Portuguese.

The Portuguese capture coastal areas as far as Jaffna, and launch unsuccessful attacks against the Kingdom of Kandy.

The first dutch emissaries arrive on the island and meet with the king of Kandy.

The Dutch and the Kandyans ally and start attacking and driving the Portuguese out of their coastal strongholds.
http://www.mysrilankaholidays.com/gallery/galle-6.jpg

The Dutch capture Colombo from the Portuguese and marks the beginning of Dutch rule.

The British East India Company army occupies Dutch territory after the fall of the Netherlands to France in Europe.

Sri Lanka cedes to the British under the Treaty of Amiens.

c. 1870 AD
The coffee industry collapses and tea production starts. Thousands of Tamil immigrants come to the island to work on the new plantations.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Sri_Lanka-Tea_plantation-02.jpg/300px-Sri_Lanka-Tea_plantation-02.jpg

Henry Steel Olcott and Madame Blavatsky arrive at to the island. They revive Buddhism and champion Buddhist causes as part of the island's heritage.

The Ceylon National Congress is founded. It is the first national political party.

The new constitution transfers some political power to local leaders and gives the right to vote to all Sri Lankans.

Sri Lanka becomes a major base for the British war effort in Southern Asia. The Japanese air force attacks Trincomalee.

Sri Lanka gains Independence. D.S. Senanayake becomes the prime minister at the head of the United National Party.

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike becomes prime minister at the head of the new Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike is assassinated by a Buddhist monk. His widow, Sirimavo Bandaranaike, succeeds him and becomes the worlds first female prime minister.

The name Ceylon is changed to Sri Lanka.

LTTE stands for Liberation TIgers of Tamil Eelam or also known as the Tamil Tigers.

During Black July, thousands of Tamils were massacred and Tamil communities destroyed in the south by Sinhalese mobs.

The LTTE massacred 150 civilians at Anuradhapura.
Government and LTTE fighting spreads to the north and east.

When the Indian Peace Keeping Force arrives in the north and is widely opposed. Jaffna is captured after intense fighting.
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2005/2252345281_550fc4398d_z.jpg?zz=1

Ended with a cease fire

It devastates the coast of Sri Lanka and kills more than 35,000 Sri Lankans.
http://img.timeinc.net/time/asia/photoessays/tsunami/reflow/srilanka/ladefoged/07.jpg