Zeylan: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox country|conventional_long_name=Union of Zeylan|capital=Colombo|demonym=Zeylanese|largest_city=Colombo|status=State union|status_text=Real union<small><br />(est. 1917)|government_type=Constitutional monarchy|official_languages=[[Dutch]]|regional_languages=Sinhalese </br> Tamil|common_languages=Creole|languages_type=Minority languages|languages=Malay </br> [[Cantonese]] </br> Javanese}} |
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{{Nation|common_name=Zeylan|local_name=ලංකාව|capital=Kolamba|government_type=Constitutional diarchy|languages=Sinhalese (official) </br> Dutch (official) </br> Creole (lingua franca) </br> Tamil </br> Malayalam|largest_city=Kolamba|currency=Guilder}} |
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The '''Union of Zeylan''', officially the '''Union of the Province of Zeylan and Kingdom of Kandy''' (Dutch: ''Vereniging van der Provincie Zeylan en het Koninkrijk der Kandie'') and commonly called '''Zeylan''' (/zeɪˈlɑn/), is a constituent country of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]] located in southern Asia. Its territory comprises of the teardrop-shaped island of Zeylan and surrounding islets. Originating in the Dutch colony on the island in the 17th century, the current government of the country emerged in 1917 with the real union of the Province of Zeylan and the Kingdom of Kandy. |
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'''Zeylan''' (Sinhalese: ලංකාව ''Lankava'', Tamil: ''ஈழம்'' ''Ijlam'') is a teardrop-shaped island nation in southern Asia. It is a constitutional [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diarchy diarchy], having the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] monarch (as a constituent of the [[Kingdom of the Netherlands]]) and the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kandy Kandyan] monarch as joint heads of state. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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{{Main|History of Zeylan}} |
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In 1638, King Rajasingha II of Kandy and the Dutch East India Company signed a treaty in order to expel the Portuguese from the island. Both parties subsequently breached the terms, with the Dutch capturing vast swathes of the coast by 1660 and the Kandyan royal court fleeing to the interior. |
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Throughout the late 17th century and 18th century, several immigrants from the [[Netherlands]], the [[Soenda|East Indies]], and southern India settled on the island. In 1787, the Kandyan royal dynasty, the House of Dinaraja, went extinct, passing the throne to the Hindu Venad dynasty of the Malabar coast. During the Augustine Wars, the King of Kandy and the Prince of Orange signed a treaty of alliance against the British and French empires. By 1820, after the restoration of stability in the Netherlands, the Dutch had conquered the remaining city states of the island's eastern coast and the last sovereign Wannee principalities of the north. |
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==== Transitional period (1521-1638) ==== |
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In 1917, the Treaty of Oudanour (now spelled ''Oedoenawara'') established the Union of Zeylan, creating a real union between the Kingdom of Kandy and the colonial province of Zeylan of the [[Netherlands]]. |
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===== Fall of Kotte and rise of Kandy ===== |
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===== Crisis of the 16th century ===== |
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==== Dutch colonial period (1638-1981) ==== |
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===== Treaty (1638) & Expulsion of the Portuguese (1658) ===== |
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===== Relationship with independent Kandy ===== |
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===== Governance ===== |
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== Government and Politics == |
== Government and Politics == |
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== Monarchy == |
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==== Dynamics of the diarchy ==== |
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==== Political factions ==== |
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== Demographics == |
== Demographics == |
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Zeylan is one of the most demographically diverse countries in the world owing to its geographic location and political history. The country's population reached 10 million residents around 1950, mostly concentrated in the southwestern quarter of the island. Most Zeylanese are of Sinhalese ethnicity and practice Buddhism, followed by the mostly Hindu Tamils and the Christian-majority Burghers, who make up around 10% and 5% of the population respectively. In order of size, the main minorities include Tamil-speaking Moor, [[Soenda|Malay]], [[China|Chinese]], [[Tauland|Taulander]], and Afro-Zeylanese communities who reside predominately in coastal urban centers. |
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Dutch remains the language of government and education while Zeylan Creole, a Dutch-based creole, serves as the ''lingua franca'' of the island. Sinhalese remains the native language of the majority of the population followed by Tamil. The Burghers of the southwestern coast are the only ethnic group who natively speak a distinct variety of Creole. |
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==== Ethnicity ==== |
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===== Sinhala ===== |
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The majority of Zeylanese people are of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinhalese_people Sinhala] origin, making up around 3/5ths of the population. They are overwhelmingly Theravada Buddhist and have been the dominant ethnicity in Zeylan for over two millennia. A large part of their identity is tied to the canonical Kandyan monarchy, the eighth Sinhalese kingdom in history. |
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===== Tamils ===== |
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Most Zeylanese Tamils are descendants of ancient migrants from the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Crowned_Kings Triumvirate], with the last migrants arriving in the 18th century. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffna_Kingdom Jaffna kingdom] was the main Tamil political force in Zeylan until Portuguese conquest in 1619. Tamils, making up around 10% of the population, are concentrated in the eastern and northern parts of the island and are usually [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaivism Shaivites]. |
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===== Burghers ===== |
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Ethnogenesis of the Burghers began in the 17th century with the arrival of Portuguese and Dutch colonialists who married local Sinhala and Tamil women, forming a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creole_peoples creole] people. Numbering less than a million people, majority of them live in coastal urban areas, practice Christianity, and speak Creole. Many have also emigrated to the [[Netherlands]] and [[New Batavia]]. |
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===== Others ===== |
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The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lankan_Moors Moors], of Indian, Arab, & Persian origin, are characterized by their Muslim religion and Tamil language. Zeylanese Javanese & Malay people, despite being Muslim too, are classified separately since they speak their own language. Chinese people have also settled in Zeylan since the 17th century. A community of [[Tauland|Taulanders]], numbering a few thousand people, live in Kolamba and Galle. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka_Kaffirs Afro-Zeylanese] came from Mozambique, [[Cape Republic|the Cape]], & Madagascar as slaves or immigrants from the 16th to 19th centuries. |
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==== Language ==== |
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A majority of Zeylanese people are multilingual, speaking their mother tongue and one or two other languages. Creole serves as the lingua franca in urban areas, Sinhalese as the predominant mother tongue, and Dutch as the language of formal diplomacy and international business. |
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===== Zeylanese Creole ===== |
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The language began as a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin pidgin] in the 16th century between Portuguese traders and the Sinhala. By the late 17th century under Dutch rule, the pidgin developed into a fully formed creole. It is Portuguese-based and is a mixture of Dutch, Sinhalese, Tamil, Malay, southern varieties of Chinese, Javanese, & [[Tauaans]]. It is used as a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernacular vernacular] lingua franca throughout most of the coast and is spoken (or at least understood) by approximately 5/6ths of the population. |
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== List of |
== List of leaders == |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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Latest revision as of 19:31, 18 December 2022
Union of Zeylan | |
|---|---|
| Status | Real union (est. 1917) |
| Capital and largest city | Colombo |
| Official languages | Dutch |
| Recognised regional languages | Sinhalese Tamil |
| Common languages | Creole |
| Minority languages | Malay Cantonese Javanese |
| Demonym | Zeylanese |
| Government | Constitutional monarchy |
The Union of Zeylan, officially the Union of the Province of Zeylan and Kingdom of Kandy (Dutch: Vereniging van der Provincie Zeylan en het Koninkrijk der Kandie) and commonly called Zeylan (/zeɪˈlɑn/), is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands located in southern Asia. Its territory comprises of the teardrop-shaped island of Zeylan and surrounding islets. Originating in the Dutch colony on the island in the 17th century, the current government of the country emerged in 1917 with the real union of the Province of Zeylan and the Kingdom of Kandy.
History
In 1638, King Rajasingha II of Kandy and the Dutch East India Company signed a treaty in order to expel the Portuguese from the island. Both parties subsequently breached the terms, with the Dutch capturing vast swathes of the coast by 1660 and the Kandyan royal court fleeing to the interior.
Throughout the late 17th century and 18th century, several immigrants from the Netherlands, the East Indies, and southern India settled on the island. In 1787, the Kandyan royal dynasty, the House of Dinaraja, went extinct, passing the throne to the Hindu Venad dynasty of the Malabar coast. During the Augustine Wars, the King of Kandy and the Prince of Orange signed a treaty of alliance against the British and French empires. By 1820, after the restoration of stability in the Netherlands, the Dutch had conquered the remaining city states of the island's eastern coast and the last sovereign Wannee principalities of the north.
In 1917, the Treaty of Oudanour (now spelled Oedoenawara) established the Union of Zeylan, creating a real union between the Kingdom of Kandy and the colonial province of Zeylan of the Netherlands.
Government and Politics
Monarchy
Demographics
Zeylan is one of the most demographically diverse countries in the world owing to its geographic location and political history. The country's population reached 10 million residents around 1950, mostly concentrated in the southwestern quarter of the island. Most Zeylanese are of Sinhalese ethnicity and practice Buddhism, followed by the mostly Hindu Tamils and the Christian-majority Burghers, who make up around 10% and 5% of the population respectively. In order of size, the main minorities include Tamil-speaking Moor, Malay, Chinese, Taulander, and Afro-Zeylanese communities who reside predominately in coastal urban centers.
Dutch remains the language of government and education while Zeylan Creole, a Dutch-based creole, serves as the lingua franca of the island. Sinhalese remains the native language of the majority of the population followed by Tamil. The Burghers of the southwestern coast are the only ethnic group who natively speak a distinct variety of Creole.
List of leaders
See also
