In 1505 the Portuguese captured the coastal belt and ruled it until the Dutch ousted them in 1658. The Dutch were displaced by the British in 1796. The British captured the Kandyan Kingdom in the Central Hills and brought the entire country under their rule in 1815 and unified the administration in 1833. A Legislative Council was established in the same year to administer the country. The Governor presided at the Legilative Council meetings and the key officials of the Government were appointed members. Unofficial members representing the different communities were also appointed. But they enjoyed no power. The first phase of Sri Lanka's independence struggle was to pressurise the British to increase the number of unofficial members and to give them power. Then they asked for elected representation and finally for independence.
Sri Lanka attained independence on 4th February 1948. Sri Lanka became a Republic on 22nd May 1972.
