Attracted by the spices and gemstones which came from the island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the Portuguese were the first European nation to arrive in Sri Lanka in 1505, the Dutch arrived nearly 100 years later, and finally the British, in the latter part of the 17th century.
By 1815, Britain had gained control of the whole island which was known as British Ceylon until 1948, when the island gained its independence, then Ceylon until 1972 when Sri Lanka became a republic.The early colonial settlers commented on the outstanding quality craftsmanship and artistic excellence of the Sinhalese who worked with precious metals, rare tropical hard woods, ivory and tortoiseshell.