Kandyan Convention

From the late sixteenth century onwards, the coastal areas of Sri Lanka were controlled by the Portuguese and then by the Dutch East India company. The territories were acquired by the British East India Company in 1796 and came under British Crown in 1802. In March of 1815, as a result of political manoeuvrings between Kandyan chiefs and the British, the Kandyan Convention was signed. The British thereby captured the Kingdom of Kandy, which had resisted European powers for over two hundred years. Article 4 of the convention transferred the sovereignty of the Kandyan Kingdom to the British Empire, and by Article 5, British rulers promised to protect and maintain the Buddhist Order and its customs.

LK-NA/6/12345, Signature page of Kandyan Convention signed in 1815.