Sri Lanka is an island country in South Asia, located southeast of India and northeast of the Maldives. Located near the southern tip of India, the tropical island of Sri Lanka has attracted visitors for centuries with its natural beauty. It is home to many diverse cultures, languages ​​and ethnicities. The majority of the population is of Sinhalese origin, while a large minority of Tamils ​​have also played an influential role in the island's fascinating history. But it was marked by a long and bitter civil war born of ethnic tensions between the Sinhalese majority and the Tamil minority in the northeast. After more than 25 years of violence, the war ended in May 2009, when government forces seized the last area controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The island came under Portuguese and Dutch influence after the 16th century. It gained independence in 1948, after nearly 150 years of British rule. Sri Lanka's documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of prehistoric human settlements dating back at least 125,000 years. It has a rich cultural heritage and Sri Lanka's earliest known Buddhist writings, the Pali Canon, date back to the Fourth Buddhist Council of 29 BC. Its geographical location and deep ports have given it great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road to the modern Maritime Silk Road. Indo-Aryan emigration from India in the 5th century BC eventually formed the largest ethnic group in Sri Lanka today, the Sinhalese. The Tamils, the second largest ethnic group on the island, originated in the Tamil region of India and migrated between the 3rd century BC and 1200 AD. Until colonial powers controlled Ceylon (the country's name until 1972), Sinhalese and Tamil leaders fought for dominance over the island. The Tamils, mainly Hindus, claimed the northern part of the island and the Sinhalese, mainly Buddhists, controlled the south. In 1505, the Portuguese took possession of Ceylon until the Dutch East India Company usurped control (1658-1796). The British took over in 1796 and Ceylon became an English Crown colony in 1802. The British developed coffee, tea and rubber plantations. On February 4, 1948, after pressure from Ceylon's nationalist leaders (who briefly unified the Tamils ​​and Sinhalese), Ceylon became an autonomous dominion of the Commonwealth of Nations. Maithripala Sirisena, born 3 September 1951) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the 7th and current President of Sri Lanka since 2015. Although born in the Western Province, Sirisena hails from the North Central Province of the country and is the first president of this province. He is a farmer and does not belong to the Sri Lankan political elite. Sirisena joined mainstream politics in 1989 as a Member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka and has served in several ministries since 1994. He served as Secretary General of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Minister of Health until November 2014, when at which he announced his candidacy for the post of deputy. 2015 presidential election as "common candidate" of the opposition coalition”.