What the Europeans did to Sri Lanka

From their first arrival in 1505 to Sri Lanka's independence in 1948, European empires shaped the island, and the rest of Asia.

This video looks at Sri Lanka's colonial experience, how it was transformed and what stayed the same.

Sources:
-A History of Sri Lanka, K. M. de Silva
-Elephant Complex; Travels in Sri Lanka, John Gimlette
-The Cage: The Fight for Sri Lanka and the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers, Gordon Weiss
-The Ocean of Churn: How the Indian Ocean Shaped Human History, Sanjeev Sanyal
-This Divided Island: Stories from the Sri Lankan War, Samanth Subramanian
+ Various news sources, especially The Economist

00:00 Intro
01:00 Portuguese arrival
02:23 Portuguese Ceylon
04:12 Dutch Ceylon
07:00 Colombo to Hikkaduwa
11:00 British arrival
12:14 'Indian' Tamils
13:15 British Ceylon
16:33 Independence
17:27 Hikkaduwa to Galle
18:37 Galle Protest
21:39 The President resigns
23:21 Next video

[seniraranasinghe]

For anyone who's considering coming to Sri Lanka now it's totally safe. There's fuel. The only minor inconvenience would be daily power shortages that might last an hour or two. You as a visitor can have a great time for a very affordable price( due to currency's worth plummeting, which is bad for the locals. But won't effect you as a tourist who has dollars).

[seniraranasinghe]

The significance of the tooth of Buddha is it mostly functions like the Excalibur. Who ever has the tooth is the ruler

[neoanderz]

This video is giving chills to all Sri Lankans who watch it.! The detail is amazing, I never knew such facts about Sri Lanka!

[vimukthimahakumbura]

What a legend you're. This is so inspiring. Imagine doing this much research on a foreign country, capturing the best shots possible and producing a superb video.
Man if you're going to form a team, I would totally join!

[blinkburrito]

Love these videos! As an overseas Sri Lankan, I find it so hard to connect with my culture, but these videos really help me to learn more about Sri Lanka!

[dilipaweeratunga]

Caste system was minimal in classical history of SL. But, during Kandyan kindom when Buddhism started to decline and hindu practces and indian customs started to spread, caste system became strong

[nmarc]

In Future Sri Lankan history that should be written Alex Rothman's discovery of Sri Lankan History. It's that much more valuable and informative. Love this series man. Appreciate your effort, Good Luck!❤️👑🇱🇰

PS: I Just wanted to search for some footage of ethnic conflicts. Here I got a full bundle of Sri Lankan history.

[moezuniga]

I just discovered your channel this morning and I’ve binged about 6 episodes already. Good work!

[seniraranasinghe]

I've been eagerly waiting for your video. Well done

[nilupulimedagama]

surreal talent in making documentaries and i loved the comment on the backyards of the houses when you go on the train and the witty way in which it was told. the intro in this series is lit.

[eshikaudayanawanigasekara]

# visitsrilanka ❤ from 🇱🇰 Sri stay in Sri Lanka ...Live like Sri Lankan...Keep Explore 👍

[LoveJoyPeace]

Dear Alex! Wasn't to commend you warmly! You've done an excellent job on the history of Sri Lanka (Ceylon)! I'm nearly 80 and did Ceylon history for my A Levels in 1962 in Zahira College, Colombo. Your 24-minute summary was brilliant!🎉🎉🎉

[yehanfernando]

Man!! These videos are golden!! This research is next level and the extremes you’ve been to documenting this video is just remarkable and priceless! Amongst all the chaos that the country went through and the hardships you had to face through the crisis, you my friend had done a great job to demonstrate the horrible times of Sri Lanka last year! Respect 🫡

[angelawhitehead]

Great video. All the problems including the economic ones still not addressed

[jimmylikestotravel]

You so tastefully blend geopolitical history with your own travel experiences. I absolutely love this style of content covering both at the same time. Big fan of the channel since I found it the other day. Please keep making videos!!

[olajuwon]

Wow these videos are really well done! It's hard to find videos delving into the history of Sri Lanka. Thanks and much appreciated!

[emilygover]

This is excellent. It's everything I need and that I have never found in another travel video.

[almostdoneneverfinished]

Dude what a video! You got it all man, I can't watch another clickbait video or "top things to do" - this is my new standard for travel videos🤩🤩

[Yehan_Namarathna]

I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed watching your video.
It provided a clear and concise perspective on the matter at hand, which I found to be highly informative and enlightening. Grateful for the time and effort you put into creating such a well-crafted piece of content ✨️

[Therealtuxedo]

your awesome man, love these johnny Harris style videos, i wish sri lankans took such an interest in our culture and history