Their leader, Vijayabahu I, founded the Sinhalese Kingdom of Polonnaruva and for the next two centuries the Sinhalese ruled and set up smaller kingdoms around the island. The Sinhalese were good traders and had begun to see profit by trading spices and other items with Arab merchants. Attracted by the spice trade, the Portuguese sent a fleet of ships to explore the area in 1957, and so began the rule of the Portuguese. The British conquered the Portuguese in 1802 and the island officially became known as the British colony of Ceylon. The political situation over the next few years worsened and became incredibly tense. Finally, in 1972 the country was proclaimed the Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Buddhism was given the most importance over the country’s myriad of religions. This antagonised the Hindu Tamils and they formed the Tamil United Liberation Front, fighting to create an independent Tamil state, Eelam, in the north and east of Sri Lanka. Ethnic riots increased and a state of emergency was called in 1983. The Sinhalese ruling government were not agreeable to the founding of an independent Tamil state and set about disarming the Tamil militants, known worldwide as the Tamil Tigers. There is still no resolution to the issue today and violence continues to plague the island. | 
