According to historians, Kandy was founded by King Vickramabahu III as a result of political instability in the country. However, it was King Sena Sammaththa Wickramabahu who established it as his administrative city and became the first king of Kandy. Surrounded by mountains, its core filled with marshy and forest like greenery, enabled Kandy to become a natural fortress.
The Kandyan Kingdom reigned for over 300 years. Amidst its reign the kingdom struggled with internal conflict namely the clashes between the royal family and the nobles of the Kingdom, which in turn lead to external interference for the reign. It was because of the internal instability of the region that the three colonial powers, the Portuguese, the Dutch, and the British had an opportunity to intervene in the autonomy of the country.
At the beginning the Portuguese political affiliations were with the declining Kingdom of Kotte. When King Dharmapala of Kotte died without an heir, he bequeathed the throne to the Portuguese. As a result they attempted to establish its presence around the late 16th century. Although this was an invalid claim, the Kandyan Kingdom resorted to seek assistance from the Dutch to oust the Portuguese. While the Kandyan Kingdom was successful in ridding the Portuguese, it in turn established the Dutch colonial supremacy in the Kingdom.
Due to its innate protective geographical setting, the kings of the Kandyan Kingdom namely King Kirti Sri Rajasinha resumed guerrilla fighting measures to successfully combat the Dutch. To level themselves equal against a colonial force, the assistance of the British was sought by rulers of the kingdom. As a result, the Dutch left the island and the British became the next colonial rival. The kings of Kandy successfully resisted the British offense for over decade, until the colonists took advantage of the internal political turmoil that was taking place. Consequently, the aristocrats of the Kandyan Kingdom bequeathed the sovereignty of the entire country in 1815.
