With the recent #protests, national attention has turn the events of #OccupyGalleFace. But, I doubt many people truly understand #galleface significance and #history. Today, I want to take a look at it's #past and see what we can #learn.

#EconomicCrisisLK #history #GoHomeGota
Originally, Galle Face was a strategic military location for the Dutch and was named "Gal Gate" as the gateway to Colombo Fort. In the 1800s, it covered a massive area and was home to many recreational activities - cricket, racing, golf, and, rugby - that drew large crowds.
On May Day 1933, Galle Face served as a location for labor strike led by future mayor, A. E. Gunasinha. Men wore white sarongs and red striped banians and sang songs promoting the working class. Ultimately this would lead to May Day becoming a national holiday.
After Independence, Galle Face served a new purpose as the place of civil disobedience. With the political tensions of a new nation, Galle Face's open space provided area for protests.

In 1953, N. M. Perera spoke during the Ceylon Hartal that would take down the UNP government.
In 1956, S. J. V. Chelvanayakam led another protest on the green to protest the 'Sinhala-Only Act', eventually leading to the Gal Oya riots that divided a nation and left hundreds of Tamils dead.
However, Galle Face has also served as a place of unity as well. In 2015, Pope Francis visited Galle Face, speaking to a massive crowd of 500K, in an attempt to heal a nation divided by war.
In recent years, Galle Face has served as a place of mass gathering for anything for music events, political rallies, religious ceremonies, and more recently, protests.
When we look back at Galle Face's history we see how it has transformed as an open space to a place where Sri Lankans gather to share emotions and goals as one community.

If we learn from that today, we can make the change we wish to see a inevitable reality.

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More from @HistoryCeylon

Apr 17
Happy Easter Everyone!

Today, we look back at the history of Easter to our nation's relationship to this holiday and how we can learn to come together on this day in the midst of the present crisis...

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The Holiday celebrates the resurrection of Christ. According to the New Testament, this occurred 3 days after he was crucified in 30 AD. This holiday concludes the 40 day period of fasting that began with Lent. Image
Specifically for our nation, Christianity probably first arrived around 72 AD after St. Thomas visited Kerala and his teaching spread southward. However, most of the nation's Christian population came from conversions during the colonial period. ImageImageImage
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Apr 17
As we reflect on #COVID19 and realize how difficult the pandemic has been, let's take a look back at a past #pandemic in 1918 and learn about the parallels between them and how both affected our island nation...

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As many of you may know, Spanish flu is not actually from Spain. There are many theories on where it actually began but many claim the source was Camp Funston in Kansas, USA. There it spread via WW1 troops to Spain were the uncensored press reported on it for the first time. Image
From there it spread across Europe into Russia and then into Asia. By June 1918, it was in India where it became know as 'Bombay Fever', killing 20 million people. By July, it had reached Colombo, coming from India by boat. Dock workers started showing signs of the disease. Image
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Apr 15
During the early 1900s, many Ceylonese left for Malaya in order to find work. In WW2, they came at odds with the Japanese who started their conquest of East Asia...

In 1941, one girl documented that experience in a diary, check it out below...

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December 1, 1941
The English Paper of the Senior Cambridge Exam wasn’t as bad as we expected. In spite of the fuss Aunty made, Indrani and I had lunch by ourselves at the Jubilee Restaurant. Enjoyed it too, though we couldn’t relax, as there was a paper in the afternoon.
December 8, 1941
Did badly today, but so would every one else-I hope. Uncle woke us up at 6 a.m. with the astounding new that Singapore and Kota Bharu were bombed. The American fleet was caught napping at Pearl Harbour. Even the Exam supervisors were full of it and chattered!
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Apr 15
There have been increasing cries for President Rajapaksa to step down, but this is not unique to today…

Take a look at how in 1953, the Ceylonese Hartal brought down PM Senanayake and his UNP government…

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In the 1952 elections, the UNP, led by Dudley Senanayake, won a majority in Parliament. However, in 1953, things went downhill as Sri Lanka slumped into economic crisis after the boom from the Korean war came to an end. Image
However, the government response was seen as detrimental to the situation as subsidies on rice were lifted and social welfare spending was cut. The prices of basic commodities rose and Finance Minister J. R. Jayewardene even telling people to just “Grow your own food.” Image
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Apr 14
Today, we're angered by inflation but did you know your ancestors experienced similar conditions 150 years ago...

In 1866, Grain Riots broke out over the price of rice and a weak British colonial response. Read how it unfolded below...

#srilanka #EconomicCrisisLK #GoHomeGota
For centuries, while rice cultivation in Sri Lanka existed, the country mainly relied on imports from India for it's supply. This continued even after the British took control of Ceylon in 1796 and they imposed import duties and taxes to profit off this trade and raise revenue.
However, in 1866, a massive famine struck the east coast of India killing 4-5 million people. This shortage of rice caused the price of rice to tripled in Ceylon from 6 to at most 20 shillings.

This strained poor village communities, many of which depended on this imported rice.
Read 8 tweets
Apr 13
Happy Sinhalese & Tamil New Year to Everyone!

For centuries this has been an important celebration for Sri Lankans of all backgrounds...

Take a look at how it started and where it evolved from below...

#HappyNewYear2022 #Srilanka #Otd #History #ceylon #newyear #lka #celebrate
There is no definite origin story for the Sri Lankan New Year and most scholar point to a multitude of sources that all evolved into what we now celebrate today. But, it can be said that the modern festival originated in the 1500s during the Sītāvaka Period.
The celebration has a long history in India which likely influenced the date for the festival in Sri Lanka as both places have had a history of cultural exchange and movement for millennia.
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