[kuh-luhm-boh] 
| a seaport in and the capital of Sri Lanka, on the W coast. 562,160. |
| Co·lom·bo (kə-lŭm'bō) The capital and largest city of Sri Lanka, on the western coast of the island on the Indian Ocean. The city was probably known to Greco-Roman, Arab, and Chinese traders more than 2,000 years ago. It became capital of the crown colony of Ceylon in 1802 and of independent Ceylon in 1948. Population: 647,000. |
Formerly Ceylon, now an island republic in the Indian Ocean just southeast of India.
Note: A British colony since 1796, the island became independent in 1948.
Note: Marked by hostility between its Buddhist Sinalese majority and Hindu Tamil minority (see Buddhism and Hinduism).
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