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Colombo (derived from Sinhalese name Kola-amba-thota which means "mango harbour", altered by the Portuguese to honour Christopher Columbus), population 377,396 (Colombo metropolitan area: 2,234,289) ( 2001), is the largest city and commercial center of Sri Lanka.
A vast majority of Sri Lankan corporations have their head offices located in Colombo. Some of the industries include chemicals, textiles, glass, cement, leather goods, furniture, and jewelry. An oil refinery is located near the city.
Colombo was probably known to Roman, ArabThere are three factors which may assist to varying degrees in determining whether someone is considered Arab or not: Political: whether they live in a country which is a member of the Arab League (or, more vaguely, the Arab World); this definition covers, and ChineseThis article is on the geographic and cultural entity. For other meanings, see China (disambiguation). China ( Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , Hanyu Pinyin: Zhongguo, Wade-Giles: Chung-kuo) is a country in continental East Asia with some oute traders more than 2,000 years ago. Muslims settled there in the 8th century7th century — 8th century — 9th century — other centuries) Events The Iberian peninsula is taken by Arab and Berber Muslims, thus ending the Visigothic rule, and starting almost 8 centuries of Muslim presence there. Sometime this century, Beowulf is proba and controlled much of the trade between Sinhalese kingdoms and the outside world. The Portuguese arrived in the 16th century15th century 16th century 17th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. Events Beginning of the " Little Ice Age" a cooling period that resulted in lower crop yi and built a fort to protect their spiceFor information on the spice from Frank Herbert's Dune universe, see melange. Spices are strongly flavored or aromatic parts of plants used in small quantities in food as a preservative, or flavouring in cooking. Spices are distinguished from other plant trade. The DutchDutch redirects here. For other uses, see Dutch (disambiguation). The Netherlands ( Dutch: Nederland is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a constitutional monarchy. It is located in northwestern Europe and borders the North Sea, Belgium captured the city in the 17th century16th century 17th century 18th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601- 1700. During this period, the power of England and the United Provinces increased; while that of. The British made the city the capital of their crown colony of Ceylon in 1802.
The University of Sri Lanka , several colleges, an observatory, a national museum, and numerous churches, mosques, and Buddhist and Hindu temples are in Colombo; on the outskirts are two Buddhist universities. The city has some of the best modern infrastructure in South Asia including the biggest port of the subcontinent.The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation , formerly known as Radio Ceylon, - is situated in Colombo. The SLBC is the oldest radio station in South Asia.
On January 31, 1996 an explosives-filled truck of the LTTE rammed into the gates of the Central Bank in Colombo killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400. That turned out to be the last major assault on Colombo by the LTTE. Such events are unlikely to be repeated since the LTTE and the government signed a ceasefire in 2002