Early History

Sri Lanka, as most countries of the world, had an autocratic form of government for most of its history. Kings (or sometimes queens) ruled Sri Lanka from well before the Christian era. A change of government meant a change of monarch, often through violence or invasions. Sometimes the country was divided into several small kingdoms, with different kings who were independent of each other. More often, it was unified with one king dominating other rulers who were known in different periods as Sub-kings or Governors.

These kings were given advice and assistance by councils with various responsibilities at the centre. There were also systems of local government, with councils of elders in villages, or other kinds of councils to advise governors of regions. However, all such councils existed at the will of the king, as did the courts. They and the governors were chosen or appointed by the sole authority of the king. Though good rulers took into account the wishes of their people, the idea that the people had a right to choose their rulers never held sway. The only matter on which the will of the king was not absolute was succession or appointment of sub-kings, where heredity was crucial. In short, democracy was unheard of as a principle. The Divine Rights Theory of Monarchy based on heredity or conquest held sway in Sri Lanka, as it did in most of the world, for most of its history.

So when the Europeans arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505 and began to take control of the country, they simply continued the monarchial system of government.