The seventeenth-century Dutch hospital in Colombo.

Sri Lanka, known as Ceylon till 1972, is an island which was successively occupied by the Portuguese (1505-1656), the Dutch (1656-1796), and the British (1796-1948). The Portuguese and the Dutch succeeded in conquering only the maritime provinces, the central highlands being under the control of the kings of Kandy, who by force or ruse contrived to keep their kingdom intact from these two European powers. However, in 1815, the British managed also to annex the Kandyan kingdom by means of a treaty with Kandyan chiefs who had turned against their king. In the heart of Colombo, the capital city, is an area known to this day as the Fort, which originally came within the fortifications built by the Dutch after their capture of Colombo from the Portuguese. The ramparts have since disappeared except for a tiny remnant. The land in the Fort is now the most highly priced real estate in the country and consists of only a few hectares. In this busy area is an old dilapidated and unoccupied building which was the country's leading hospital during the Dutch occupation. Few of the passers-by are aware of its identity. The narrow lane that skirts the building is known as Hospital Street, and perhaps this is the only reminder of its past. It occupies about half a hectare of land, which is a relatively large area in terms of the size of the Fort, and it is a credit to the authorities that such prime property is earmarked for restoration by the Department of Archaeology.