The
Kandyan Convention was an agreement signed on the 10th of March 1815 between the
British and the Chiefs of the
Kandyan Kingdom, in
Sri Lanka for the deposition of rule King
Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. The king who was of South Indian ancestry faced powerful opposition from the
Sinhalese chieftains who sought to reduce his power. A successful coup was organized by the Sinhala chieftains in which they accepted the British crown as their new king. This ended the line of the
Kingdom of Kandy and King Rajasinha was taken as a prisoner. By 2 March 1815 the islands sovereignty was under that of the
British Empire. This unique treaty was not signed by the deposed King but by members of his court and other dignitaries of the Kandyan Kingdom. Because the king was hiding from the British, later he was captured and banished to Vellore in south India.