Formerly Ceylon, Sri Lanka has been famed for its tea, its cinnamon--and its 1983-2009 civil war, which turned suicide bombing into a global tactic. How did this pearl of the British Empire become such a violent place? In brief, patterns of the colonial era generated ethnic tensions that grew after independence, and matters got worse from there. Sri Lanka's colonial era and its aftermath may offer insights into the modern experiences of a variety of countries including Uganda, Kenya, Myanmar (Burma) and more. Speaker Bill Davnie is a retired foreign service officer whose interest in Sri Lanka has developed during five visits to see his daughter and her family, who are posted at the U.S. Embassy there.