The Tamils are the indigenous people of Ceylon. Their history had its beginnings in the early settlements on the rich alluvial plains near the southern extremity of the peninsular India. The Tamils were sea faring people. They traded with Rome in the days of Emperor Augustus. They sent ships to many lands bordering the Indian Ocean and with the ships went traders, scholars and a way of life.The island of Ceylon which was separated from the Indian subcontinent by less than 30 miles of water was not unknown to the Tamils who called it Eelam and who established their early kingdoms there more than 3000 years ago.