Another factor arose from the fact that Tamils, on the whole, had been open to a succession of Portuguese, Dutch, and British administrations from the 16th century onwards, while most Sinhalese lived under their own king in the Kandyan kingdom until the 19th century. In particular, the Buddhist priests, who are the guardians of the faith and have wielded much influence in Sri Lanka politics since the mid-1950's, were the least touched by foreign rule.