British Ceylon
Encyclopedia
British Ceylon refers to British rule prior to 1948 of the island territory now known as Sri Lanka
.
and the Kingdom of Kandy
, who were in the midst of a war for control of the island as a whole.
The island attracted the attention of the newly formed Batavian Republic
when they were invited by the Sinhalese king to fight the Portuguese, and Dutch rule was soon imposed.
The Dutch, weakened by their wars against Great Britain
, were eventually conquered by Napoleon and their leaders became refugees in London
. No longer able to effectively govern the island the Dutch transferred the rule of Ceylon to the British against the will of the Dutch residing there.
a protectorate, an offer refused by the King of Kandy. Though the previous administration had not been powerful enough to threaten the reign of the Kandyan Kings, the British Empire was much more powerful. The refusal to become a protectorate lead to outright war between the two factions, which ended with the capitulation of the Kandyans in 1815.
But the English annexed Ceylon with Madras Presidency for economical and strategical reasons. The Kandyan treaty which was signed at the annexation of Kandy was called Kandyan Convention
and consists of the terms under which the Kandyans will live under British rule.
The Buddhist religion was to be given protection by the Crown and Christianity would not be imposed on the unwilling masses as it happened during Portuguese and Dutch rule. It spelt the end of a most cruel tyrant who tortured Sinhala aristocracy at will in one of the most cruel ways. Kandyan Convention is an important legal document because it specifies the conditions which the British promised to rule the Kandyan territory.
Soon the Kandyans rebelled against the English and waged a guerilla war. It was called the Uva Rebellion
and the British carried out the massacre of the 19th Century by wiping out the all able bodied Sinhalese men from the Hill country. Main causes of the rebellion seems to be the loss of power of the Kandyan chieftains.
The multiracial of Ceylon was numerous enough to support the European colonists and the Portuguese and the Dutch offspring of the past 300 years of colonial history was enough to run a stable government. Unlike the previous rulers the British embarked on a plantation programme which brought coffee plantation which was later wiped out by coffee rust. Coffee plants were replaced by tea and rubber plantations. This made Ceylon one of the richest countries in Asia.
The British also brought a million Tamils from British India
and made them indentured laborers in the Hill country. This was in addition to the several hundred thousand Tamils already living in the Maritime provinces and another 30,000 Mappilla Muslims whose mother tongue is Tamil. Thus the seed of ethnic discord was sown in the British Era. The linguistically bipolar island needed a link language and English became universal in Ceylon.
The laying of the railway, the opening of coffee and tea plantations, road development schemes, establishment of hospitals and maternity homes throughout the island, were some of the major works undertaken by the British who ruled Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
From the Dutch to the British
Before the beginning of the Dutch governance, the island of Ceylon was divided between the Portuguese EmpirePortuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
and the Kingdom of Kandy
Kingdom of Kandy
Kingdom of Kandy was an important independent monarchy of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century...
, who were in the midst of a war for control of the island as a whole.
The island attracted the attention of the newly formed Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
when they were invited by the Sinhalese king to fight the Portuguese, and Dutch rule was soon imposed.
The Dutch, weakened by their wars against Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, were eventually conquered by Napoleon and their leaders became refugees in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. No longer able to effectively govern the island the Dutch transferred the rule of Ceylon to the British against the will of the Dutch residing there.
Kandyan Wars
As soon as Britain gained Ceylon from the Dutch they wanted to expand it by making the native Kingdom of KandyKingdom of Kandy
Kingdom of Kandy was an important independent monarchy of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century...
a protectorate, an offer refused by the King of Kandy. Though the previous administration had not been powerful enough to threaten the reign of the Kandyan Kings, the British Empire was much more powerful. The refusal to become a protectorate lead to outright war between the two factions, which ended with the capitulation of the Kandyans in 1815.
Kandyan Convention
The rule of the king Sri Vikrama Rajasinha was not favored by his chieftains. The king who was of South Indian ancestry faced powerful chieftains and sought cruel measures to repress their popularity with the people. A successful coup was organized by the Sinhala chiefs in which they accepted the British crown as their new king. This ended the line of the kingdom of Kandy and King Rajasinhe was taken as a prisoner. thought that the English will hand over the power to him.But the English annexed Ceylon with Madras Presidency for economical and strategical reasons. The Kandyan treaty which was signed at the annexation of Kandy was called Kandyan Convention
Kandyan Convention
The Kandyan Convention was an agreement in 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 Telugu ancestry faced powerful opposition from the Sinhalese chieftains who sought to reduce his power...
and consists of the terms under which the Kandyans will live under British rule.
The Buddhist religion was to be given protection by the Crown and Christianity would not be imposed on the unwilling masses as it happened during Portuguese and Dutch rule. It spelt the end of a most cruel tyrant who tortured Sinhala aristocracy at will in one of the most cruel ways. Kandyan Convention is an important legal document because it specifies the conditions which the British promised to rule the Kandyan territory.
Soon the Kandyans rebelled against the English and waged a guerilla war. It was called the Uva Rebellion
Uva Rebellion
The Great Rebellion of 1817-1818, also known as the 1818 Uva-Wellassa Uprising, , or simply the Uva Rebellion was the third Kandyan War with the British, in what is now Sri Lanka...
and the British carried out the massacre of the 19th Century by wiping out the all able bodied Sinhalese men from the Hill country. Main causes of the rebellion seems to be the loss of power of the Kandyan chieftains.
The Uva Rebellion
It took the ruling families of Kandy less than two years to realise that the authority of the British government was a fundamentally different beast to that of the (deposed) Nayakkar dynasty. Discontent with British activities soon boiled over into open rebellion, commencing in the duchy of Uva in 1817. Generally called the 'Uva Rebellion', it is also known as the Third Kandyan War. In many ways the third name is more appropriate, as the rebellion (which soon developed into a guerilla war of the kind the Kandyans had fought against European powers for some time) was centred on the Kandyan nobility and their unhappiness with developments under British rule since 1815. However it is the last uprising of this kind and Britain's response essentially liquidated the old aristocracy and ensured future rebellions would take on a much more subaltern character.The British Raj and the support of the Natives
The British also brought a million Tamils from British India
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
and made them indentured laborers in the Hill country. This was in addition to the several hundred thousand Tamils already living in the Maritime provinces and another 30,000 Mappilla Muslims whose mother tongue is Tamil. Thus the seed of ethnic discord was sown in the British Era. The linguistically bipolar island needed a link language and English became universal in Ceylon.
The laying of the railway, the opening of coffee and tea plantations, road development schemes, establishment of hospitals and maternity homes throughout the island, were some of the major works undertaken by the British who ruled Sri Lanka.