February 1, 2009

The Days of

Com m of Ind emoratin g epen denc 61 years e

British Rule
I
t is said that, British colonial rule brought incredible changes in the socio-economic and political sectors in Sri Lanka. The Colebrook Reforms, implemented on September 28, 1833, laid the foundation for the massive transformation. The Reforms abolished the Sinhala feudal system, known as Rajakariya, and gave people the freedom to choose a livelihood, instead of one determined by their caste. Regardless of social, caste and religious differences, people were treated equal before the law. The dictatorial form of government was loosened. By 1875, a capitalist system of production, based on a plantation economy came into existence. Commemorating the 61st year of Independence, what follows are glimpses of Sri Lanka under British rule.
Government Agent J. P. Lewis with Kandyan chiefs: The Portuguese and the Dutch failed to capture the Kandyan Kingdom. But, it was annexed with no struggle at all by the British in 1815, because of the support they had from the Kandyan aristocrats. The rights of the Kandyan chiefs were guaranteed by an agreement entered into between the governor and the Kandyan chiefs on March 2, 1815. A promise was also made to protect Buddhism. The Kandyan tradition of administering the country through the aristocratic Nilames was continued under the observation of the British agent. However, due to the Kandyan chiefs joining the rebellion of 1818, the privileges enjoyed by them were abolished. (British Library: 1919) Kandy Lake: Kandyans called the Kandy Lake, Kiri Muhuda. When a place was predicted to be a site of victory, a pond was dug on the orders of King Vikramabahu. In that pond, a white turtle was found, confirming a prediction made by Hulangamuwe Achari. Later, a small pond was dug there for the turtle to reside. That pond was called Kiri Muhuda or Sea of milk. The pond was enlarged and turned into Mahanuwara Wewa. The present Kandy Lake is the work of King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe. (Charles Scowen and Co: 1880)

Nation

February 1, 2009

ars e y 1 6 g ratin o m e m Com ence d n e p e of Ind

February 1, 2009

Nation

Nation

Cart: Before the railways came, the main means of transport was the bullock-cart. Between 1896 and 1966 the number of double bullock carts on the Colombo-Kandy Road was 94,152. The number of carters in Colombo in 1911 was 3,600. In January 1898 the carters serving the Colombo Harbour staged a strike over the reduction of salaries.

Galle Harbour: Before the Colombo Harbour was developed by building a breakwater, the Galle harbour had been the main harbour of the country. Because it was halfway from the Cape of Good Hope, Sweden, Mauritius and Singapore, the Galle harbour was the most convenient port of entry for British ships. Although Galle has a large natural harbour, entry was risky due to underwater rocks. (British Library - 1872) Horse Carriage: The system of horse carriages carrying the mail was first stated in Sri Lanka, in whole of Asia. A horse carriage carried a limited number of passengers in addition to the mail bags. A passenger traveling from Colombo to Kandy had to pay two pounds and 10 shillings. Bridge of boats (Oru Palama): This bridge of boats built in 1822 was at Grandpass until the Victoria Bridge (Kelaniya Bridge) was built in 1865 by Lieutenant General John Sheaffer. The bridge consisted of 21 boats. It was 499 feet in length. The bridge of boats, entirely made of timber, served all the passengers and carts of goods crossing the river, until the Victoria Bridge was built.

Dalada Perahera: In 1828, the British government gave back the custodianship of the Sacred Tooth Relic, which had been in their hands, to the Kandyan chieftains. In that connection, Governor Sir Edward Barnes started a full-fledged Dalada Poojothsawa (ceremony of honouring the Sacred Tooth Relic) in the same manner as was done in the time of the Sinhala kings.

A tea plantation: After the coffee industry was destroyed by a pest, tea became the chief plantation crop. By 1896 the acreage under tea was 330,000. The income from the export of tea in 1896 was two-thirds of the total export income. (British Library -1870)

Kompanna Veediya: Kompanna Veediya was given the name, Slave Island by the British. In the time of the Dutch, the Black African population of Colombo was about 4,000. In the early 18th Century, an African killed the fiscal Vanderstaaten and his wife. This initiated the African Rebellion. After the Rebellion was crushed by the Dutch rulers, the slaves residing in Colombo were brought to Kompanna Veediya. Although their descendents have not survived as a distinct community, they are now living in Puttalam, Trincomalee and Batticaloa. (Charles Scowen and Co.,-1890)

February 1, 2009
Nation

Commemorating 61 years of Independence

Commemorating 61 years of Independence

February 1, 2009

Don Solomon Dias Bandaranaike (Sinhala Christian - Govigama) Held the position of Maha Mudaliyar. A wealthy person. Owned a large number of estates and urban property. Father of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. (Arnold Wright)

Colombo Fort: According to historian, James Cordiner, the number of English people in Colombo Fort, after it came into the hands of the British, was 120. Hundred of them were men, while the rest were women. In addition, there were about 300 Dutch people. The Englishmen who came to reside in the Fort, married young girls from Dutch families. (W. L. Skeen and Co., 1890)

The General Post Office, Colombo: This building occupies a prominent place among those put up during the British period. The construction was completed by the Public Works Department in July 1895 at a cost of Rs. 372,961.65. (W. L.Skeen and Co., 1880)

Galle Face Green: The British army invaded the Kandyan Kingdom in January 1803, and were defeated. A large number of British soldiers were killed in the war and a greater number of British soldiers died when the retreating army contracted malaria. The burial ground at that time was inadequate to bury the bodies of the soldiers who died of malaria. Then the land that now forms the Galle Face Green was turned into a burial ground. In the 1920s, those graves were dug up, and the remains of the bodies were placed in the Colombo cemetery and the Galle Face Green was turned into a public park. (Charles Scowen and Co. 1890)

The emergence of a society of elites

Nation

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria (1897): After the King of Kandy, Sri Wickrama Rajasingha was overthrown by the British, the King of Britain became the King of Lanka too. Thus, The British Monarch, King George III, became the King of Ceylon, when Kandy was captured in 1815. The people of Lanka were told that the country was ruled by the King of Britain, as the successor to the Kings of this country. The traditional elite and the new elite used occasions such as births, marriages, anniversaries and coronations of the royalty to express their closeness to the British crown. The students of government and missionary schools were taught to respect the British monarch. Loyalty to the King of Britain was also a necessary feature of education. (W. L.Skeen and Co., 1890)

Don Spaeter Senanayake (Sinhala Buddhist - Govigama) Earned money from the arrack renting industry. Became wealthier by investing that money in the graphite industry. Father of Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake. (Arnold Wright)

Association of Graphite Businessmen: The graphite (Miniran) and the arrack renting industries played an important role in the emergence of a society of elites. During the early days of the British, they spoke English and wore western clothes. The graphite industry reached its peak in the years 1899-1901 and 1914-17. (Arnold Wright - 1900)

Tudor Rajapakse (Sinhala Buddhist - Salagama) A leading coconut and cinnamon estate owner. (Arnold Wright)

February 1, 2009

Little Englands

Nation

Commem or of Indepe ating 61 years ndence

Emergence of a working class

Kathiravelu Namasivayam (Tamil Vellala - Hindu) Chief Shroff of Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and estate owner. He owned more than 1,000 acres of rubber plantations. (Arnold Wright)

Members of the Orient Club: For the British, the clubs were Little Englands that reminded them of their motherland. Local people were denied entry to them. The Orient Club was the club of the local elite, and membership was considered to be a status symbol. A majority of the new elite of the time were members of the club. (Arnold Wright -1900)

Labourers baling cinnamon: One of the main reasons for the western powers to pay attention to Lanka was cinnamon. The cinnamon industry was confined to the Salagama caste to a great extent. Trade in cinnamon was the main industry of the Dutch, and the Dutch administration contributed to the social progress of the Salagama caste. However, it is a striking fact that the Salagama caste is entirely Buddhist in spite of the close connection it had with the Dutch. (W.L.Skeen and Co.1880)

Don Carolis Hewawitharane (Sinhala Buddhist - Govigama) Founder of Don Carolis and Company, the prominent household furniture making company. Father of Anagarika Dharmapala. (Arnold Wright)

Labourers washing clothes: In Colombo alone there were 1,320 washers. Washing clothes was a job confined to one caste. Colombo Municipal Council ordered in 1896 that all the places of washing clothes must be registered with the Colombo Municipal Council for administrative convenience. The washers started a strike in July 1896 against this order. (British Library -1895)

Workers cleaning graphite (W. L. H.Skeen Co. -1880)

A horse carriage driver and a rickshawpuller: The Rickshaw was a popular means of travelling short distances in towns. In 1911 the number of rickshaw coolies in the country was 4,000 of whom 2,500 were Indian Tamils, 1,000 Sri Lankan Tamils and 500 Low Country Sinhalese. around 88% percent of rickshawpullers worked in the city of Colombo. (British Library -1900)

Mohamed Macan Markar (Muslim) Unofficial member of the Legislative Council representing the Muslims. Prominent gem and jewellery businessman. (Arnold Wright)

Workers making wooden barrels: From 1840 onwards, wooden barrels were used for the export of coffee. Later, wooden barrels were used to export graphite and coconut oil. In the period 1880-84 the annual requirement of wooden barrels for the export of graphite and coconut oil alone, was 45,000. (British Library -1895)

Railway workers: In 1911 there were 9,519 persons employed in work connected with railways. The number of those who worked as mechanics, blacksmiths, carpenters, fitters, boiler workers, etc. in the nine locomotive workshops was 2,800. There were 4,300 workers in the Railway and Works Department responsible for civil engineering work, including the maintenance of railway bridges and buildings and 2,000 workers in the Railway Transport Department. (Foreign And Commonwealth Office- 1895)

Indian Tamil estate workers: At the beginning, the planters brought labourers from India through Kanganies or labour agents. Those labourers had to walk about 150 miles from the coast of Lanka to reach the hills. Those who contacted malaria were left to die on the road. Those who escaped death and reached the hills succumbed to the cold and died. For every labourer who was brought to Lanka, a certain sum of money was paid to the Kangany by the estate owner. By 1891 the number of Indian estate workers and their dependents in the estates was 235,000. (British Library)

A hairdresser: The local people who used to tie their hair in a knot, started cutting their hair due to the influence of the British. At the same time there was a great demand for hairdressers. In 1911 there were 492 hairdressers in Colombo alone. (British Library -1900)

February 1, 2009
Nation

Commemorating 61 years of Independence

Nation

Commemorating 61 years of Independence

February 1, 2009

Ethnic diversity

Labourers in a coffee yard (W.L.Skeen and Co. 1870)

A Muslim man (Arnold Wright)

A Chetty (Charles Scowen and Co. 1880)

A Kandyan Sinhala lady (Arnold Wright)

A group of Colombo harbour workers (W.L.Skeen and Co. 1900)

A Sinhala Christian priest (Arnold Wright)

A Low Country Sinhala lady (Arnold Wright)

A Kandyan Sinhala man (Charles Scowen and Co. 1880)

A Malay man (Arnold Wright)

Labourers in a coconut estate

A Kandyan Sinhala man (Arnold Wright) (British Library -1895)

Tamil ladies (British Library -1895)

10

Workers making crepe rubber

(British Library 1900)

A Hindu Priest (Charles Scowen 1880)

and

Co.

A Sinhala man (Arnold Wright)

A Sinhala man (Arnold Wright)

A Malay father with his son (British Library -1895)

A Tamil lady (Arnold Wright)

11

February 1, 2009

Commemorating 61 years of Independence

A Burgher couple

A Kinnara couple (Adivasis). This community is supposed to be a segment of the descendents of the original inhabitants of the island (Arnold Wright)

Passenger cart drivers (Charles Scowen and Co. -1880)

A low-country Sinhala couple (British Library -1895)

Veddhas (Charles Scowen and Co. 1875)

A group of Tamil women on the plantations (British Library -1900)

Ahikunthikas (Snake charmers) (British Library -1900)

A Kandyan boutique (Charles Scowen and Co. -1880)

A low country boutique (Charles Scowen and Co. -1880)

12

Courtesy: Arbudaye Andaraya and Paaradise In Tears by Victor Ivan Thanks also to Shironie Senanayake, Asoka Padmasiri and Ajith Liyanage

Nation