By Monte Holsinger
2002

PART ONE

OUTLINE OF RECENT HISTORY

The Island of Sri Lanka has a heritage rich in culture and rife with conflict.  The aborigines of the country bear no relevance in this study and are of more interest to anthropologists and paleontologists, who have postulated that Homo sapiens possibly first set foot on the isle about 500,000 years ago.

The more recent history, which is pertinent to this paper, is unfortunately, a combination of myth, legend, folklore, epigraphics and historical records.  The historical records do not necessarily embody an unbiased or objective narration of historical events, and may well reflect the historian’s perception, or even be a valediction of the kings and rulers of a given period.  Much research has however been done by the students of history in their assiduous search for the truth, and we are the beneficiaries of their diligence.  We can now safely assume that these scholarly dissertations have unraveled the past with reasonable accuracy, and we can now rely on this historical perspective on which to predicate this thesis.

Sri Lanka, known as Seilan or Ceylon in the days gone by, occupies an enviable geographic location.  Like a tear drop shed by India, Sri Lanka lies below the southern tip of the mainland, about 8 degrees above the equator.  This is directly in the path of the ancient trade routes and therefore the country has been a haven for seafarers and mariners from time immemorial.  Although the island is now separated from the mainland by the Palk Straits, (a distance of only 40 kilometres), it was undoubtedly connected with mainland India at some point in prehistory.  These factors have rendered the island, so rich in natural resources and bio diversity, vulnerable to invaders on the one hand and inviting to travelers, on the other.  Sri Lanka was truly a tropical Paradise, ripe for the picking, beckoning to be exploited and small wonder that nations all over the world vied for this prize.

The history of man in Sri Lanka, in recent times as can be gathered from that indispensable record, the ‘Mahawamsa’ begins with the arrival of Vijaya, the legendary founding father of the Sinhalese (Sinhala). According to legend, Vijaya was banished for misconduct by his father, Sinhabahu, the ruler of the North Indian kingdom of Sinhapura. Vijaya and his disorderly group of cohorts numbering about 700 in all reached the Northwestern shores of Sri Lanka, near Puttalam and gained foothold in the country.

The ‘Mahawamsa’ and its sequel, the Culawamsa were literary works of buddhistic chroniclers and quite naturally, liberally interspersed with miracles, supernatural interventions and fanciful inventions, all evincing a strong religious bias. While the cursory reader may go along with the story and its contrivances, the true historian will view this against the backdrop of world history, in piecing together the puzzle of the past.

Suffice it to say that the advent of Vijaya to the island as per the Mahawamsa coincides with the colonisation of Sri Lanka, by Indo-Aryan tribes from Northern India. A Later immigration from Bengal and Orissa is also strongly indicated.

Although the sub continent exerted a great pressure in the shaping of Sri Lanka, its strategic location athwart the main sea routes, led inevitably to other equally important influences being brought to bear in this metamorphosis.

Whilst the archeologists continue their scholarly research into the cradle of human civilisation, we are here mainly concerned in establishing with reasonable accuracy, a historical basis for the ethnic diversity in the demography of Sri Lanka.

Anthropological postulations place the arrival of ‘Home Sapiens’ on the island, to around 500,000 thousand years, but there is very little evidence to go on about subsequent cultures in Paleolithic terms.

Comparatively recent stone cultures show up around 10,000 BC and probably lasted up to around 1000 BC or less, when the metal ages surfaced.

Traces of Mesolithic man have been found and these continue into proto-historic periods, via the ‘Balangoda Man” and ‘Balangoda Cultures’ which were submerged by the pressures exerted by the early Indo-Aryan colonisers, probably in the period 500 BC to the Christian era. The aboriginal of Sri Lanka has now disappeared. The Veddah tribes found today in the jungles of the Vanni are the descendants of the Balangoda Man intermixed with the Sinhalese and the Tamils. However, even this questionable ethnic integrity has been highly diluted and it is now not very long before the remnants of the Veddah ‘race’ will cease to exist being totally assimilated into the predominant ethnic groups.

The early settlers were romantically portrayed as warrior nobility building new empires by conquest. However, more realistically, seafarers and traders of both West and East Asia found the country and its wealth of natural resources incentive enough to found their own settlements, in the Maritime Provinces.

The Indo Aryan immigrants settled in various provinces of the island especially along the west coast and the banks of the Malwatu Oya River. Some settled on the East and moved inland along the Mahaweli River.  Still later, a new wave of immigration settled in the Ruhunu Province along the Walawe River. These settlers were of various clans, the foremost among them being the Sinhalas, and the settlements were in the dry zone. By now the metal age had revolutionized archetypal existence.

By the end of the Pre Christian era, Buddhism had gained ascendancy over other forms of religion and was under the patronage of the rulers. An agrarian economy was well established and self-sufficient and self-governing villages (settlements) began to flourish.

The picture of this proto historical period is completed by the Dravidian incursions to the island. There was already a strong Dravidian Civilisation in South India, which relied substantially on international trading. Quite naturally therefore, Dravidians entered Sri Lanka either for trading by peaceful means or through more bellicose invasions. All historical evidence would tend to support the hypothesis that the Dravidians entry to Sri Lanka was preceded by the Indo Aryans. However, by the beginning of the Christian era, they were firmly established in the country, in several settlements in the North and the East.

Evidence also suggests that Sri Lanka, a multi ethnic society, lived in tolerance and racial harmony when under a unified polity, rather than a pluralistic one where ethnic tensions are a prime feature.

The truth as to the actual conditions obtaining under a single polity is rather obscure. Myth and legend portray all their kings since the (mythical) Vijaya as rulers of the entire island, but this was not so. There were several kingdoms in the island during this period, with the strongest among them having hegemonic notions over the others. Even during the reigns of the few powerful kings who held sway over the entire island, there was no highly centralised autocratic power structure in the heyday of the Sinhala era, but one where the “Balance of political forces incorporated a tolerance of particularism, charactistic of most feudal polities”. (K M de Silva). This was mainly due to practical difficulties in administering far-flung lesser “kingdoms”.

Although centripetally may have been the aspiration of several of the Sinhala kings, very few achieved it. The Anuradhapura period (250 BC –1050 AD) and Polonnaruwa period (1050 AD – 1250 AD) are fraught with accounts of invasion from India. By the turn of the 11thcentury Cola invaders from India overthrew the Sinhala regime and a Cola king was installed. The Sinhalese then retreated to Polonnaruwa from where a protracted war was waged upon the usurping Colas, the country liberated and the Sinhala monarchy restored.  

Although there are two periods of unified rule during the Polonnaruwa period, very often stability in the country deteriorated into bloody squabbles among motley congeries. Moreover, relentless invasions mounted by the Colas and Pandyans always accompanied by an orgy of destruction and desecration and led to the fragmentation of power and polity.

Other factors, which precipitated the downfall of the Polonnaruwa kingdom, were firstly the highly centralised governance of the era, which proved unable to maintain, much less develop the mainstay of the economy – agriculture. Secondly the malaria epidemic, which gripped the country, ravaged the population. The malaria epidemic could well be a direct consequence of the latter day centralised authority’s failure in agriculture. The extensive and intricate network of reservoirs and channels fell into disuse and offered excellent breeding grounds for the dreaded Anopheles mosquito.

The Sinhala kings and kingdoms continued their retreat Southward to Dambulla, Kurunegala, Gampola, Dedigama, Kotte and Sitawaka. S

A parallel kingdom was established in Kandy, in the mid 15th century and shortly, the kingdom of Jaffna was also established by the Tamils in the North.

The fragmentation of the country was complete with the Sitawaka Kingdom making its appearance around 1520 AD.

Thus, when the Portuguese first set foot in Sri Lanka, the country was governed by at least 4 kingdoms, whilst in the thickly forested and almost impenetrable Vanni Province there may have been several chieftains or Vanniars holding sway over smaller tracts of the province.

The Portuguese, whose first entry to the country was in 1505/6, was by accident returned 12 years later, with the intention of opening up a trading post.

The Sinhalese, and, more importantly, the Moors who had long established themselves as the major trading community in the country regarded this new development with great suspicion and hostility.

The Portuguese era in Sri Lanka is studded with fierce fighting throughout their 135 year colonization of Sri Lanka. Their primary aim was to set up trading posts in the maritime regions of the country, but frequent outbreaks of hostility from the natives, fanned by the Moors, apprehensive of their position as the prime trading community, resulted in their several unsuccessful forays into the Kandyan stronghold.

The status quo of the country’s social structure at this point of time is of vital importance in this study.  The basic elements in the demographic make up were Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors and Veddahs, in that order. However due to the continual invasions mounted by the Colas and Pandyans and other South Indian interlopers, the ethnic purity of the Indo Aryan Sinhala must have surely been adulterated considerably. It is also worthy of note that even in times of peace with the mainland, whenever succession of the monarchy was in question (a lack of an heir apparent) the Kandyans resorted to a Tamil pretender to the throne, or more often, a Tamil queen.

The culture of the inhabitants had evolved to a high degree but was concentrated in the hands of the hierarchy. Literacy was developing rapidly and literature began to blossom. Architecture had evolved from its Indian origins and assumed a discrete identity though it retained the original influences.

A system of barter prevailed, but monetisation was making headway in commerce and commercial transactions. International trade flourished and Spices, Gems, Areca, Cinnamon, and even elephants, were traded for Cloth, Salt and luxuries.

Craftsmanship in metals and wood reached new heights. More sophisticated armament and weaponry developed with the acquisition of these skills.

The social structure of the two main ethnic groups had by now stratified in rigid caste systems.

The great Sinhala hydraulic society suffered under the continual Cola and Pandyan onslaughts, the centralisation of authority in latter times of peace and the ravages of malaria.  At the time of Portuguese occupation a feudal system went hand in hand with the religio-political governance that prevailed in the Sinhala kingdom. In the North, in Jaffna too, feudalism and the caste system buttressed a religion biased monarchical administration.

Feudalism imposed fairly heavy taxes on tenants and peasantry alike. Private owner ship of land was mainly through privilege. The Monasteries received great patronage from the rulers of the day and these soon became the largest holders of private land. Taxes for use of land and water (water was all held solely by the kings) were either by labour or produce or both.

There was also a tenurial system whereby those who worked temple lands were given a share of the produce, unless of course they were slaves. Slavery is however, unimportant to the central theme of this paper and also drew no significant interest from the historians.

Therefore, it can be safely assumed that the country was at this time undergoing fragmentation with the decline of the Sinhala Empire. The various Monarchies governed their territories in a religio-political system with strong feudal underpinnings. A cast system was firmly established and a system of compulsory service (Rajakariya) was in force.

The upper strata of society, namely the Royal Family members, the Aristocracy and State and Army officials enjoyed a comfortable, if not luxurious life style. They were the beneficiaries of the rich culture of the times. The peasant masses lived in much different circumstances.  Condemned to live in mud and wattle houses and subjugated by to the upper classes, they were fettered by the deep-seated caste system.

The Portuguese occupation of Sri Lanka is punctuated by a continual warfare with both the low country and Kandyan kingdoms.  Never at any time did they have complete control over the land. Their main objectives were trade and proselytism and so they did not interfere much with the native administrative machinery of the time. The Sinhala in the Hill Country never actually capitulated to the Portuguese and entered into treaties only when expedient. The low country kingdoms on the contrary, being more vulnerable, were more often than not subservient to the Portuguese.

The Portuguese were bent on religious conversion apart from exploiting the resources of the country and they gradually established monopolies in trading especially in Cinnamon. They used the caste system to further their ends with clever innovations, which stopped just short of altering its basic structure.

Local produce was purchased compulsorily, at prices which did not reflect market conditions, to the detriment of peasant farmers. Areca nut was the primary commodity purchased and this was bartered for rice in India. Gradually, commercial activity and monetisation gained momentum and the economy began to prosper, through this prosperity did not percolate down to all levels.

The greatest contribution made by the Portuguese during their occupation of Sri Lanka was the introduction of Roman Catholicism. The administration and the missionaries pursued the conversion of the natives with furious zeal. Temples, both Buddhist and Hindu were ruthlessly destroyed and temple lands handed over to Roman Catholic clergy. Proselytisation went all the way up to the monarchy and Roman Catholicism acquired an inquisitorial tinge. Where enticement failed coercion prevailed. The Tamils in the North and other littoral areas suffered more than the Sinhalese, whose clergy found refuge in Kandy.

Religious persecution was not a new phenomenon in Sri Lanka, but by the 16th century religious tolerance was an ensconced Buddhist precept.

Nevertheless, the influence of Roman Catholicism wasn’t all bad. The concepts of monogamy, and the sanctity of wedlock went a long way towards eradicating polygamy and polyandry in the littoral.

The Portuguese also influenced the construction of permanent dwelling houses, in contrast to the mud and wattle shelters of the masses. Portuguese language and attire too found acceptance among the people of the Maritime Provinces.

The Dutch finally ousted the Portuguese from Sri Lanka. The Kandyan King Rajasingha II, after a prolonged negotiation with the Dutch formed an alliance for the purpose of overthrowing the Portuguese. The Dutch defeated the Portuguese and captured the important sea ports of Trincomalee, Galle and Negombo

The VOC or Vereenidge Oost-Indische Campagnie that was formed in 1602 grew into what was to become the greatest commercial company in the world. The Dutch colonisation of the Asian subcontinent was coordinated by the VOC who set up head quarters in Batavia (now Djakarta) in 1610. Batavia became the capital of the Dutch East Indies and their superiority in the region made things very difficult for the Portuguese, who had no recourse but to withdraw entirely from the island.

In 1639, the port of Trincomalee was handed back to the Sinhalese, but not Galle
and Negombo. In 1640, these were retained under Dutch control on contrived grounds, in violation of the treaty.

In the meanwhile, European politics also took a dramatic turn vis a vis its impact on Sri Lanka’s future, which led to a cessation of hostilities between the Dutch and Portuguese and rendered the succession of the Dutch, as the new rulers of the island, much easier.

The V.O.C., like the Portuguese before them, adapted the indigenous administrative system to suit their needs and left it much as found.

With the abdication of the Portuguese, the local administrative power lay in the hands of Sinhala Christians in the south and Tamil Christians in the north. These officials were not retrenched provided they proved their loyalty to the V.O.C. and eschewed Catholicism in favour of Calvinism.

The Dutch, by necessity had to place much trust in these officials who proved corrupt in general, and deprived the VOC of much revenue. These indigenous officials acquired power and wealth over the years from blatant maladministration and abuse of authority over their own countrymen.

The cast system was refined and used to the advantage of the company, and village chiefs (headmen) were appointed on a caste basis i.e., a single Head-Man for single-caste villages, and several for multi-caste villages.

These Headmen, and higher officials too exploited the dependence the Dutch had on them to further their own ends and amass wealth.

The Dutch, on the other hand, in their efforts to ensure receipt of their rightful revenue, adapted a Portuguese method of Cadastral Survey for this purpose.

This project was long drawn out and rendered extremely difficult and frustrating by the non- cooperation of the Sinhala headmen. However, in 1770 this arduous task was completed and owed much to the victory of the Dutch against the Kandyan kingdom in1766 and their recognition of Dutch sovereignty.

Sri Lanka (Ceylon) under early Dutch rule suffered from corruption and maladministration, and even misrule. This untenable situation reached a peak in 1732 when Governor Petrus Van Vuyst was tried and found guilty of excesses and executed in Batavia. 

Thereafter, the reforms introduced by Van Imhoff restored responsible administration that prevailed until the latter years of the 18th century.

An important aspect of Dutch governance was their discrimination against Muslims. Muslims were debarred from renting lands – an early manifestation of anti fundamentalism perhaps.

The most durable residue of Dutch rule was their introduction of Roman-Dutch law in the land. Roman Dutch law was designed to upgrade and complement indigenous laws. Where these were unclear or unreasonable, Roman Dutch law supplemented justice and fair play. It also consolidated the Portuguese introduced concepts of monogamy and sanctity of marriage and gave legitimacy to land holdings and land transactions – the greatest beneficiaries of which were the local chiefs or headmen.

When it came to religious persecution the Dutch were not second to the Portuguese and they proscribed Roman Catholic worship under severe penalty. Although this engendered many conversions, a large proportion of the converts embraced Calvinism merely for convenience or other venal reasons. The harried Roman Catholic clergy and faithful disciples found a safe haven in which to profess their faith in the Kandyan kingdom.

However, the Dutch were more tolerant of the indigenous religions than the Portuguese. The link between conversion and education forged by the Portuguese was maintained. By the end of the 18th century a practice of sending a few of the brighter students for higher studies in the Netherlands had commenced.

Living standards in the littoral improved marginally except in the upper classes who began acquiring Dutch traits in dress, housing and even food and drink. In the Kandyan Kingdom though, this influence was much less felt, due to the resistance of the Kandans to foreign occupation. The Kandyans kept up regular incursions into the lowlands causing unrest and even rebellion among their low country counterparts. This led to frequent interruptions in the commercial activity of harvesting and exporting Cinnamon abroad and extracting tenurial toll from tenant farmers.

The latter day Dutch Governors, notably Van Gollonese, preferred the use of flattery bribery and cajolery, to force or coercion, but their ever-increasing cupidity exerted enormous pressure on the Sinhalese to meet stiff quotas and arbitrary taxation.

Unfortunately for the Dutch, the struggle against their trade monopoly intensified with the increasing number of Indian settlers who arrived at a time which coincided with the establishment of a lucrative smuggling trade through the Kandyan ports, courtesy of the Kandyan King, Kirthie Sri Rajasingham, and his Indian “Nayakkar” connexion. This led to renewed intrusion of the Kandyans into Dutch controlled territories and these hostilities culminated in open warfare again, after a cessation of over a century.

Thus the political scenario when the British made their appearance in these waters, in 1762 was one of great ferment. The English East India Co. sent their first diplomatic mission under John Pybus. Their intentions were merely reconnaissance and intelligence related.

The Kandyans on the other hand were desperate to form an alliance with which to drive away the Dutch, and vigorously pressed their proposals. The English were not prepared to antagonize the Dutch who were neutral in the SEVEN YEARS WAR and were merely testing the waters.

The discovery that the Pybus Mission was conducting negotiations in Kandy greatly surprised the Dutch, who were at war with the Kandyans and served to strengthen their resolve to conquer Kandy and reverse their earlier policy of bilateral relations.

After an initial setback, they finally captured Kandy and extracted a harsh treaty from the Kandyans in 1766.The Dutch were finally the paramount power over the island and the Kandyan Kingdom reduced to a land locked dependency.

The hard reality of enforcing the treaty was soon evident to the Dutch. The recalcitrant kandyans began flouting the terms of the treaty often with impunity. In their desperation to avenge their defeat at the hands of the Dutch, they sought the assistance of the French against the VOC. These were times of great turmoil in the world. In America there began a colonial revolt against the British, which led to the declaration of independence of July 1766. The French role in this episode is possibly a part of a master plan to displace the British Empire from the lucrative Asian region.
Trincomalee was no longer available to the British as in the past, and the possibility of France upstaging them in the waters of the Indian Oceans was not lost upon them. The British therefore seized the port from the Dutch in 1781 but subsequently lost it to the French in 1782. This was a great blow to British prestige in the war that lasted until 1793.

A consequence of the French Revolution was the defection of the Dutch Stadholder to Britain. The French occupation of Dutch Territory resulted in the famous “Kew Letter” in which the Dutch Stadholder agreed to cede all forts under their command to the British – until Dutch independence was regained from the French.

When the French were finally defeated by the British in the waters of the Indian Ocean, the British then sought enactment of the terms of the “Kew Letter” by the use of force if necessary.  However, the Dutch showed only token resistance. The kandyans were once again inveigled into accepting a treaty with the British, precipitated by their own desire and policy, of seeking foreign assistance to oust an already established power.

Nonetheless, the position now was that their new ally was much more powerful and potentially more dangerous to them than either the Portuguese or the Dutch.

EARLY BRITISH OCCUPATION
The coastal provinces of Sri Lanka that fell into the hands of the English were proclaimed English territory in 1796. The administration of the colony was jointly with the English East India Company, who took over the cinnamon trade by a payment of Sterling Pounds 60,000 to the Crown.

The English East India Company began its administration following their usual practice of allowing the laws, customs and institutions to continue in the former Dutch colony. Except for officials who held very high positions, the services of others of the VOC who chose to remain were all retained by the EEIC, in this period of uncertainty as regards the restoration of Dutch rule in Ceylon. There was also disagreement on policy matters with the Company Presidency in Madras, which eventually led to the vesting of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) as a British crown colony in 1802.

The policy of the English in the brief interim of uncertainty, was to woo the native population and ingratiate themselves with them. They did so by rescinding Dutch taboos on Roman Catholic worship and restrictions on Muslims in matters of trade.

The full extent of the reforms of 1796 introduced by Andrews unfortunately resulted in wide spread opposition and rebellion, which was quelled finally by a withdrawal of the reforms. Thereby, ‘Rajakariya’ and ‘Uliyam’ were reintroduced. The caste system was craftily maintained and manipulated to their advantage. Nevertheless under this system the highest posts were restricted to persons of the highest caste – in this case, the Goigama (Sinhalese) and Vellala (Tamil) castes. The many administrative ‘faux pas’ made by the East India Company and the frequent disagreements between the Presidency in Madras and the Governor in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) also caused unnecessary unrest in the country, all which alarmed Whitehall.

When the former Dutch possessions in Sri Lanka were formally ceded to the British at the ‘Peace of Amens’ in March 1802, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) had already been declared a crown colony (Jan 1802) with Hon. Frederick North as its first Governor. The English East India Company were relieved of their political power by Whitehall, but they were allowed to retain their monopoly on trade and they wielded a strong influence in shaping the colony’s economy.

In the early years succeeding the formal British acquisition of the Sri Lanka littoral the East India Company actually determined the economic policy and production. They were in total control. Cinnamon was the king of commodities and revenue from this source was the mainstay of colonial finances. The vast profit made by the English East India Company was no secret and led, finally, to cinnamon export coming directly under government control.

 In 1815, the English finally captured Kandy through a conspiracy with Kandyan chiefs disenchanted with the king, notable among whom was Ehelapola whose family was executed by the king, a ruthless despot. Kandy was formally ceded to the British with the signing of the Kandyan Convention on March 2, 1815. This by no means gave the British total command.  It was only after the Great Rebellion of 1817 – 18 was broken that they finally became masters of the whole of Sri Lanka. In these early stages of British occupation they ran two separate administrative systems, one for the littoral and another for the Kandyan high lands in acknowledgement of the fractious and volatile nature of the Kandyans as compared with the lowland Sinhalese who seemed more complaisant.

Although the British ousted the Dutch in 1796, the areas of the country under the Dutch were ceded to them only 1802. Kandy was still an independent kingdom and finally captured by the British in 1815. A brief lull in hostilities preceded several uprisings and revolts of the natives against their new rulers, which went on till 1848. However, except for the revolt of 1817 – 18, the others were of lesser magnitude and did not disrupt the steady formulation and implementation of British governance and policy.

The British also showed greater perspicacity and sagacity than either the Dutch or Portuguese and acknowledged the fundamental importance of developing infra-structure. Very quickly all possible energies and resources were deployed into construction of roadways to link all cities, towns and villages. Military mobility was thus greatly enhanced and travel and communication gave an added impetus to commerce.

THE BEGINNING OF THE PLANTATION ENTERPRISE
The glorious days of Cinnamon were drawing to a close. There was also less interest in other spices and commodities such as chanks, pepper, cardamom, arecanut etc. Cinnamon prices plummeted from a high of 9 s. 9 d to 1s. 3d. Foreigners sold out to locals who rescued the trade, but it did not regain its premier status.

A new glamour crop had emerged. It was coffee. Coffee, which was introduced into the island by the Arabs in early medieval times, survived as a garden crop, proliferated and grew wild over most of the human inhabitations in the country. The renewed interest in the crop led to more methodical cultivation of it and ere long, coffee displaced cinnamon as the primary export. Not since the 1730s was there such a boom in coffee as in the 1830’s. Of course, in the eighteenth century, large-scale plantations were rare and the production of coffee was more or less a cottage industry.

The pretty, white, heavily scented flower of the coffee tree was extensively used in religious offerings and ceremonies, and temple lands usually had an abundance of coffee growing wild in their extensive premises. Even though George Bird is generally acknowledged as the father of the ‘plantation enterprise’ in Ceylon, the success of large- scale coffee growing was largely due to the energetic, even aggressive initiative of Sir Edward Barnes. He was a most picturesque character himself, who was obsessed with the commercial exploitation of the crop. He granted George Bird, (brother of Col. H.C. Byrde) 400 acres and a tax-free loan of 4000 Rix dollars with which to commence work on the coffee project. Bird experimented in various locations and finally settled on the slopes of the Sinhapitiya hill at Gampola. Here he, in his meticulous way evolved a technique for jungle clearing and planting operations, and a style of management of seasonal immigrant labour from South India, all of which was adopted later, as standard procedure, by the Planting Community.

The British fell with a will to planting up virgin jungle land with coffee. Successful coffee plantations were in operation by 1825 in the midlands of the country, especially Kandy and the surrounding regions.

So successful was the coffee industry in Sri Lanka that by 1860, it had become the world’s largest producer of coffee, but this happy situation was not to last for very long.

In 1868, coffee export reached its zenith, but the euphoria of the coffee planting fraternity was effectively destroyed by the arrival of Haemelia Vastatrix in 1869. Haemelia Vastatrix, or coffee rust, as the fungus is commonly known, proved to be so deadly that in two short decades, it had wiped out almost 250,000 acres of coffee.

The land area under coffee cultivation was about 334,686 acres according to British governmental statistics of 1878. Crops had already exceeded 1,000,000 cwt and prices had risen as high as 109s per cwt. However, the ravages of “Coffee Rust” proved lethal and the decline of the industry was exacerbated by sharply falling prices in the wake of global overproduction. By the year 1900, the statistics recorded only 11,392 acres under coffee cultivation.

During the reign of coffee as the supreme crop, tea cultivation was insignificant, and it was grown as an experimental or home garden crop, from 1839 onwards. It was also found in the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens in Kandy.

In India, however, tea was by now, a thriving industry.
The beverage of tea was a gift to the world from China, several hundred years ago. Its cultivation and processing was a well-guarded secret. If legend were to be given credence here, tea was consumed in China as a beverage as far back as 2737 BC, during the reign of Emperor Chen Nung. This is about parallel to the time that Noah was casting off in his Ark of Biblical fame.

The British later discovered that tea grew in the wild, at elevations ranging from 2500 to 6000 feet, in the Northern Districts of India, running from Nepal, eastward along the lofty escarpments bordering India and onward through Assam into the Chinese provinces of Sechuan and Yunan where the best China tea was cultivated. The similarity of climate in the Chinese and Indian districts where this tea grew, was quite striking.

Although this discovery was made as early as 1788, nothing much was done about it for nearly half a century. When the East India Company’s monopoly of the tea trade was abolished by parliament in 1833, the company turned its attention to India as a possible tea producer to rival China. So it was in 1834 that Lord Bentinck set up a committee to investigate the viability of commercial scale manufacture of tea in India.

Later, during the same year, G.J. Gordon, on the instructions of the committee proceeded to China on a mission to purvey as much tea seed as possible and also purloin the closely guarded secrets of tea manufacture (or processing). The wily Britisher was successful in both and returned with a large quantity of China tea seed. However, it was simultaneously found that the indigenous Assamese variety was superior in many ways to the Chinese tea, but by then it was too late to halt the planting out of this Chinese seed.
Nevertheless Gordon’s trip to China was a resounding success in terms of the expertise he returned with, in the form of tea cultivators and tea makers recruited from China. Tea seeds of both Chinese and Assamese variety reached Sri Lanka in the succeeding years but its commercial exploitation did not commence until 1867.

The first commercial plot of tea was planted in 1867, on Loolcondera estate, in the Hewaheta mountain range, South of Kandy, by James Taylor. The writer has had the good fortune to see this tea field himself about 20 years ago. From all accounts these tea bushes are still alive and are regularly cultivated and harvested. This is immutable testimony to the indestructibility of this exceedingly hardy perennial.

POLITICAL CHANGES
In order to better appreciate and understand the situation in the country vis-à-vis its economy and political structure and governmental policy a brief look back to the early days of colonisation and the activities of English East India Company is essential.

Although the political mandate of the English East India Company was withdrawn in 1802, they still retained a monopoly on trade that lasted over two decades. Their activities ranged over the whole field of the island’s external commerce as Sri Lanka lay within the area in which the company enjoyed charter privileges.

The free trade aspect of the country was slow to develop, being hampered by the lack of capital and the English East India Company’s monopoly. It was only after Sir Edward Barnes (Governor) withdrew government involvement in importation that free trade slowly established itself.                                                             

In those early days the favoured position of the English East India Company resulted in the continual agitation of the emerging business community in Sri Lanka, against it. However, the influence of the English East India Company prevailed and it was only the aspect of trade with the south East Asian Countries that were unaffected by the interests of the English East India Company.     

The British government was, at the time, far from being the proponent of liberalised trade it pretended to be. It resisted both this indigenous and European spirit of individualism and enterprise that was blossoming in the country in every venture save the export of coffee.

There was also, in Whitehall, about this time, the thinking that Sri Lanka (Ceylon) should not be modelled on the West Indian ‘plantation’ prototype. Europeans were prohibited from owning lands outside the vicinity of the cities. Early governors adopted the view that this new British outpost was a military station containing a commercial economy. This created much ill feeling with the European residents in Sri Lanka who applied sufficient pressure to have this law rescinded. Nevertheless, during this period, more virgin land was acquired, by British military personnel, especially those who were  posted in the outstations, and paid scant regard to this edict.

During the stewardship of Thomas Maitland, governor,(1805 – 1811), the embargo on ownership of land was withdrawn. This however did not signal the end of the governments’ ambivalence in its economic policies.

Sri Lanka became an attractive proposition for investment and for settlement by Europeans. Cinnamon was still the prized commodity but the English East India Company had government-sponsored monopoly on this trade, and new investors turned their attention to other crops. In a relatively short period, coffee emerged as the crop of great promise.

As from 1812, ownership of land by Europeans was permitted and British subjects could purchase or receive grants of land of up to 4000 acres in extent. Land auctions and sales were regularly conducted and the going price of an acre of virgin jungle was only five shillings! The succession of Sir Edward Barnes as governor in 1824 saw a surge of activity in plantation enterprise. New government policy espoused the cause of the coffee plantation entrepreneur. Investors in coffee were favoured with loans, waste land grants and tax exemptions. Even the duty on coffee exports was abolished. The govt. itself opened an experimental coffee plantation in Peradeniya (Kandy) adjacent to the botanical garden. It is worthy of mention the Military, Clergy and Civil Service and in many an instance, Governors themselves acquired large tracts of land for themselves by “Special Preference”, most of it in the highlands of Kandy.  

By and by, the success of coffee engendered more success and, as mentioned earlier, Sri Lanka rose to the position of the world’s largest producer of coffee in the 1860’s. Approximately 250,000 acres of land had come under coffee cultivation by this time, excluding the existing “Garden Coffee” and indigenous small-holdings.

Earlier it was mentioned, that shortly after the coffee industry reached such supreme heights in the 1860s, over production led to a fall in prices and ‘Coffee Rust’ proved far too lethal, and snuffed out the life of a thriving industry in short order.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES
The British unified the administration of the entire island in 1832, before which the two tier system, one for the littoral and another for the Kandyan provinces, prevailed, since the unification of rule in 1815. The Colebrook - Cameron reforms of 1832 provided the framework for the unification of the island’s governance. The reforms provided legislative and administrative framework including that of the judicial as well. The success of the plantation agriculture provided a bulwark for the consolidation of this unification.

These reforms were in many ways a radical departure from the existing administration. They introduced a true “Laissez-faire” element, which was hitherto conspicuous by its absence. The Cinnamon monopoly was abolished and private enterprise, encouraged. The ‘Rajakariya system’ of compulsory labour was also abolished. Education was given a much-needed fillip.

Opportunity for economic advancement and education sparked social change in the 19th century, but those who profited most were the upper castes, the social and administrative hierarchy – the headmen belonging to the Goigama (farmer) caste. They also had accumulated fortunes by manipulation of the compulsory labour system. In this new environment of opportunity and enterprise, these headmen and their families were able to consolidate their position in society.

The liberal attitude of the British towards Religion was a boon to Buddhism, which had suffered under previous colonisations. Roman Catholicism also benefited from the religious freedom and gradually, after the catholic emancipation act in Britain, recovered from the near desperation in the Dutch era.

Be that as it may, the British Protestant missions were possessed of much greater vigour than other Christian religions. The Protestant Missionary was therefore a very important factor in the changing nature of the colony and was indeed an agent of change through the impulsive evangelism of their ministers.

The Dutch, as well as the British Christian missions used the mission school system as a tool for evangelism. The legacy of the Dutch in this regard was not allowed to deteriorate.

Governor North, Rev. James Cordinor and later governor Maitland were instrumental in pressurizing the powers at White Hall into recognizing the necessity of the survival of the parish schools, whose existence owed much to the missionary societies and also to Sir Alexander Johnson, chief Justice of Ceylon at the time.

Succeeding Governors showed a disinclination to persevere with the parish schools (governors Brownrigg and Barnes) but missionary zeal prevailed, and from their experience emerged a system of denominational schools, which lasted for over a century. The 1831 Colebrooke - Cameron reforms ensured that state intervention in education gradually entered the islands administration

The Judicial Charter of 1801 established the Supreme Court and the English language was the medium of law giving. This Anglicisation of the judicial process set in motion two centuries ago, persists to this day!!

There were of course skirmishes of the governors with the judiciary and they were resentful of the independence of the Supreme Court.

An important aspect of the British administrative policy was the europeanisation of the higher echelons. This resulted in a heavy increase in administrative costs, which in turn caused recurrent budget deficits. The upshot of all this was the creation of the Ceylon Civil Service, an elite corps of highly paid covenanted officers. The next rungs of bureaucracy were also manned by a host of British immigrants.  The clerical services went to Burghers and Eurasians, who embraced it as their traditional occupation.

Local village headmen lost their judicial powers and were paid a salary instead of accomodessans (land grants)

The administrative process was continually refined and powers and functions crystallized. The administration of the British was manifest at local level by the Collector. Each province had a Collector who collected revenue through the village headmen. The Collector held all administrative, revenue and fiscal powers of the provincial administration. With the passage of time the British developed quite a comprehensive administration of the colony of Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

1          A Commissioner of Revenue (installed by governor Maitland) supervised the Provincial Collectors.

2.         A Cinnamon Department was created modelled on the “Mahabadda,” of old.

3.         A Registrar General’s department looked to births, baptisms, marriages and deaths.

4.         There was also a Surveyor General’s Department combined with a Civil Engineers Department.

5.         A Registrar of Lands was also put in place.

6.         The separate Kandyan administration was in 1932 finally abrogated except where inheritance, caste marriage, land tenure, and personal services were concerned.  

In contrast, the Portuguese and Dutch had occupied only the maritime provinces of Sri Lanka. Their administration did not greatly affect the Kandyan regions that were still under the Kandyan Monarchy. The Portuguese were bent on proselytism and the Dutch, on commerce. The Dutch, who used the cinnamon   Peeler caste or ‘Salagama’ for this purpose, exploited the Cinnamon trade. Barter was the main instrument of trade and compulsory service. (Rajakariya) was used to liquidate other debts, such as land tenure. The Sinhalese were traditionally farmers, and trade was in the hands of the moors, other itinerant traders, and some of the Ceylon Tamils.

The Urbanisation, was concentrated in and around the Dutch Forts in Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Matara etc.

The Dutch administration had extracted taxes in the form of Rajakariya and had revived the Portuguese ‘Thombo’ or registration of individual dues to the state.

The Dutch had introduced private ownership of land via the Roman Dutch law, which persists in the present day.

Roman Catholicism was banned and so also was Hinduism and Islam in the cities. Muslims were debarred from the lucrative appointments as renters of land.

Dutch preoccupation with Cinnamon extraction made heavy demands on the cinnamon peeler caste (Salagama) and later led to their favoured status during their regime, which in turn provoked rivalry with the higher castes.

To cap it all, the VOC’s administration was inefficient and expensive due to the high degree of corruption in its officials, which eventually led to the strengthening of the local Headmen’s influence and the increasing of their wealth.

The Dutch legacy was, in addition to the Mission School System, their Roman Dutch Law, Dutch Architecture, Dutch Forts and the famous Dutch transport canals in the West of the Island

It was The British administration of the colony of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) that made a truly lasting impression.

01.       In 1801 a supreme court of Judicature and a court of appeal were set up by the Special Judicial Charter.

02.       A nascent legislative authority could be perceived in the advisory council of 1802.

03        The use of English in the courts was also established.

04.       Europeanisation of the Higher Bureaucracy was a conspicuous feature of their administration – leading to elitism – viz; The Ceylon Civil Service - the highest paid officers in the British Empire outside of India.

05.       Although prohibited, they engaged in plantation and other commerce.

06.       In 1815 with the capture of Kandy, the British unified rule in the country for the first time since the time of King Parakramabahu VI in the 15th century AD.

07.       They introduced the Provincial collector, begun with revenue in mind, but evolving into a decentralized administration over all departments (except the military) and responsible to the commissioner of revenue under the Governor.

08.       Religious tolerance permitted freedom of worship.

09.       A comprehensive administration, on the lines of the Indian Model was set in place.

10.       Roads and Railways proliferated

11.       The Colebrooke-Cameron reforms of 1832 took on substance.
a.   The new legislative council was formed
b.   Provincial boundaries were redrawn and 5 new provinces were created.
c.   The separate Kandyan administration was abrogated.
d.    An Education Policy was implemented       

This new administration and new economy not only caused the dichotomy of society in the plantation districts, but also led to the polarization of the peoples in the other areas.

The new occupation also influenced the emerging social order. The high caste Goigama had consolidated their position at the top of the social pyramid with the Karawes coming in next.

The English Language created a further rift in the indigenous peoples, especially the rural population who had no access to the missionary schools

PART  TWO

THE BIRTH OF THE TEA ENTERPRISE

The first signs of the coffee rust were observed in 1869, by which time James Taylor’s first commercial plot of tea was already in existence. James Taylor is acknowledged as the father of the Tea Industry in Ceylon (Sri Lanka now) and it is only fitting that he is given due recognition in this study.

He was born in 1835 in a cottage, “Moss Park” in Monboddo Estate near Laurence Kirk in Kincardineshire in Scotland. He came to Ceylon in 1852 along with the Blacklaws and was initially cared for by the Mackwood Family, who were already firmly established in this colonial outpost. Plantation colossus, R. B. Tytler, who maintained a close liaison with the Laurence Kirk Parish in Scotland, was instrumental in bringing Young Taylor to Ceylon, as well scores of other Scottish immigrants of “good stock” who were traditionally in the farming business.

Taylor worked as a planter, first on Naranghena Estate and very shortly moved to Waloya Division of Loolecondera estate, Hewaheta, a new coffee estate owned by J.J. McKenzie. Although ownership of the estate changed hands, (Anglo Ceylon and General Estates Co) he remained on it until his death in 1892. 

He was reclusive by nature and rough hewn, gauche and uncomfortable in the company of the opposite sex and died a bachelor. Nevertheless his contribution to the development of the Tea Industry is almost without parallel. A workaholic with an enquiring scientific mind he wrote and published results of his work and experiments in the journals of those pioneer days. Legend also has it that he was the biggest and strongest man in the land at the time and one whose brain was not second to his brawn. It took a dozen men two days to carry his body down to the Kandy (Maiyawa) cemetery for burial.

Although Taylor is credited as the father of the tea industry, it is a little known fact that it was H. K. Thwaites, the curator of the Kandy (Peradeniya) Botanical Gardens, who gave him the first tea seeds of the Assam variety and encouraged him to plant them.  Unfortunately his place in the sun has been overshadowed by succeeding events.

In 1872 the first break of Ceylon tea was exported. It consisted of 2 small packs containing 23 lbs of tea from Loolecondera estate and was sold for Rs. 58.00 (valued at 3.s. 9.d., per lb)

New coffee plantations continued to develop even in the 1880’s in certain districts, but the inexorable advance of the coffee rust sent alarm bells ringing in the minds of the more perspicacious planters who then turned to tea as a replacement crop.

With typical vigour these planters soon had tea plantations going where the coffee had been. Although there was an initial lack of expertise in this new crop, the vast experience gained by their Indian counterparts was freely given to the Ceylon tea planters, who proved apt students.

The results achieved by these first tea estates did not pass unnoticed, and the transformation of coffee plantations into tea gained momentum.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEA INDUSTRY & ATTENDANT SOCIO- ECONOMIC CHANGES
In the 1880’s and 1890’s more land came under tea than any period thereafter. The tremendous increase in crop production placed a great burden on the processing facilities, which were struggling to cope with the high intakes of green leaf. It was clearly evident that the present largely manual manufacturing process was most inadequate, and that an efficient mechanised process was necessary.

The first Tea House or factory was built in 1873 by James Taylor, bolstered by the success of his initial experimentation with converting green leaf in to black tea.  It was of wattle and daub and had hessian lofts in which to wither the leaf.  He invented a tea leaf roller, which was he powered by a 20ft. water wheel, as he realized that manual rolling was not only inefficient, but also expensive.

The demand for mechanisation created by the burgeoning tea production was a golden opportunity for enterprising inventors and engineers. In a relatively short time clever machines that mimicked manual operations, albeit at much higher speed and efficiency were invented and became mandatory in a tea factory.

Thus a new ancillary industry, for producing tea-processing machinery, was born.
The first successful tea-rolling machine was invented by the Walker brothers in 1880, and manufactured by their firm, John Walker & Co.

 In 1884, John Walker helped build the first central tea factory in Fairyland estate (Mount Pedro). The factory belonged to J. A. Rossiter who opened up tea estates in the foothills of mount Pedro.

In 1893, the first tea auction in Sri Lanka was held by Somerville and Co, when the annual production had reached 2,000,000. lbs.

1894 also saw the formation of the Colombo Tea Traders Association

Around the same time, Wharran Megginson of Carolina Plantation, in the Watawala area, also commissioned Walker to build what was to become the proptotype factory of the time. It was 100 feet long and 42 feet high and had 3 floors. It cost Rs. 35,000, a substantial amount in those days. Power was by steam generated by firewood.  The design stood the test of time and was little changed over the next half century

John Brown was another canny British inventor and entrepreneur whose Triple Action Roller eclipsed the Walker Economic Roller. Brown went on to found The Colombo Commercial Co. that has survived to the present day.

This new ancillary engineering industry however, was concentrated in the hands of British firms and helped further consolidate British influence in this colonial outpost. 

In the years 1883 to 1889, the export of Ceylon tea grew from 1,000,000 pounds to 28,500,000 pounds. Indian exports too had shot up from 58,000,000 lbs to 96,000,000 lbs. The production of tea outstripped that of all other crops and the value of tea exported was far greater than that of any other crop. In 1900 tea accounted for Rs. 53.7 million while coconut contributed 16.3 million of a total export earning of Rs. 90.8 million.

The Chinese found it impossible to compete with the efficient British enterprise. Theirs was one of smallholdings, making tea the traditional way. These archaic methods, coupled with bad agricultural practices led to the decline of Chinese tea. Chinese exports that were as much as 111,780,000 lb in 1883 dwindled to 61,000,000 lb by 1889. Chinese tea lost its dominance in the major world markets. Indian and Ceylon teas virtually wiped out China tea in the succeeding decades, and with the passage of time Ceylon Tea emerged as the prized beverage of the day.

Ceylon became synonymous with good tea and Ceylon rose to prominence in the world at large as the producer of superior quality tea.

Tea was the major export of the country and accounted for the greater part of its foreign exchange earnings. Rubber, Coconut, cocoa and other crops taken together could not match the income generated by tea.

The bustling activity of the British Planter wrought several changes in Sri Lanka, Some of it good, and some not. Be that as it may, these changes must be viewed against the larger backdrop of history and not taken in isolation.

Prior to European occupation, Sri Lanka was a hydraulic society with entrenched monarchical governance, which could be ruthless and absolutely autocratic. The elite were the scholars and monks, the warriors and the hierarchy of chieftains and petty chiefs, who dominated the commoner and overlooked the collection of dues and enforcement of Compulsory Service to the king. The material benefits of an advanced culture and civilization did not trickle down in any appreciable way to the common folk.  For example, permanent dwellings were the privilege of the exalted ranks and the rest were consigned to live in semi permanent dwellings.

Urban and rural populations were as yet concentrated in the traditionally occupied areas, with the vast hill country virtually devoid of human habitation. The large-scale opening up of estates in the uplands required massive inputs in logistical support and infrastructure.  

The arrival of such a large immigrant labour force in the country, especially the highlands, made great demands on several supply centres.  Food, housing, clothing and other necessities and even luxury items were required to satisfy the needs of this surging population. 

The extensive road network and the new railroad system built by the British rendered passage and transport easy.  The agrarian style economy of the country and the traditional feudal system of land tenure and tenancy, subsistence farming and slash and burn cultivation were gradually usurped by the new wave of industry and commerce, as well as the new British legislation.

The production and export of tea (and earlier, coffee) in itself necessitated several ancillary support services such as packaging, transport, warehousing facilities, seaports, vessels – and - as always - labour and more labour.  An extensive administration was also necessary in order to coordinate sale of produce.  This resulted in the emergence of Agency Houses, Brokerage Houses, Buying Offices, Planters Associations and a Chamber of commerce.  Consequentially, there also arose Employers Federations and Trade Unions.

The prosperity generated by the success of the Tea Industry meant an unfettered and liberal import policy of the government.  Businesses sprang up in the metropolis of Colombo and also in Kandy.  The Kandyans who had looked askance at the feverish British economic activity, in surly suspicion, slowly changed their attitudes and fell in with this new approach to commerce when they discovered that their lowland counterparts had much earlier embraced this British philosophy of industry.  There were several wealthy estate owners among littoral Sinhalese, by the time the Kandyans decided to follow suit.

British influence was now changing the face of the country.  Although Government policy was slanted towards their own subjects, (naturally) the peaceful environment required by the British in which they could ply their trades profitably, meant addressing the new issues which were brought about by the British occupation in general.

The denudation of the highlands did not seem to bother the British unduly, although even in those times, the Sinhalese Monarchy had recognised the importance of the luxuriant forest cover and had declared all highland rain forests as strict natural reserves. 

Several important waterways originated in these Central Mountains and the country whose economy was agrarian based depended on their bounty.  The British were either ignorant or oblivious as to these considerations in their haste to make hay while the sun shone.  The reprehensible Waste Lands Act of 1824, allowed the purchase of vast tracts of Virgin Forest Lands by British subjects and their local lackeys at the give away price of 5 shillings per acre!

Whilst it is true that the tea industry rose from the ashes of that of coffee, there was little similarity between the two. Coffee was basically a seasonal crop, which required far less input in terms of materials and manpower, than did tea. In the heyday of the coffee industry, the labour requirement was obtained from South India. The harvesting period was from November to April and this resulted in a seasonal influx of immigrant workers from South India who would make the long trek back and forth each year, to work the coffee plantations in Ceylon.  Having said that, it must be mentioned that in the latter boom years, the demand for more permanent labour by the Coffee Industry, resulted in a resident immigrant Tamil population of about 100,000, in the central hill country.

Only a small resident labour force was necessary in order to maintain the plantations during the rest of the year, and each estate or plantation had its complement of resident labour.

With tea, the situation was very different. By the turn of the 19th century about 380 thousand acres had come under tea, an extent far greater than was in coffee ever. Tea was not only a labour intensive crop, it was also perennially in production. Harvesting continued right throughout the year, with seasonal fluctuations in intake patterns. These factors demanded a much higher labour input than in the case of coffee, which meant the recruitment of more and more immigrant labour from South India.

With the dawn of the twentieth century, Cocoa and Rubber estates were also being opened up in the lower elevations (below 2000’). Several thousands of Indian Tamils found employment in these estates as well. It had been estimated that there were over 500,000 Indian Tamils employed on British owned estates in Sri Lanka in the year 1900.

It had been suggested that the immigrant population enjoyed a more contented living than their earlier hardship-filled existence in their native country. Whilst this averment will be discussed at greater length subsequently, it goes without saying that the plantations could not have succeeded without the immigrant Tamil labour, since as mentioned earlier, the indigenous population were generally averse to plantation work which they considered menial.

THE RECRUITMENT OF INDIAN LABOUR
With the influx of the South Indian immigrant labour, the British dependence on indigenous labour was reduced to a minimum.  Thus, in the uplands, the indigenous population, which was scattered over the land in their traditional archetypal village existence, became distanced from the mainstream of economic activity and their place in the new established order of things looked more tenuous than ever.  Gradually, their religion and culture and traditional methods of farming and cultivation began to wither in the face of this new establishment and this new economy.

 The British community in Sri Lanka gradually settled into their new existence in the new colony and quite naturally, with the passage of time, a sub culture emerged and spread across the land – the culture (referred to in derogatory terms) of the Pukka Sahib.  This emerging culture had its origins in the Indian Sub Continent, where Tea was a thriving industry

While most of these Britishers, had probably led quite pedestrian lives back home, they lived lives of undreamed of grandeur in Ceylon. Each Plantation was an enclave in it self with its own separate set of rules, within the general frame work of the law at the time. There indeed were rules and customs peculiar to each property, instituted at the whim and fancy of the landowner, the British Planter. The Tamil labour on these estates were treated little better than slaves, and they lived in the most abominable of conditions, in their barrack type “Line Room” accommodation. Vestiges of the subservience instilled in them by the British linger to this day, and “Master Suh” can still be heard in some of the up country plantations.

The British way of life took root in the hills (as well as elsewhere) and even the local gentry began to emulate these British. The typical British sports, Cricket and Soccer, Horse Racing and Polo, Golf and Croquet, Shooting and Fishing spread like a rash across the country. Gentlemen Planters lost no time in establishing that peculiar British Institution, the Club, in every sub-district of the Up Country. There were gun clubs, tennis clubs, cricket clubs and golf clubs, men only clubs, turf clubs and even a fishing club.

The well-being and prosperity enjoyed by the expatriate British Community was extracted at a price – a price that was paid for by the indigenous population in more ways than one.

Over a million acres of virgin rain forest cover had fallen to the rapacious axe of the British and was replaced with (coffee) tea & rubber plantations. Many highland watersheds were destroyed forever, and spelled disaster for Kandyan peasantry. Soil erosion was of mind-boggling proportions, and ruined subsistence farmlands and rice paddies.

The inexorable encroachment into the pristine rain forest canopy was catastrophic, and would result in micro climatic changes. Rainfall declined noticeably. The relentless denudation of the forests also disturbed ecological equilibrium for the worse. Pests and diseases would surface and cause severe depredations in flora and fauna alike.

The firmly established Tea Plantation Industry being labour intensive in nature demanded an ever-increasing resident labour population.

In 1827 the Indian Tamil population was only about 10,000 out of a total population of 1,000,000. By 1850 this figure had risen to about 40,000 of an estimated population of 1,700,000.

Europeans                                  500
Plantation enclaves                 40,000
Urban enclaves                      59,500
Village population              1,600,000
Total                                1,700,000

In 1871 the demographic distribution in the Plantation areas is given below:

                                    Total Population        No. of estates          Estate Population

Kandy District                   258,432                      625                                    81,476            
Badulla District                 129,000                       130                                    15,555
Matale District                    71,724                       111                                    13,052
Kegalle District                 105,287                        40                                      3,790
Sabaragamuwa                  92,277                        37                                      3,227
Nuwara Eliya                      36,184                        21                                         308
Kurunegala                       207,885                        21                                      2,393
Matara                             143,379                         11                                      1,072

Total                              1,044,168                     996                                   123,654

The total population in the country according to the census of 1871 was 2,584,780.

Proportions of above census

Sinhalese                     69%
Tamils                          22% -- Plantation Tamils as well as Ceylon Tamils
Muslims                       6.7%
Burghers                      24%
Europeans & others     2.16%

The plantation Tamil population (South Indian Origin) at this point had risen to 123,654.  The earlier seasonal migration pattern began to change with the demand for more and more resident labour. The Indian immigrant workers formed a segment of the general movements of Indians across the seas to man the plantations of this Second British Empire. It differed from that of other plantation colonies, being seasonal. This seasonal requirement of labour suited the migrant work force, which was able to return to their homeland in time for their next harvest.

Agitation from tea plantation owners for more labour resulted in state sponsored and state subsidized immigration on the model of Mauritius and the West Indies.

The Government left the actual indenturing of labour to the planters, and they in turn gave over the business to private recruiting agents. This system of recruitments was not only insufficient but also resulted in a high fatality rate. This was largely due to the rigours of the journey through the barren inhospitable reaches of the Northern Province trekking through swampy malaria infested jungles and on to the heavy rain forests infested with a plethora of wild animals. The journey took about 2 weeks, and amenities along the way were inadequate and this posed more risks to the immigrant worker. Fatality reached an alarming 40%, which finally prompted the Government to implement measures to ameliorate the hardships of the journey.

When the 19th century was drawing to a close, immigration from India, propelled by demand in the tea industry, was significantly more than emigration of repatriating workers. Health ordinances such as quarantine were now established and ensured a more disease free complement of immigrant labour.  Several rest houses and wells now punctuated the overland journey of the immigrant, reducing the incidence of fatalities and illness.

The recruiting agent (Head Kangany) was an important integer in the plantation enclave. He was solely responsible to the management for the supply of daily labour and also for peaceful relations between management and labour .The Head Kangany was also a paternal figurehead for the resident labour on an estate. The management in turn remunerated the Head Kangany in proportion to the labour supplied, on an agreed rate per head. This was referred to as “Head Pence.”

Whilst the Head Kangany lived in relative luxury, the labourers themselves were herded in barracks of 10’ x 12’ rooms, one per family. Normally 2 or 3 workers would occupy a “line room” but it was not unusual for a family of six to inhabit and cohabit in these meagre quarters.

Abysmal living conditions – sans basic sanitary facilities and even running water extracted a heavy toll of these plantation resident labourers. Mortality was high and life expectancy low. Wages were extremely low, and stood at cents 40 per day for males and cents 34 for females.  An objective assessment indicates that conditions were little better than slavery.

The inadequate income also effectively fettered these workers to their respective plantations and also to the local moneylenders.

Moneylenders were invariably of the Moor and Muslim communities, who gravitated to the hill country from the littoral, to take advantage of the new business opportunities.

Ceylon Tamils (as well as a few low country Sinhalese) who were generally engaged in trading, opened shops in the various bazaars that sprang up to serve the needs of the inhabitants among the various clusters of estates.

Thus the upcountry or ‘Kandyan’ Sinhalese native of the country was excluded from this environment and was not a part of this new and prosperous tea plantation economy. In point of fact, estates were generally out of bounds for the Kandyan who could venture within, only with the consent of the colonial plantation master.

This dichotomy of the population, was intensified by the colonials who not only gobbled up the land available under the horrendous waste-lands act of 1824, but also began encroaching on patrimonial and traditional communal lands.

As a consequence of such impositions, the Kandyans, who refused to subscribe to Anglo Saxon discipline and routine, found themselves sidelined from mainstream activities and cheated of traditional lands, while erosion due to denudation of the rain forest canopy, limited subsistence agriculture.

As for the littoral population the situation was vastly different. Though Sinhalese in the main, the sustained occupation of the country by invading foreigners, and traders from alien lands had vastly diluted their ethnic origins, and also established several ‘minority’ communities all over the littoral.

For example:

1          Low country Sinhalese
2          Ceylon Tamils
3          Burghers
4          Eurasians
5          Muslims
6          Malays

In the upcountry there were the Kandyan Sinhala and the Indian Tamils, and the sprinkling of British planters and polyglot traders.

The low country Sinhalese, who having had to live ‘cheek by jowl’ as it were, with various foreign colonialists and itinerant traders, over the centuries, acquired a great resilience and adaptability to the changing environment. Being also more venal and opportunistic than their upcountry counterparts, they took advantage of the opportunities for advancement. The high proportion of Christians among them was also an important factor in their upward mobility.

The British proved to be better rulers than either the Portuguese or Dutch, and appreciated that a peaceful environment had to go hand in hand with infrastructure development that was necessary for the success of commercial agriculture. Road and Rail penetrated the heartland of the country providing an excellent network of transport. Telegraphic  (and later telephonic) communication provided an important adjunct to business and leisure needs.

Their rule was not without incident nevertheless, and they had to quell at least 3 major rebellions. The first in 1797 was due to the British administration’s attempts to change existing customs and regulations such as compulsory service, (Rajakariya),  and residence taxes on Muslims and Chettties ,(Uliyam), and capitation taxes on slave castes in Jaffna. The capitulation of Kandy to the British in 1815 was succeeded by the rebellion of 1817 – 1818, when the Kandyans awoke to the unpalatable reality of British rule. This is despite the two-tier administration adopted by the British, in deference to the traditions of the Kandyan provinces. The rebellion was finally crushed when crack regiments from India entered the fray. It was the most formidable uprising against the British. 

The rebellion of 1848 was centered in Colombo and the Kandyan provinces of Matale and Kurunegala. The fervid plantation activity aided and abetted by partisan British legislature resulted in a veritable closure movement, causing disintegration of peasant economy and landlessness among the peasantry. Broadly, the juxtaposition of the commercial economy of the plantations with the traditional subsistence, or peasant economy accelerated the breakdown of traditional society.

The malaise of the Kandyan region showed in the increase of crime and lawlessness, which was spurred on by the influx of low country Sinhalese and Ceylon Tamils, who came to exploit the pecuniary opportunities afforded by the new plantation economy.

British self-interest and neglect of peasant agriculture and infrastructure was as much to blame for the Kandyan dilemma, as were the Kandyan village Headmen whose venality was capitalized upon by the British. It was only with their connivance that the British  declared village lands  crown property and sold them.

Despite a prolonged slump in the Tea trade, in the 1890s, the industry kept expanding and the immigrant labour force swelled to satisfy the  demand for more labour of a resident nature. With the workers on the plantations now becoming permanent residents, rather than migrant labour, a new element of plurality was introduced into the country’s multi ethnic populace, a situation that was to have profound consequences for the future.

The industry had come a long way since the first shipment of 23 lbs of tea in 1873 from Loolecondera estate in James Taylor’s day.  Coffee was now relegated to near obscurity with only 11,932 acres in production in the year 1900, whereas there were 417,448 acres in tea. The early elation in the fledgling Tea industry was dampened by the slump that came about as a result of global over production. The industry was however, vibrant enough to withstand this depression, which lasted until 1905. A crisis point was reached in 1897, when new planting was completely halted. The depression was to have far reaching consequences.  In the early aftermath of the depression the industry began to take on a more organized and professional semblance.  It was an evolution of survival.  Most of the proprietary plantations could not hold their ground through these long and difficult years and were either sold, amalgamated with other properties or assigned in charge of Agency Houses.

The Tea Industry spurred immigration from the Malabar States (South Indian) and the statistics for 1887 given below show the demographics of the time.

RETURN OF THE POPULATION OF CEYLON FOR THE YEAR 1887

English           European       Sinhalese        Malabar         Other Races        Total

4,639               17,886             1,848,842        687,248           200,179                2,758,794

During these latter decades of the 19th century immigration increase could surpass natural increase in the census polls.

Year                     Total                        Intercensus                   Natural            Immigrant

                        Population               Increase                Increase         Increase
1871                2,400,380                    359,358                       119,792           239,566
1881                2,759,738                    248,051                       144,260           103,791
1891                3,007,789                    558,165                       225,406           332,759
1901                3,565,954                    540,396                       356,147           184,249

POPULATION PYRAMID 1875 – 1900 (Estimated average)

European Population                               6,000
Urban Population                                150,000
Plantation Population                          450,000
Village Population                              3.0 Million

TOTAL POPULATION                    3.6 million

By the dawn of the 20th century there were over 500,000 Indian Tamils on the plantations, altering demographic distribution considerably.

ANALYSIS OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE BRITISH OCCUPATION RELATIVE TO THE TEA INDUSTRY                                   
Now, with peasant agriculture on the decline and plantations displacing   people from their traditional homelands and livelihoods, many of the Sinhalese were compelled to look for work in the urban areas. This gravitation of population caused enormous pressure on the cities unable to cope with the increase. Eventually the situation resolved itself in the stratification of classes of this society, with British at the top of the pyramid and Indian Tamils of the plantation at the base.  English literacy and Protestantism also played and important role in aiding the upwardly mobile in their ascent up the social ladder.

Elitism and snob value kindled rural to urban migration. Big city population assumed a more cosmopolitan profile, with the increase of the transitory immigrant communities.
The total profile

 Category                           1911                   1921                    Increase

1. Europeans                              7592                           8118                            6.9%
2. Indian                                548,446                      602,735                            9.9%
3. Burghers &                          26,663                        29,430                          10.4%
Eurasians
4. All Other Ethnic
Group                                4,106.350                   4,498,605                           9.6%
Total Population                  4,690,962                   5,140,809

Indians include basically two categories of immigrants.
Viz      1.         Indentured Indians with assisted travel – mainly to the plantations
2.         Indians with unassisted travel – mainly to the cities.

The 1st category was mainly Malabar Indians indentured by the European Planter through the now well-established recruitment scheme under the aegis the colonial government.

The second category was mostly entrepreneurs and adventurers intent on making their fortune.

Urbanisation meant more conventional trade and encouraged shop keeping, which was foreign to the indigenous Sinhalese

On the other hand the British (dubbed a nation of shop keepers), exploited the upper end of consumer needs, while from India arrived a hodge-podge of merchant tribes, such as the Sindhi, Borah, Parsee, Chetty, Reddy and Afghan, among other North and South Indian  arrivals, to supply the various demands of these burgeoning urbanite populations.

In 1921, the population-density of Colombo was 1142 persons per square mile and those of Kandy, Matale Galle and Kalutara increased to 450. Jaffna, which was detached from plantation enterprise had a population density of 331 persons to the square mile.

Monetisation was now well established. British law and order governed a plural society. The enlightened government of the  British made concessions to the natives, and granted redress for punitive colonial edicts of the past. Governmental paternalism was extended through a host of civil servants in the various government services.

Through necessity and also by demand, the lower ranks of the civil service were filled with Eurasians, Burghers, upwardly mobile Sinhalese and Ceylon Tamils. On the plantations and in the plantation related businesses such as the agency houses and engineering and supply firms too, Ceylonese found acceptance in the subordinate cadres.

This English speaking middle class, drawn from all local communities were not slow in shedding their traditional customs, garb and even religion in favour of the glamorous British dress and lifestyle. White Drill suits and pith helmets, top hats and tails and other haberdashery were in. Other debatable accoutrements and appurtenances were also embraced in shameless emulation. The ritual of Tea became a popular social grace. Tea even became the refreshment drink of choice even in the working classes. Tea and Tea- time became part of the new culture. Tiffin acquired glamour of its own. Scones, crumpets, waffles, dainty sandwiches, pastries and cakes taken in the evening were washed down with Ceylon Tea, religiously prepared and served in ornate china tea sets, in the gracious living rooms of the wealthy, while plain tea was drunk off a cheap glass or tin mug by the blue collar types, in their canteens.

A retinue of servants helped maintain genteel life in the British households as well as in those of their local emulators. Even the most modest of aspiring households would have at least one servitor to attend to the so-called menial tasks.

The employment of servants assumed great social significance and was a symbol of success and social standing. On the other hand the dignity of labour received a mortal blow and relegated blue-collar workers to the bottom of the social ladder thus retarding the disintegration of the iniquitous caste system of social order.

The dependency on servants persists even to this day in the upper and middle classes, though, interestingly, viewed as a luxury by their counterparts in other countries, especially in the west.    

Enlightened and paternalistic they may have been, but British supremacy in the island was never in doubt. It was a long time before prejudice, bias and racism was openly addressed.

The polarization of the country’s population seemed to have reached a culmination; the urban/suburban sector, the estate enclaves and the rural villages.

The estate enclaves encompass tea, rubber, and now, coconut, but this study is primarily concerned with the tea plantation scenario.

With the growth of urban population, services provided by the govt. increased in volume creating more government jobs, much sought after and held in prestige by the native population. In addition to the earlier mentioned services, there was now a government railway, postal and clerical services and a civil medical department.

This department succeeded in controlling various epidemics including Cholera, Small Pox, Bubonic Plague and Typhoid.

Life expectancy, which was 35 years, rose to 48 by the 1920s. Infant mortality was also significantly reduced. The Department was indeed a boon to the country.

Education, that ‘sine qua non’ for upward mobility was concentrated in the cities, thus excluding the vast majority of the rural population from benefiting from it. A command of the English language ensured a high social standing in the community,

As mentioned earlier there was Western garb at one end and sarong and singlet at the other end of the social spectrum. This caused an inferiority complex in the rural folk in general which would give rise to more socio-political problems in the future.

The Kandyans who had at first looked askance at the activity of their low country counterpart later looked with interest, into the economic and social activity that was surely changing the face of the country. The Goigama caste which enjoyed positions of importance began entering main-stream activities such as buying land and engaging in plantation agriculture and related business fields.

The economy of the country has picked up by the end of the 1st quarter of the twentieth century. There was over one million acres planted in tea rubber and coconut, of which tea accounted for approximately half.(557,284 acres)

In 1890 Ceylon produced 34.1 million lb of tea and this rose to 240 million lbs by 1930.

Year 1890                                                                         Year 1933

India                             96.5 million lbs                           India                         359 million lbs
China                           92.5 million lbs                          Ceylon                        243 million lbs
Ceylon                         34.1 million lbs                          Indonesia                    158.7 million lbs
China                           92 million lbs
Japan                           18.1 million lbs
British Africa                   1.9 million lbs
Indochina                       1.2 million lbs

Export income hovered close to the Rs. 500,000,000 mark before the great depression of 1932, caused by over supply, which had a drastic impact on tea as well as rubber and coconut. Tea export revenue plummeted below the Rs. 200,000,000 mark when, who but the country’s former conquistadors, the Dutch, should come to the rescue, in a trade agreement with the British, to curtail production levels of relevant commodities by 15 percent

 It must be mentioned that during this watershed period of the early 20th century, plantation enterprise accounted for about 90% of the export by way of commercial agricultural products

Tea was always the major contributor with around 50% of these exports.
In 1915 tea accounted for 45% of the Islands exports

                                                Acreage under Cultivation               % of Export Trade

1.         Tea                                        426,816                                               44.8%
2.         Rubber                                   198,588                                               30.5%
3.         Coconut                                  997,701                                              14.4%
4.         Cocoa                                       41,538                                                1.1%
                                                    ---------------------                                     --------

Total                                                1,664,643 acres                                     90.8%

                                                   == ===========                                 =====

Tea survived the slump of the late 19th/ early 20th century by transforming from sole proprietor ownership to company ownership and agency house management. The most important of these agency houses and companies are worthy of mention.

1.         George Steuart & Company               -           established in 1884
2.         Whittall Boustead Company              -           established circa 1890(Whittall amalgamated with Boustead & Company in 1957)
3.         Consolidated Commercial Company  -           established circa 1885
4.         Mackwood Company                         -           established circa 1880
5.         Carson Cumberbatch & Company      -           established circa 1885
6.         Harrison Crossfield & Company        -           established circa 1895

Except in the case of George Steuart & company, agency houses not only managed other tea companies and proprietary Holdings, but also estates of their won.

Other notable agency houses

Shaw Wallace & Hedges Ltd.,
Gordon Frazer & Company
Leechman & Company          
James Finlay & Company

Agency houses were the intermediaries between the estates and the markets and became part of a complicated chain of marketing, together with the produce brokers in the trade.

Some important tea companies of yesteryear

I.          Over 10,000 acres each
1.         Eastern Produce Estates Co (G. Nicholson, NW Grieve, RA
            Cameron and David Reid)
2.         Ceylon Tea Plantations Co (H.K. Rutherford, Reid, Talbot)
3.         Anglo Ceylon and General Estates Co (Quintin Hogg)
4.         Ceylon and Oriental Estate Co (H.A. Hancock, H.C. Smith)

II.        Over 5000 acres
1.         Caledonean Ceylon Tea Co (G.H.D. Elphinstone, James Ross)
2.         Ceylon Land and Produce Co (James Wilson)
3.         Ceylon Proprietary Tea Estates (R.A. Cameron Wiggin)
4.         The Scottish Tea & Land Co. of Ceylon    

III.       Over 3000 acres
1.         Central Province Ceylon Tea Co (Mackwood, Powell)
2.         Carolina Tea Co (Hopkinson, C.A.W. Cameron)
3.         Galaha Ceylon Tea Co (C.E.Strachan, W.L. Strachan)
4.         Associated Tea Estate of Ceylon (Alexander Wilson)

IV.       Over 1000 acres
1.         Bandarapola Ceylon Co (Hugh Frazer, G.W. Paine)
2.         Burnside Tea Co (G.A. Pilkington, G.W. Paine)
3.         Kandapola Tea Co (R.A. Bosanquet, J.H. Alexander)
4.         Poonagalle Tea Co (G.A. Pilkinton, G.A. Anderson)
5.         Scottish Ceylon Tea Co H.L. Forbes, Donald Andrews)
6.         Nuwara Eliya Tea Estates (C.A. Cameron, C.R. Robinson)
7.         Lanka Plantations Co (Hendy Bois, George Allen)

Ceylon Tea first aroused interest in London in 1878, gaining ingress to the hallowed Mincing Lane hub of the tea market, established earlier by the East India Co for the distribution of China Tea.

The Low Country Products Association, formed in 1860, a bastion of the Sinhala Planters gained strength with the passage of time and became a potent force to reckon with. They clamoured for equal status and opportunity in the European dominated plantations.

In the early to mid 20th century there emerged new rivals to the LCPA in the form of Indian and Muslim traders. They had accumulated fortunes by servicing the industry and began buying the properties of departing British planters.

Finally, some of the more enterprising Kandyans too bought into the Tea plantations, in and around the Kandyan province, where they had begun venturing into the tea industry, with homestead plots and smallholdings.

In the early 20th century, area in tea had increased to around 498,000 acres (Blue Book 1916), coffee, down to 830 acres.

The other principal crops in the island had also extended their cultivation, viz;

Rubber            -                       380,000 acres
Coconut          -                       968,500    “
Paddy              -                       770,000    “

The tea industry, having now evolved into a highly organized thriving industry acquired the appurtenances of a fully-fledged business. The planters association was already in place and was a powerful lobby for the plantation industry. Plantation ownership had layered into the Agency Houses and limited liability companies, private companies (proprietorships) and smallholdings

The Tea Research Institute was founded in 1925.  R.G. Coombe, a pre eminent planter (Poonagalla estate) and Sir Edward Rosling of the Anglo Ceylon Tea Co are credited with mooting this very important project, which became a widely acclaimed scientific body, paving the way for the scientific approach to tea cultivation. The results, seen in the tremendous increase in productivity spoke for the great contribution of this institute, to the entire Tea Plantation enterprise.

In 1932, the Ceylon Tea Propaganda Board was established as a government sponsored unit, to promote the cause of Ceylon tea.  With the reins of British rule being slowly slackened, Sri Lankans entered the political arena first, through the advisory council of 1802, which had evolved into the Legislative council in 1833. By the late 19th century it had come to be regarded as a local parliament.

The Ceylon National Congress superseded a ‘toothless’ Ceylon National Association in 1916. A Ceylon Labour Association followed in 1922, and on its heels, in 1926, a Ceylon Estate Labour Federation.

In 1928, the Donoughmore commission initiated constitutional reform and the conferring of universal adult franchise. This caused destabilization of society due to the demarcation of electorates impinging on plantation land and the denying of franchise to the Tamil immigrant labour.
                                                                                                                                                                                                     
The Agency House style of management provided the incentive for planters to ascend the rungs of this ‘Plantocracy.’ Diligent senior planters became directors of companies or agency houses, or visiting agents who held sway over estate managers. This led to a separation of estate level executives into a Ceylon Planters Society. There was also an Estate Proprietors Association harking back to 1923. Then in 1939 The Ceylon Workers Congress, was established by the astute Indian Tamil Proprietary Planter, S. Thondaman Its formation owed much to the Ceylon Indian congress.

The unionisation of the of the working classes was not only a result of a harsh foreign administration, but also a natural consequence of an enlightened indigenous population voicing their demands, and the push pull effects of the administration which tended to reflect the personal dogma of the governor at a given time.

The bulk of the estates came under Agency House management where meticulous and exacting procedures were now well established.

British companies accounted for about 50% of tea estates while local companies and smallholdings held the rest

The success of tea continued unabated despite the ripples of periodic price slumps. In times of adversity, plantations overcame crises with various economies including repatriation of workers to India. Such cavalier action contributed to labour unrest.

Labour militancy was gaining momentum, and also caused considerable losses of production. Nevertheless, sound economic management prevailed over unpredictable market situations. The increase in volume of tea resulted in the Colombo Auctions processing a much greater quantity of tea than that of London.

The Tea Research Institute began experimenting with vegetative propagation of tea in 1938, and heralded a new era in the Tea Plantation Industry. While the success of the industry was based on solid management and innovative marketing, the inculcation of the scientific methods pioneered by the TRI gave that much needed boost to production. The intensive monoculture of tea itself spawned severe depredations in the form of pests, diseases, microclimatic changes, soil erosion, soil deficiencies, and diseases. The TRI played a vital role in instilling a broader sense of awareness and appreciation of applied science.

The cultivated acreage of tea reached about 560,000 acres, but uneconomical units were abandoned or diversified and the acreage stabilized around 490,000 acres.
The process of Tea manufacture was also refined by the scientific approach. The uniqueness of Ceylon Tea was emphasized in the various marketing campaign.

Tea estates were catergorised by their elevation
Estates below 2000’ amsl were Low Grown or Low Country
Estates above 2000’ and below 4000 amsl were ‘Mid Grown or Mid Country
Estates above 4000’ amsl were High Grown or Up Country.

The taste and aroma generating compounds of tea varied at these different elevations. Generally, low country Teas were devoid of aromatic compounds and were described as plain and/ or strong. Upcountry Teas had that special prized Ceylon flavour, a product of the elevation and climate. Mid country Teas reflected an admixture of the former two – again in general terms.

High grown tea was a truly fine, delectable beverage, which (undeservedly) encouraged a superiority complex in the upcountry planter towards his low and or mid country colleagues.

The quality of the finished tea depended on the proper harvesting. Since the tender shoots contained more of the desirable compounds, it was essential that the harvesting was restricted as far as possible to the apical bud and the first two or three leaves and the harvesting intervals controlled to optimize this. The Tea manufacture process, i.e. Plucking, withering, rolling, fermentation and firing was complemented by the grading operation. The rolling process partly broke up the leaves by abrasion, and therefore the fired product was not uniform but contained particles of different sizes and also fibre. Suffice it to say that the grading process employed machinery of increasing sophistication to grade the Tea according to particle size, and to extract fibre and mature stalk.

The normal grades are,

Main Grades
Orange Pekoe  - soft stem
Pekoe  - leaf of shot like appearance                      
Broken Orange Pekoe – (BOP) Broken leaf of good quality
Broken Orange pekoe Fannings – smaller type of the BOP
Dust No. 1

Inferior Grades
Dust No. 2
Broken Pekoe
B.P. Fannings

There contain fibre and hard Stalk.

The best drinking quality Tea is the BOP, which mainly comprises the particles that separate early in the manufacture process. BOP fannings come next. O.P and Pekoe are light liquoring, large leaf Teas preferred by certain countries such as the Middle East.

While the actual marketing process may be outside the scope of this study it must be
mentioned that the various preferences of the various markets were of great significance in evolving marketing strategy.

In 1955, the first of the vegetative-propagated tea came into bearing. The new method of contour planting (as apposed to row planting) ensured a higher stand of bushes per acre and helped prevent soil erosion. The implication of the homogeneity of plants achieved by this clonal (V.P.) propagation was not lost upon the planting community. Now it was possible to develop tea plants to suit a gamut of needs, such as high yielding types, quality manufacturing types, drought resistant types, borer resistant and root disease resistant varieties and so on. With time the T.R.I. developed a portfolio of specialized tea clones.

In 1958, the State entered the industry with the formation of the state plantations corporation.

By 1961, Sri Lanka’s registered extent of tea lands once again exceeded 200,000 hectares or 500,000 acres, and tea exports exceeded 2,000,000 metric tons (440,000,000 lb). 

In 1963, the first-ever instant teas were produced and exported. This development addressed a notable shortcoming in tea as compared with its rival coffee

Sri Lanka became the world’s largest tea exporter for the first time, (in 1965) surpassing India. Further development in field techniques as well as that of the factory continued.

The National Yield approached the 1000 lb/acre mark, which was reflected in the increase of gross production on a more or less static acreage. (See table Nos. 1 & 2)
New innovative machinery augmented the orthodox manufacturing process, and helped produce better liquoring teas.
The withering process of the leaves (partial desiccating) was radically changed when withering troughs replaced the traditional loft. Nearly 75% of the space in a tea factory was occupied with leaf withering lofts. The new invention reduced the space requirement of a factory by over 50%.

Rotorvanes now preceded the rollers in the rolling and separating operations and the all- important tea drying machine or drier was now automatic.  Still later the ‘Fluid Bed Drier’ arrived, and superseded these automatic endless chain types. 

In the grading room too, automation made its way in via conveyors, automatic stalk extractors (as opposed to the manual, labour intensive method), density separators and automatic bulking chambers. The traditional method of Black Tea Manufacture continued to refine and develop and was known as Orthodox Manufacture in the argot of the tea trade.  In the 1980’s a new process of Black Tea Manufacture, which had received wide acceptance in India and Kenya, was experimented with this was the CTC type of manufacture where the early stages or orthodox manufacture are replaced by a “Cutting Tearing and curling” process.  This did not prove very popular and accounts for only about 7% of national production. (See Table No. 3) Green Teas (unoxidised or unfermented teas) were of relative unimportance as can be seen.

(See Table No. 4)

Instant Tea is slowly making headway along with other valued added tea exports.

(See table No.5)

It is recalled that the exodus of the proprietary British planter ended in the aftermath of the great depression of 1933, leaving a new style company management under the umbrella of agency houses, to run the tea estates. The new management proved very successful. Besides, they now began assimilating a considerable proportion of the indigenous groups, such as the Eurasians, Burghers and upper caste Kandyan and Low Country Sinhalese. The new entrants who were from ‘Public School’ type background fell in with the British ethos, like the proverbial duck taking to water. However, in general the recruitment of Tamils to managerial positions at this point of time was regarded as untenable probably due to the predominantly Tamil resident estate labour.
The British approach to the appropriation of profits differed as compared with that of the earlier conquistadors who never really governed a unified ( Ceylon ) Sri Lanka.  In the interests of objectivity, it must be recalled that in the latter stages of the British occupation they did practice a degree of enlightened governance, introduce the rudiments of self-determination and loosen the reins of power.

The Portuguese, as noted earlier were more preoccupied with proselytism than trading which the Dutch pursued avidly.  Whilst the Dutch cashed in on Cinnamon, they were only exploiting a natural resource.  They left their mark mainly in the littoral.

The British, on the contrary, quite remarkably, were able to unify rule of the Island after the capture of the Kandyan Kingdom, for only the third time in the millennium.  They introduced large-scale commercial agriculture in the form of Coffee and later, Tea plantations.  In the process of engaging in this agricultural enterprise, several factors came into play, which no doubt, altered the course of history.  This study has earlier detailed the activities of the British, vis-a-vis their agricultural enterprise culminating in the Tea phase.

If one were to make a broad review of the Tea Industry begun by the British over 125 years ago, the first impression is that it is the best thing that ever happened to Sri Lanka.  Today, the single largest contributor to the GNP is Tea. What has to be ascertained is whether the prize beverage is worth the cost.

When Tea took over from Coffee as the main agricultural crop, it did so primarily from the lands of the erstwhile Coffee plantations.  Therefore in this regard much of the felling of forests had been done earlier. Still about 250,000 acres of forest were later cleared to make way for tea. It was seen that ecological or social considerations were not on the British agenda in regard to expansion of plantation activity.  Heavy soil erosion, damage to indigenous agriculture, and traditional subsistence farming and even micro climatic changes were wrought by unbridled expansion.  Of course, some of the negative aspects of Tea Plantation Agriculture could be ascribed to a learning process.

The heinous Waste Lands Act of 1824 resulted in virtual denudation of the Kandyan District. Outright grants and sale of traditionally held village communal forests caused severe hardship to the Kandyan population.  The introduction of Indian Immigrant Labour further sidelined the native Kandyan from mainstream activities – especially in the early years of the industry.  The imported Tamil labour also introduced a new dimension in ethnic plurality to the country that was to have far reaching effects.

In the early 20th century, Governance had evolved from being Governor and Civil Servant oriented to one where planters held sway, and this paved the way to planter and communal representation. This later took on a territorial aspect with the course of time, in the post WW1 era.  In 1948 Sri Lanka gained independence and government changed  from State Council to Parliamentary Democracy.  The more liberal and enlightened rule of the British in the latter years saw a trickle down effect of the economy to a segment of the indigenous population. The British also encouraged education, but this did not percolate down in a meaningful way to the tea plantations and outlying rural areas.  The inequitable distribution of wealth and opportunities for upward social mobility would cause discontent and agitation in a multi ethnic demographic mix.  The British administration, though by far the best of the three occupying powers in the recent history of the island, was not without fault or favour and there was a more than perceptible preference for the minority communities, in recruitment to the lower rungs of the administration. The British also generally looked upon the Sinhalese majority as lazy by nature. Though several governors disparaged the idle nature of the Sinhalese, they had, much earlier, acquired a philosophy of their own – Materialism was demonic to culture and acquisition of riches, not valued. Contentment within a simple pastoral life was their goal.

Historically, Dravidians (the Tamils of the North and the South Indians) and the Sinhalese have been through phases of war and peace, confrontation and collaboration, separation and assimilation, for well over two millennia. It was the sporadic invasions of the Dravidians that necessitated the retreat of the Sinhalese from Anuradhapura to Polonnaruwa to Dambadeniya to Yapahuwa, Kurunegala, Gampola, Kotte and the  Kandyan Hill Country.  The imported Indian Tamil Labour  were also unwelcome as they represented a force which had changed the nature of their existence for the worse.  The other minorities, though possibly favoured, like the Burghers, Eurasians, Muslims and Malays, seemed to have integrated well with this multi-ethnic population.
Whilst the British were in Sri Lanka, they were able to create and maintain a socioeconomic environment in a plantation dominated scenario and submerge differences and rivalries and hold them together.  British custom and tradition also gained acceptance in the land beginning with the Burghers, Eurasians and Upper Crust Sinhalese and Tamils.  However, with the departure of the British, the pressures of race, ethnicity and even religion quickly destroyed the tenuous unification they had fashioned.

Looking back on British Governance of over one and a half centuries in the island, a steady pattern of evolution can be seen. The Autocratic Governor, the Legislative Council, The Civil Administration, Adult Franchise and State Council, culminating in the Soulbury Constitution espousing Dominion Status.  The 19th century dynamics of governance was for the greater part, cohesion of the Civil Service with the British Planting Community and later with the Ceylonese Planters as well. Communal representation was expanded to include more ethnic groups through Universal Adult Franchise. Government had to cater to historic mobility of ethnic groups brought about by plantation growth.  This is manifest in the Burgher/Eurasian dominance in the cities, the organized movement of Indian Tamils to the estates, the regulated influx of Ceylon Tamils to the Capital, the convergence of Muslims in urban – rural commerce and to a lesser degree, Malays in the Police and Excise Departments. The vast majority of Sinhalese however continued their existence in their traditional subsistence agriculture environment.  Though the stability of the country during this period owes much to British direction, the general contentment and spirit of tolerance of the majority Sinhala towards other races and religions is an equally important factor.  But this status quo would change in the post independence era.

Some Salient Features of the British Legacy;

A viable economy based on the Plantation System in which Tea features most prominently.

Infra Structure of administration and commerce in nine provinces with three employment sectors – the plantation – mercantile, the government service and trade.

Adjuncts for the administration of the law:
The network of Police Stations
The pyramid of Law Courts

Mechanism for Representative Government:
A Constitution ensuring political rights
A parliament elected by Universal Adult Franchise.

Cartography, Census and Statistics :
The Surveyor General’s Department
The Department of Census and Statistics.