ceylon and the hollanders, 1658-1796 (1918)

7/29/2019 Ceylon and the Hollanders, 1658-1796 (1918)

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Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2007 with funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/ceylonhollandersOOpieruoft


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THE NAVARATNA MEDAL, 1686.


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TOTHE HON. SIR ANTON BERTRAM, Kl, K. C.

Chief Justice of Ceylon,who, East of Suez, finely upholds

THE Cambridge Tradition,this book

18 Respectfully Dedicated.


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"Wliere there is no vision, the people perish. "


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INTRODUCTION

Many visitors from Europe since Saar of Nuremberg(1647-1658) have left on record their experiences inCeylon during the time of the Netherlands EastIndia Company, and the most important of thesenarratives have been translated into English andpublished from time to time. Much information iscontained in the pages of variousJournals and Magazines,and an important series of seven Memoirs, issuedsince 1903 by the learned Government Archivist andhis able Assistant, Mrs. Anthonisz, has shed a greatdeal of light on the administration and policy of theCompany till 1740. Sir Alexander Johnston, ChiefJustice of Ceylon from 1811 to 1819, left behind avaluable collection of manuscripts, much of which hasbeen rendered accessible to me through the greatkindness of Mr. A. W. Winter of Baddegama. Inaddition, private documents in Sinhalese Walauwasthrow an interesting and personal sidelight on theperiod. Out of this material the present compilationhas been made, in the hope that it will furnish theaverage inhabitant of Ceylon who can read Englishwith a co-herent, reasonably accurate, and perhapsnot uninteresting account of his country during itstransition from the mediaeval to the modern. The


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VIMedal shown in the Frontispiece was very kindlyplaced at my disposal by Mr. H. de 0. Ekanayakaof Matara.

This book is the sequel to another, Ceylon andthe Portuguese, written for publication in En-gland.Though the issue of this latter has been delayedby war conditions, the reader has been treated asnot unfamiliar with its contents.

The Judge's House, P. E. P.Jaffna.


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CONTENTSCHAPTER I

A conspiracy against the Company. Its territory. Principles ofadministration. Condition of the country. Agriculture. Newindustries. Justice. Conversion. The Lascarins. The Burghers.Inter-marriage. Anxiety for peace. Attitude of Raja Sinha. TheBritish. A conspiracy against the King. Its failure. Van Goens asGovernor. The Company prosperous. The French Company. TheNayaker of Madura.

CHAPTER IIArandora captured. Embassy of Bystervelt. The French at

Trincomalee. Count de LaneroUe. Bibilegama captured. ClementMagellian. Tennekon Disava. Ambanwela Rala. The King'spleasantries. Treachery of Tennekon. The Wanni. Laurens Pylas Governor. The Company's policy. Raja Sinha and his subjects.Hanguranketa. The King's diversions. His religious attitude. Hispartiality for Europeans. Attempts to keep him in humour.Obsequiousness of Pyl. Hendrik van Rheede. The King's abdica-tion. The memorial celebration.

CHAPTER mWimala Daham Surya. The city of Colombo. Navaratna. Policy

of the new King. Attitude of the Company. Buddhism. Theclergy. Thomas van Rhee. The Chaliyas. The Elephant hunt.Arecanuts. Jaffna. Changarapillai. Character of the Tamils. Encroach-ment on tanks. Unrest in Jaffna. The Ports opened. The Bud-dhist Ordination. Friendly attitude of the Court. Administrationof the Kingdom. Military measures. Subserviency of the Com-pany. Administration of Justice. Cornells Joan Simons. TheThesawalamai. Death of Wimala Daham Surya.

CHAPTER IVNarendra Sinha. The Ports closed. Governor Becker's reforms.

Condition of the Public Service. Wijayawardhana Mudaliyar. Saltand cinnamon. Jaffna. Conspiracy against the King. Misconductof de Bevere. The King friendly. Augustin Rumpf. Trade dis-putes. Smuggling. The Chalias. Misgovernment of Vuyst. Versluys.Pielat as Commissioner. Narendra Sinha's administration. Unrest.Reform of abuses. The Law Courts. Van Domburg. Rioting amongthe Chalias. General discontent. The Council helpless. Lewke Disava.Arrival of Van Imhoff.


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vmCHAPTER V

Sri Wijaya Raja Sinha. Van Imhoff's policy. Agriculture. Buddhism.Saranankara. Sinhalese literature. The religious revival. RomanCatholic missionaries. Mission to Pegu. Trade disputes. Smug-gling. Rioting. Mission to Siam. Accession of Kirti Sri Raja Sinha.The British, The King's religious policy. The Ordination restored.Lienderan de Saram. Government of Loten. Jan Schreuder.

CHAPTER VIReview of the Company's administration. Classes of its subjects.

Nepotism. Dishonesty. Legal administration. The Land Raad. ThePortuguese Tombo. The New Tombo. Classes of lands. Thenative officials. Bribery over their appointments. Their remunera-tion. Misuse of the Company's lands. Badawedili lands. The Com-pany's dues. The Pearl Fishery, Other sea revenue. WijayawardhanaCoffee. Cardamoms. Pepper. Arecanut. Smuggling. Coconut andarrack. The Leper Asylum. Conversion. Persecution of the heathen.Indifference of the clergy. The Seminaries. The Catholic mission-aries. The resistance of the Catholics. Criticism of the clergy.Immorality of the Europeans. The Scholarchal Commission.Education under the Company.

CHAPTER VIIThe King's marriages. The Malabar influence. Dumbara Rala

and the Company. Greed for cinnamon. Consequent obsequious-ness of tlie Company. Desertions. Trade jealousy. Growth of stronger policy at Court. Policy regarding cinnamon. Secretpolicy against the King. Attitude of the Company's subjects.Unrest among them. Rioting. A conspiracy against the King. Hesupports the rioters. Open war. Matara and Hanwella captured.Guerrilla tactics of the Sinhalese. Company anxious for peace.Letter to the King. Arrival of Baron van Eck as Governor. Pybus'Mission. Description of the Capital. The reception of an ambassador.Method of conversation. Failure of the Mission.

CHAPTER VIIIChilaw and Puttalam occupied. Failure of a fresh expedition.

Further preparations. Illangakon Maha Mudaliyar. The new cam-paign. The Capital occupied. The attack on Hanguranketa.Withdrawal of van Eck. His death. The garrison blockaded.Moyaart summoned from Jaffna. Arrival of Falck as Governor.Energetic steps taken by him. The Treaty of Colombo. Falck'sintrigues. The Treaty ratified. Cost of the war. Trouble with


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IXthe Thever. Chilaw. Puttalam. The salt industry. Batticaloa.Jaffna. The Mutu Raja Wela scheme. Canals. Hena cultivation.Planting cinnamon.

CHAPTER IXThe Disawa and his duties. Policy towards the Mudaliyars

Attitude towards Sinhalese prejudices. Pseudo Burghers. Casteduties. Sumptuary regulations. Buddhism tolerated. Roman Catho-lics. Wolfs of Mecklenburg. The Tamils. Purchase of titles.Domestic habits. Embassy to Batavia. The Tooth Relic restored.The Buddhist revival. Anxiety of the Company. Literature atCourt. Literature in the South. Jeux d' esprit. Metrical Diagrams.The King and the Company. The supply of salt. The Wanni. TheBritish at Trincomalee. Hugh Boyd. Death of the King. Militarypreparations. Death of Falck. Abayasinha Maha Mudaliyar. Treatywith the Nawab. The British and the United Provinces. Unrett,De Meuron in Sabaragamuwa.

CHAPTER XAttitude of the Company. Development of cinnamon planting.

Medals. Weakness of Sinhalese for Medals. Agriculture and Irrigation.The Giant's Tank. The Negumbo canal. The areca trade. Theelephant hunt. Cotton cultivation. The Public Service. The condi-tion of the Sinhalese. Social changes. Jaffna. The SinhaleseKingdom. The Exchange Problem. Outbreak of hostilities in Europe.Departure of van der Graaf. The British and the piece goodstrade. Holland invaded. British capture Trincomalee. RobertAndrews at Court. Jaffna occupied. Dumbara Rala at Madras.Preparations at Colombo. The de Meuron Regiment. Colombo threat-ened. Condition of the Hollanders. The enemy before Colombo.Negociations. End of the Company's rule.


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AUTHORITIES RELIED ON.Ceylon, Account of, by

Johann Jacob Saar of Nuremberg, (1647- 1658), tr. by Ph.Freudenberg. R. A. S. Ceylon xi.

Philip Baldaeus, (1656-1665) Amsterdam 1672, tr. in Churchill'sVoyages, iii.

Robert Knox, (1659-1679) London 1681.Wouter Schouten of Haarlem, (1661-1664) tr. by Ph. Freudenberg,

R. A. S. Cey. xi.Albrecht Herport of Berne, (1663-1665) tr. by? I. Cey. Lit.

Reg.Christoph Schweitzer of Wurtemberg, (1675-1682) tr, by S. L.

London 1700.Aegidius Daalmans of Antwerp, (1687-1689) tr. by D. W

Ferguson. R. A. S. Cey. x.Christoph Langhansz of Breslau, (1695-1696) tr. by D. W,

Ferguson, iii Cey. Lit. Reg.Johan Christopel Wolfs of Mecklenburg, (1749-1768) tr. by?

London 1785.Charles Peter Thunberg of Upsala, (1777-1778) in Travels in

Europe, Africa and Asia. London 1796.Paul Eschelskroon, (1782 ? ) appended to the English tr.

of Wolfs.Jacob Haafner of Halle (1782-1784) tr. fom a French tr. by

D. W. Ferguson, v Cey. Lit. Reg.Travels on Foot through Ceylon, tr. by ? London 1821.

Robert Percival, 1796 London.Anthony Bertolacci, London 1817.John Davy (1816-1820) London 1821.From Welsh's Military Reminiscences, reprinted ii Cey. Lit. Reg.H. Suckling ("An Officer, late of the Ceylon Rifles") London

1876.


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XIMemorie of

Ryclof Van Goens, Jr., (1675-1679). tr. by Sophia Pieters,Colombo, 1910.

Thomas Van Rhee, (1692-1697), tr. by S. Pieters, Colombo, 1915.Hendrick Zwardecroon, (1694-1697), do do, 1911Cornelis Joan Simons, (1703-1907), do (Sophia Anthonisz)

Colombo, 1914Hendrick Becker, (1707-1716), do do, 1914Jacob Christian Pielat, (1732-1734), do do 1905Gustaaf Willem Baron Van Imhoff,( 1736-1740), dodo 1911Julius Valentyn Stein Van GoUenesse, (1743-1751), Johnston

Mss. tr. by?Jan Schreuder, ( 1757-1762), Johnston Mss. tr. by?Willem Jacob Van de Graaf, (1778-1794), Tr. by ? 1 Cey. Lit.

Reg.

Burnand, once Chief of Batticaloa, 1809, iii,iv. Monthly Lit.Reg.

Diary ofBystervelt's Embassy, 1671, tr. by F. H. de Vos, Jr., R. A. S.

Cey. XLGerrit de Heere, 1697, tr. by Sophia Anthonisz, Colombo 1914.Schnee's Embassy, 1731, by Wijayasriwardhana Maha Mudi-

yanse, tr. by P. E. Pieris, R. A. S. Cey. XXI.Kirti Sri Raja Sinha's Embassy to Siam, 1751, tr. by P. E.

Pieris, R. A. S. Cey. XVIILPybus' Embassy, 1762.Van Eck's Expedition, 1765, tr. by A. E. Buultjens, R. A. S.

Cey. XVLIman Willem Falck, 1767, (report on circuit) Johnston Mss.Boyd's Embassy, 1782, printed in the Miscellaneous Works ofHugh Boyd, edited by Lawrence Campbell. 2 vols,

London, 1800.Don Adrian de Alwis, Mudaliyar, 1774-1794, in Some

Sinhalese Families, by P. E. Pieris.Andrew's Embassy, (1795-1796), Ed. by J. P. Lewis, C M. G.

R. A. S. Cey. XXVL


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XllDagh Register, Batavia, 1661. Extracts from, tr. by F. H. de

Vo8, IV. Cey. Lit. Reg.

Report onThe Chalias, by Johannes Stafforts to Governor de Heere, c.

1700, Johnston Mss.The Colombo Disawani, by G. L. de Coste, Disawa, 1770,

Johnston Mss.Puttalam District, by Elias Paravacini di Capelli, 1775, Johnston

Mss.Chilaw District, by Drieberg, 1798? Johnston Mss.The Peace Negociations, by Governor Falck, March 1766.

Johnston Mss.Kantalai Tank, by J. G. Fornbauer, 1793, tr. by George Lee,

i Cey. Lit. Reg.The Pearl Fishery, by George Lee, (1658-1797) ii.iii. Cey.

Lit. Reg.

The Dutch Records, by R. G. Anthonisz, Colombo 1907.The Education Establishments of the Dutch, by J. D. Palm.R. A. S. Cey. 1846-7.

The Dutch Church in Ceylon, by J. D. Palm, R. A. S. Cey.1847-8.

Correspondence,Regarding Muturajawela, lii Cey. Lit. Reg.The Surrender of Colombo, iii Cey. Lit. Reg.With the Br. East India Company, (1788-1795) iv Cey. Lit. Reg.Of Raja Sinha ii, tr. by D. W. Ferguson, R. A. S. Cey. xviii.J. G. Van Angelbeek to the Governor at Fort William, June

1797, Johnston Mss.

ManuscriptsIllangakon, Sinhalese and Dutch, various.Tilakaratna. Dutch, various.In European Languages in the India Office, by C. C. Blagden,

London 1916.Sinhalese, in the British Museum, by D. M. de ZilvR

Wickremesinghe, London, 1900.


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Xlll

Extracts from the Wellesley, by A. E. Buultjens, iii Cey.Lit. Reg.

Resolutions of Council, various, Johnston Mss.Rajawaliya, continued up to 1815, palm leaf, with Mr. L. A.

Samarakkoddy, Advocate.Goens, ... Instructions by Ryckloff van, (16531661), tr. by

Sophia Pieters, Colombo, 1908Joinville, . . . Narrative of the Negociations of the Court of

Kandy with the British Government of Ceylon, by Joseph, tr.by W. Tolfrey, Johnston Mss.

Tcmbe, . . . The surrender of Colombo, by C. F. de La, tr.by N. (Mrs. C. A. Lorensz) v Cey- Lit. Reg.

Strachan . . . Elephants in Zeylan, by, extracted from Philo-sophical Transactions xxiii, 1704, Printed in ii Cey. Lit.Reg.

Alwis, . . . Introduction to the Sidath Sangarawa, by Jamesde, Colombo, 1852.

Fetch, . . . Grimm's Laboratorium Ceylonium, by T., in CeylonAntiquary, vol. iii.

Ferguson, . . . Joan Gideon Loten, by D. W,, R. A. S. Cey.xix.

Tibbatuwawe . , . The Mahawansa, continuation of, by, MahaNayaka Unanse, c. 1775 tr. by L. C. Wijesinghe, Colombo.

Beknopte Historie, (1602-1757), anonymous, Colombo 1760, tr. by?R. A. S. Cey. xi

O Oriente Portugues, Goa,Upham . . . Sacred auid Historical Books of Ceylon, edited by

Edward, 3 vols. London 1833.Lawrie . . . Gazeteer of the Central Province, by Sir A. C,

2 vols.. Colombo, 1896.


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GLOSSARY

AdJgar, originally a judicial officer, but later applied to the twochief Ministers of the King.

Adukku, cooked provisions supplied to an official.Aldear, from Port Aldea, a village.Andi, the Indian fakir.Amu, the Varaku of the Tamil, an inferior grain.Amunam, as a dry measure, equals between 4% and 6 bushels.

The extent required to sow an amunam of seed was thechief unit of superficial measurement ; while usually 24000nuts formed an amunam of areca.

Appuhami, highborn men of the position of the sons of Mudaliyars.Attapattu, originally the selected troops who formed the King's Guard.Badawedili, Dutch Accommodessan, lands given to public servants

for their maintenance while in office.Bana, the doctrine of the Buddha.Basnayafca, a high native official, acting as the mouthpiece of

the European official.Bo, the ficus religiosa, under which the Buddha attained perfect

knowledge.Bulat Surulla, a handful of betel leaves, usually enclosing a money

present.Cabook, a species of stone, laterite.Chalia, a caste mainly employed in collecting cinnamon.Dagoba, a shrine of brickwork erected over a relic.Devalaya, the temple of a Hindu deity worshiped among the

Buddhists.Disawani, a Province administered by a Disawa.Dugganna Rala, a courtier.Duraroba, an imposition levied on cinnamon for the benefit of

the Duraya.Duraya, the headman of the Chaliya.Esela, the month of JulyAugust.Etbaadana Rala, the Chief of the Elephant Hunt.Factory, a store where goods were collected for purposes of

trade.Gabadagama, a Royal village.Gaja Nayaka, the Master of the Elephants,


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XVGane Bandar, same as Maha Nayaka.Goigama, the chief caste among the Sinhalese.Gowwa, a Sinhalese measure of distance, about four miles.Hena, land under forest and cleared for cultivation at long intervals.Hitwandiram, an imposition similar to the Duraroba.Kadawatu, thorn gates used for closing and guarding the public

thoroughfares.Karanduwa, a bell-shaped receptacle for a relic.Karti Mangalaya, a religious festival held in honour ot the War

God.Kitol, a palm with strong timber, Caryota Urens.Kodituwafcku, small cannon which could be transported by a

couple of men.Kraals, an enclosure formed of beams for capturing Elephants.Lacham, a Tamil dry measure, used like an amunam as a

superficial measure as well.Laryn, a coin of Persian origin, formed of a silver bar bent

into the shape of a hook.Lewaya, a salt pan in the Southern Coast.Madapally, a Tamil caste.Maduwa, a structure in the nature of large shed.Magul Poruwa, the ornamental platform on which the marriage

ceremony is performed.Maha Nayaka, the Chief High Priest.Maligawa, lit. a structure consisting of several stories. This is

the usual name given to the Temple of the Tooth.Mohottiar, Mohottala, a Secretary.Mohundiram, a Military Officer. The word is probably not of

Sinhalese origin. It is frequently applied as an honori-fic to silversmiths and Malays.

Morgen, a Dutch measure of area containing about 2^acres.Modaliyar, chief military officer commanding the Hewayo or Sin-

halese militia, who were named Lascarins by the Euro-peans. Twenty five Lascarins formed a Ranchu underan Arachchi,

Mofcfcuwa, a fisher caste of Tamil origin.Muttetto, lands belonging to the lord of a village.Nalalpata, the metal band which was secured to the forehead

in confering rank.Pravas, a caste of Fishermen from Southern India, who were

employed as divers at the Pearl fishery.


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XVIPatangatyn, a term usually employed for the headmen of the Parava

and similar castes.Pehidun, uncooked provisions supplied as Rajakariya.Perahera, the chief religious festival of the Sinhalese, so called

from the processions which were an essential portionof the celebration.

PJoda patika, one who subsists on the food he begs from doorto door.

Plafcaat, a legislative enactment.Polaya, a tax levied on coconut palms.Rala, an honorific applied to men of high birth.Ranchu, a band of about twenty five Lascarins under an Arach-

chi.Ran Doliya, the Royal Consort of a King, as opposed to the

Yakada Doliya, a Goigama Junior Queen.Rata Sabha, a Council of the leading men of a Rata.Samanera, an unordained Buddhist monk.Sannas, a Royal grant.Sulu Disawa, a sub Disawa, over an inferior Province.Tanayama, a house used as a resting place on a journey.Tavalam, cattle employed to convey loads on their backs.Tombo, a Register, of lands and of men.Upasamadawa, the Buddhist Ordination.Veddahs, probably the aborigines of Ceylon, a race similar to the

Bushmen of Australia.Vidane, a supervising officer ; there were various grades of such.Wanni, the wild region lying approximately between Anuradha-

pura and the Jaffna Peninsula. It was in charge ofsemi-independent chiefs called Wanniyas, (Wanichchi, femi-nine. )

Wasala, the residence of the King, sometimes applied to theresidence of lesser officials.

Wato Badda, a tax levied on planted lands.Wellala, the chief caste among the Tamils of Jaffna.Yakdessa, one reputed to have certain magical powers ; usually a

lay priest at a Devalaya.


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CHAPTER I.The curtain which had fallen on the last crowded

scene in the mediaeval melodrama was raised againto show the interior of a business establishmentwhich the Hollanders were employed in reducing intosome semblance of order. A conspiracy against themwas discovered at Jaffna and fourteen of the allegedringleaders were sentenced to death. It was considerednecessary to strike terror into the hearts of thedisaffected, and horrible punishments were inflictedon the condemned men ; three of them were stretchedout on wooden crosses laid on the ground, andafter being stabbed in the neck and breast, weredisembowelled ; their hearts were then taken out andlaid on their mouths, after which their heads werecut off and exposed in the market-place. A Jesuitwas beheaded and eleven others were hanged, theirbodies being left to rot on the gibbets. A resolutionwas passed by the Council placing on record anexpression of gratitude to Almighty God for thesuccess obtained over the Portuguese, and the 20th ofNovember, 1658, was fixed as a special day of thanks-giving and of supplication for His further aid : any-one failing to observe this order became liable to afine of a hundred rix-dollars.

The territory of which the Netherlands EastIndia Company now found itself master in the Southof Ceylon extended from the Maha Oya to the WalaweGanga, thus including the entire Matara Disawani,and the most valuable portions of the Disa-wanis of Sabaragamuwa, the Four Korales andthe Seven Korales, which at one time had been


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2 Ceylon and the Hollandersadministered directly from Kotte. In land its frontierswere marked by the forts of Sitawaka, Anguruwatotaand Katuwana. In the North the entire kingdom ofJaffnapatnam, including Manar and extending vaguelyto the frontiers of Trincomalee, acknowledged itsauthority, which however was but lightly felt in theWanni. The Bentara River served to divide theSinhalese districts, the Nothern portion being entrustedto a Disawa stationed at Hulftsdorp, outside thefort of Colombo, and the Southern to a Commandeurat Galle, to whom the Disawa of Matara was sub-ordinate. There was a Commandeur at Jaffna; hetook precedence immediately after the Governor, wholived at Colombo; this latter was appointed by theSupreme Government at Batavia, and was assisted bya Political Council of the highest officials in theCountry. Executive functions were carried out by aCivil Service of six classes, distinguished by tradenames such as Merchant and Under Merchant. Boardswere organised for the administration of justice andthe spread of education and of the Christianreligion among the people of the country ; whileorphanages and poorhouses were started for the bene-fit of the needy among the Hollanders themselves.The principles, if such they could be called, whichhad guided the Portuguese in the mismanagement

of the occupied territories, were never accepted bythe methodical Teuton. The Company had succeededto an estate, badly neglected and run to weed, itwas true, but with great possibilities and latentresources ; these were now going to be developed withpatient husbandry and a reasonable consideration forthe well-being of the native inhabitants.

Matters were indeed in a deplorable condition.From Negombo to the Walawe Ganga the countrywas largely waste and unpopulated ; the rich tracts ofrice fields were lying abandoned, with their dams andwater channels destroyed, and the great reservoirswere breached and useless. Thick tropical forest


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Internal condition 3covered many a happy village which in 1505 Lourencode Almeyda had eagerly scanned from his vessel.Even the Southern coast-road was so infested withwild elephants as to be dangerous to the traveller,and on a generous estimate the population did notexceed 350,000, though the Galle District was in thisrespect somewhat better than Colombo. At the sametime the population of Jaffna was calculated at 120,000souls.

It was of the first importance that the countryshould pay its way and not be a drain on the re-sources of the Company, and energetic steps weretaken to secure this object. The supply of food hadto be increased, and therefore the Company begancultivating rice on its own account. Several thousandTamil slaves were imported from South India, andafter being branded with the Company's mark wereset to reclaim the rice fields ; even the work of fortify-ing Colombo was considered secondary to this urgentquestion. Poverty and debt had so seriously affectedthe villagers that large numbers had been obliged tosell themselves into slavery ; a regulation was accord-ingly passed forbidding the purchase or taking inmortgage of the last property of any person, whichwas essential to his maintenance. Instructions weregiven for repairing Kattakarai, the tank which hadonce fed the wealthy province of Mantota, and whichlike so many hundreds of others was now lying in aruined condition ; its extent was so immense that itwas named the Giants Tank by the Hollanders, whoanticipated that the lands which its water couldirrigate alone would be sufficient to feed the entireNorth. The sluices of the Musali river had to bekept in proper order further to conserve the supplyof water, and the Tamils of the Peninsula induced,in spite of their strong prejudices, to settle as culti-vators in Punaryn. The numerous wells which havealways formed so striking a feature of the dry Tamil


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4 Ceylon and the Hollanderskingdom, were to be attended to, and the cattle whichhad been killed off by disease and the demands ofthe European soldiery, replaced by importations fromIndia.

Other industries also were taken in hand; silkworms were introduced from Bengal, and an attemptwas made to start the systematic cultivation of theindigo which was found wild in some parts of thecountry. Cotton growing was encouraged and weav-ers and dyers enticed over from the ChoromandelCoast, in order to compete with the trade whichformed such an important source of revenue there.Heavy duties were imposed on imported tobacco, inorder to protect the home industry ; while a localmint issued in reasonable abundance a copper coinagewhich, though of the crudest execution yet seen inCeylon, removed one of the main difficulties in the wayof trade. Success, however, could hardly be expectedunless the hearty co-operation of the natives of thecountry were assured. It was of the greatest importancethat justice should be carefully administered, and themind of the Teuton had an instinctive respect forlaw. The Digest of the Plakaats and Ordinanceswhich Maetsuycker, who since leaving Galle hadrisen to be Governor General, had prepared underthe name of the Statutes of Batavia, wasintroduced, but experienced Sinhalese invariably occu-pied seats on the Land Raad Courts, which weremainly engaged in deciding land disputes, in orderto see that all ancient customs were observed. TheDisawa continued to exercise a summary and pater-nal jurisdiction in respect of smaller matters.

In the North the Portuguese officers werereplaced by Tamils, four Mudaliyars being placedover the four Provinces of the Peninsula. Specialconsideration was shown to the mild and obse-quious Wellalas, and no undue haste was to beemployed in forcing a new religion upon them.


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Jajfna 5The Christianity which the Portuguese had leftbehind was very nominal in character and consisted oflittle more than the capacity to say a few prayers, andto make the sign of the cross ; indeed several Christ-ians had already applied for permission to resumetheir Hindu practices. Religious instruction there-fore was to be given to all and children compelledto attend school, preparatory to their being receivedinto the Reformed Church. Everyone was obliged toattend Church service, and listen to the lengthy ser-mons of the energetic Philip Baldaeus and his fel-low workers, absentees being punished with fineswhich were used to pay the schoolmasters. Theresults of these attempts at conversion were soonreported to be as gratifying as the Portuguese hadfound them. The Thesawalamai, or the custom of theTamil country, was retained as the basis for legaldecision so long as it appeared to be consonant withreason, all deficiencies being supplied from the DutchLaw. At the same time the practice of child marriagewas discouraged: the daughters of the Hollandersthemselves did not marry till they were twelve orthirteen years of age.

There were about two thousand Sinhaleselascarins on the rolls and all of these were provided fortheir maintenance with Badawedili lands, now calledAccommodessan. These men still continued under theorders of the Disawa, Pierre du Pon being the firstto be appointed to that position in Colombo. Theduties of the Disawa were of the most varied kindhe was responsible for the military outside the fort,for the maintenance of roads and the draining ofswamps, for the development of agriculture, and forthe general well-being of his district. He was alsoexpected to see that prayers were said at the out-stations every morning and evening by a well con-ducted junior oflficer. Even petty matters of detailwere the subject of regulation : the prices of foodstuffs


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6 Ceylon and the Hollanderswere fixed, and overseers appointed to supervise thebazaars and markets. Only pious men who regularlyattended divine service were to be licensed as bakers.The necessity for the proper maintenance of itsown people was not ignored by the Company. Theburgher class, representing the free European settlersnot in the Company's service, was to be recruited asmuch as possible from them; they were provided with lib-eral grants of land with the right of free trade through-out the settlements ; and where possible they were pre-ferred to natives for appointment to office.

The privilege of keeping shops was confined to themto the exclusion of their energetic rivals the Moors,whose further settlement in the country was forbidden.Those Moors who had resided in the country for along time were permitted to continue there, but theiroccupations were restricted to agriculture and navi-gation. At the same time the Indian Moors wereencouraged to visit the ports of the Island with theirmerchandise.

The frequency with which the Company'ssoldiers were marrying native women was a cause ofsome anxiety; it was therefore resolved that suchmarriages should not be permitted unless a clergymanwas prepared to certify that the proposed bride pro-fessed the Christian religion. Those wives were com-pelled to attend religious service once a week, underpenalty of their husbands' wages being forfeited,and the daughters born of such marriages were tobe carefully looked after in order to supply wivesto the next generation. Great difficulty was experi-enced in keeping the Teuton sober, and an attemptwas made to brew a mild and wholesome beerfrom paddy. "This seems to be a necessary measure"wrote Van Goens "because we findGod help usthat our men cannot be made to avoid drink."

But above everything peace was essential forsuccessfully carrying out the new scheme ofadministration, and to obtain peace the Company


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The Wanni 7was ready to pay almost any price. The strength of thearmy was fixed at 2000 Europeans in addition to thenative levies, strict discipline was maintained, instru-ctions were given for the strengthening of all thefortresses, and a careful watch was kept on thefrontiers. The Wannia chiefs received special treat-ment ; the Portuguese had been content to leave themunmolested in their wilds on condition of their pay-ing a tribute of a fixed number of elephants everyyear in lieu of the tythes and taxes which werelevied from the rest of the inhabitants in the Northit was found convenient to continue this policy tilla suitable opportunity for their complete reductionpresented itself. The Company was afraid that anystrict measures would induce them to throwthemselves into the hands of the King, whereasthey could be utilised to act as spies on the Sinha-lese, chiefly by means of the tavalam drivers whomaintained an active trade between the King'sdominions and Jaffna. They were however not allequally complacent ; and the principal of them, KailaWannia of Panangaman, could not be persuaded toaccept Van Goens' summons to appear before him ; thepolicy which consequently was adopted was thefavourite one of breeding jealousy against him amongthe remaining Wannias. Directions also were giventhat the Veddahs who lived on the boundaries ofthe Wanni were to be treated kindly, in case offuture emergencies.

The one incalculable factor was the temper of theKing, who was still raging like a caged tiger. Hehad vowed never again to trust the word of the mer-chants who had outwitted him, and yet he wasgrateful to the men who had driven away the Por-tuguese who had ruined his country. He thereforehad not only remained passive during the last strug-gle in Jaffna, but he even wrote to Van Goens inNovember 1658 to express his great appreciation of


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8 Ceylon and the Hollandersthe latter's services. He was no longer the Kingonly of the Kanda Uda Rata, the Country above theMountains, but of the Sinhale, the Country of theSinhalese, including nearly a moiety of the Pata Rataor Low Country which had belonged to Kotte. Hissubjects were in a pitiable condition. Their povertywas so abject that infanticide was of shocking fre-quency. The stringency with which the King's pro-hibition of all trade with the Company was en-forcedhad limited their foreign intercourse to the portsof Puttalam and Kottiar, and they were unable anylonger to depend on that barter which had beenthe means of providing them with so many of theirwants. Their hardships were accentuated when in May1659 a Dutch garrison was placed in the old Portu-guese Church at Kalpitiya, this controlling the Put-talam trade. Dense forests had been allowed to growup not only on his frontiers but they separated thevarious provinces, and the only means of communi-cation with the outside world consisted of narrowpassages which were strictly guarded and closed bythick thorn gates called Kadawatu. There was muchdiscontent among the people and the King realisedthat his popularity was on the wane. He was, how-ever, too engrossed in nursing his own grievances tobe regardful of the well-being of his subjects. A plotto poison him which had been recently discoveredand punished with terrible severity, made him sus-picious of every one, and any subject whose influence,wealth, or success attracted his attention, wasremoved out of the way without hesitation.

The policy adopted by the Hollanders was tokeep him in good humour at all costs, and their attitudetowards him was deferential to the point of servility.Repeated embassies were sent to him with presentsof rare animals and similar curiosities which he wasknown to appreciate, but none of these ambassadorswould the King allow to return. His hobby was tocollect a perfect menagerie of the various European


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The British Company 9races which visited his dominions. In this way hehad got together a large number of Portuguese,Hollanders, and English, among the last being thatRobert Knox who was taken prisoner at Kottiar in1630, and the fruit of whose long detention is pre-served in what is parhaps the most valuable accountof the life of the Sinhalese people yet written by aforeigner.The Hollanders had reason to be nervous, for the

cloud which was destined finally to overcast theirdomination had already reached the shores of Cey-lon. For the last twenty years the vessels of theBritish and Danes had been not unfamiliar sights atthe harbour of Kottiar, which afforded facilities forrepairing them such as were not to be found inany Indian harbour. The visitors had been well treatedby the Sinhalese and permitted freely to travel inland,so that they obtained an opportunity of learning thecondition of the country. As early as 1658 the Direct-ors of the British Company in London had receiveda lettter from one of their officers advising them ofthe desirability of setting up a factory at Kalpitiya,so as to secure a share in the trade of the Island,and matters received a great impetus from the Treatyof June 1661, regulating the conditions for the mar-riage of Charles II with the Portuguese Infanta. Itwas there laid down that if either of the contract-ing parties succeeded in obtaining possession of theIsland, Colombo was to be given to Portugal andGalle to England, while the cinnamon trade was to bedivided between the two. The same year the Bri-tish Directors gave orders for the despatch of anembassy to Raja Sinha to obtain permission for building a factory and to secure a share in the cinnamontrade, and these advances were received not unfavour-ably by the King.

The Hollanders were greatly excited by theseproceedings. A force was sent to Kottiar but soon

2


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10 Ceylon and the Hollandersreturned in consequence of an outbreak of sicknessand steps were also taken to fortify Point Pedro.Don Joan de Costa, who was their chief adviser inrespect to occurrences at the Sinhalese Court, insistedthat the English and Portuguese were acting therein concert, and that an attack on the eastern Coastor on Manar, was to the anticipated. Sir EdwardWinter, the British Agent at Madras, announcedplainly what the intentions of his Company were, andwas warned that in consequence of the existingarrangements between the Hollanders and the King,any intrusion would be regarded as an unfriendly act.

However, both nations were anxious to cajolethe King into releasing his European prisoners, andtheir ambassadors appeared at Court in 1664. TheKing was at Nilambe, where he now resided duringlong intervals at a time for the sake of his health.He had roused the dissatisfaction of his people to adangerous pitch by preventing the celebration of theirgreatest festival, the Peraheray this year, but theEuropeans found him in a more complacent moodthan usual. The English prisoners were collectedfrom the various parts of the country where theywere lodged and informed that the King was pleasedto set them free, and then they were invited toenter his service. They hesitated and were allowedtill the next morning to come to a final decision.

In the meantime, a plot had been brewing tokill the King and place his son on the throne. Aterrific comet which had appeared in the heavens forsome days, filled the minds of all men withgloomy forebodings. On the night of the 21st ofDecember, on which day the prisoners had been setat liberty, two hundred armed men assembled atNilambe and attacked the guards who watched out-side the palace gates ; the majority of these werekilled before they could recover from their surprise,while a few escaped within and joined the King.


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A Conspiracy 11The conspirators followed and occupied the palace,the King with a handful of men being brought tobay behind a wall. The old warrior had not forgot-ten how to handle the steel, and the majesty of hissemi-divine royalty overawed the malcontents whocould not summon up sufficient courage to storm theplace. The consequence was that on the followingmorning the King, guarded by his men, sallied out,and driving elephants in front of them to crush downthe jungle, escaped to the stronghold of Galaudabehind Hanguranketa, fifteen miles away. The housesof the King's partisans were quickly plundered bythe English, and then the bulk of the rioters, whosenumbers had considerably increased, hurried to Senkada-gala, where the Prince was living with the Queen ; theytook with them the English, whom they in turn attempt-ed to win over to their side, though equally withoutsuccess.

The rebels now declared Raja Sinha deposedfrom the throne on the ground of misgovernment.They charged him with gross breaches of the law ofnations in detaining the ambassadors of foreign gov-ernments and arresting such of their subjects as cameto his country. They declared that his vindictivepolicy had destroyed the trade of his subjects, whilehis cruelty was a source of peril to the life of every-one. They accordingly proclaimed the prince as Kingin his room. The latter, however showed no enthus-iasm for this unwelcome honour. The 25th wasfixed for advancing on Hanguranketa to capture thefugitive, but in the meantime the prince, accompani-ed by the favourite sister of Raja Sinha, escaped to theKing. There was consternation among the rebels.Some fled home in a panic and in such haste thatthe courtyards of the palace were strewn with thecoin which they had brought with them and whichthe English hurried to pick up. Others fell to quar-relling among themselves ; while one great chiefdeclared for the King and seized on the Capital in


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12 Ceylon and the Hollandershis name. It was noted with awe that on the nightof the 21st the tail of the comet had turned in thecontrary direction.The rebellion was over and the King found nodifficulty in resuming control of the government. Therebels had to pay a terrible price for their rash-ness, torture and confiscation of property being notthe least of the penalties with were freely employed.Several priests who were suspected of complicity andwho belonged to some of the best families in thecountry, were executed and their bodies cast intothe river. The Prince disappeared, and for manyyears to come neither the Hollanders nor his father'ssubjects could ascertain what had happened to him.

The able but domineering van Goens, who asHigh Commissioner had not been able for some timeto work in harmony with the sedate van der Meydenand who had been obliged to suggest to the author-ities at Batavia that the Governor was finding theweight of administration too heavy for his years,was himself appointed to succeed the latter in Sep-tember 1662. The trouble among the Sinhalese wasviewed by the Hollanders with unmixed satisfaction,especially as war had broken out between the Unit-ed Provinces and England. Indeed their Excellen-cies at Batavia wrote and expressed the pious opinionthat the Sinhalese rebellion was "a gift from heaven."

The King in his general distrust of hisown subjects threw himself into their arms.At his request a force of Hollanders was des-patched into Sabaragamuwa, and occupied a largeportion of this District as well as of the Three andFour Korales, while a fort was built at Ruwanella andthe Portuguese church at Sabaragamuwa was forti-fied. In September 1665 du Pon hastened to Trinco-malee on the rumour that the British proposed toseize the place, and built another fort there. TheBatavian authorities hesitated, fjr an extension


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Pearls and Elephants 13of territory did not suit their policy ; but they wereoverborne by the insistence of van Goens, andacquiesced in what was being done, the more so asit was urged that the occupation of Ruwanella woulddivert a good deal of the arecanut trade fromKalpitiya to Colombo. They further agreed thatKalpitiya and Negombo should be properly fortified,and Chilaw, which was still in the hands of theKing, should be seized. At the same time some smallduties on arecanut were given over to the King, inorder to keep him in his present complacent mood.

The Company's affairs could at this time beregarded as prosperous. Its first pearl fishery wasconducted by van der Laan in 1666, when 400 boatstook part. It was calculated that a crowd of 200,000people was attracted to the scene, and as all thewater had to be obtained from one tank, this wassoon contaminated and sickness broke out, 1500 mendying in six weeks. In July of the same year thecapture of ninety six elephants at one kraal addeda considerable sum to the revenue, while its attemptsto increase the cultivation of rice had been amplyrewarded. Indeed the grain was so plentiful as tocause anxiety that the vessels which imported itfrom India and which on the return voyage tookaway the elephants, might be discouraged fromcoming to Ceylon, and it was therefore decided toleave the cultivation more and more in private hands.The condition of affairs among the British atMadras was also such as to give the Hollanderssatisfaction, for in 1665 Winter with the assistanceof the military had turned his successor out of officeand usurped the chief control ; as this state of thingscontinued till 1669, internal troubles prevented theBritish from interfering with the Company in Ceylon.Some awkwardness however was caused by the dis-covery that in 1667 the King had sent envoys toMadras. These men were seized and brought backby the Hollanders, but about the same time a letter


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U Ceylon and the Hollanderswas received by the King from Francois Carron,the conqueror of Negombo in 1643. He had nowjoined the French and been appointed Director ofthe powerful French East India Company which wasstarted in 1664 with the assistance of Louis xiv.The Company proposed to estabhsh a settlement inCeylon, and Carron now wrote to inform Raja Sinhathat Louis intended at an early date to send to hima nobleman with presents. This no doubt tended toelate the King, who at the same time was annoyedby the cautious advance of the Hollanders to Arandora,the scene of so much fighting in Portuguese times,which they occupied with a garrison. A large forceof Sinhalese was soon facing them and watchingtheir movements, while in October 1668 the Sinha-lese drove the Hollanders away from the moreremote districts of the Sabaragamuwa Disawani.

The Company however was anxious aboutbeing implicated in hostilities, for though the warwith the English was over, they were having muchtrouble with the native potentates in South India.One of these, the great Nayaker of Madura, had asearly as 1644 given them permission to erect a factoryat Kayalpattanam, and when fourteen years laterTutucorin was captured from the Portuguese, theCompany succeeded to the rights of the latter overwhat were known as the Seven Ports, the Pearland Chank fisheries of Tutucorin, and the controlof the Christian Parawas who supplied the divers.A treaty concluded in 1660 between the Nayaker andVan der Meyden confirmed the rights thus acquiredby the Company, while at the same time emphasis-ing the liability of the Parawas of the Fishery Coastto pay the same dues to the Nayaker's Governmentas they had been accustomed to do under the Portuguese.Ramnad formed the Southern portion of the MaduraCoast and was ruled by the Thever, a feudatory of theNayaker, and Guardian of the holy temple of Rameswa-


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Madura 15ram. A separate peace, drawn up on a plate of copper,was entered into with him.

All these interests in South India were admi-nistered by the Governor in Ceylon, and van Goens wasanxious to convert the Parawas into the Reformedchurch. The stoutest opposition was raised by theRoman Catholic clergy, and consequently numbersof them were banished from the sphere of theCompany's influence. The Nayaker's Regent wasnot in sympathy with the Company's policy andsheltered the priests, who established themselvesamong the neighbouring heathen and continuedto exercise their old influence over the Parawas,who were at the same time much harassed bythe Nayaker's agents. Heavy impositions were laidon them; but the Company, though it found itstrade seriously hampered, was afraid to assertitself, and was forced to have recourse to bribesand entreaties to secure the right to do the petti-est things. Its servants were prevented by theNayaker's Maniagar or renter of the revenue fromcutting firewood for its use; its letters were fre-quently intercepted : carpenters were forbidden towork at its vessels : the repairs to its factory atTutucorin were stopped: extra duty was demandedon cattle shipped for Colombo : and the cloth-weavingindustry which had been carefully fostered, washampered by the levy of extraordinary duties fromthe weavers.

At a time when the fleet of Holland wasburning King Charles' navy at Chatham, theCompany was prepared to see its chief Resident,Hendrik van Rheede, compelled to pay tribute, itsjudges flogged and fined by the Maniagar, andHollanders chastised for presuming to ride on horseback. It made an attempt to buy off the authorities,but van Rheede, who was sent with an expensivepresent, was treated with the utmost contumely.Several members of his mission were beaten, the


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16 Ceylon and the HollandersCompany's flag was dragged in the mud, no answerat all was vouchsafed to the letter which he hadbrought, and no farewell audience was accorded tothe envoy. The submissive attitude of the Companyincreased the arrogance of the Maniagar, and afterthe Fishery of 1668 the Chief Patangatyn of Manarwas arrested, beaten and deprived of his money.The Tutucorin wells were placed under guard andthe Hollanders and Christians prevented from takingwater from them. One Hollander who was boldenough to attempt to do so was dragged before theManiagar and forced to render obeisance to him onhis knees. Even an endeavour to plant a hedgeround the Company's premises was imperiously stop-ped. The result was that before very long tradehad almost disappeared, and the Company become anobject of ridicule along the Coast.

The authorities at Colombo however could notbe persuaded to take action, but only entreated theiragents to comply with every demand ; as a conse-quence new requisitions were made in respect of thefishery and an armed force was brought up tothreaten Tutucorin. The divers were alarmed ; nofishery could be held in 1639 ; and at last the Com-pany made up its mind to maet force with force,and commenced hostilities, though with obviousunwillingness.


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CHAPTER n.Raja Sinha, whose Queen was a member of the

the Royal Family of Madura, was well informed ofwhat was going on ; no doubt he also knew that theEnglish were again struggling for a share in thecinnamon trade and insisting that Kottiar was afree port where they were entitled to purchase thevaluable drug. He had little to fear from his sub-jects, whose spirit was completely crushed, and hisattitude towards the Hollanders began to be markedby increasing arrogance. To placate him certainshipping rights at Colombo and Galle were concededto him, but none the less in October 1670 he attackedand captured the fort at Arandora, the erection ofwhich he had never forgiven, and carried off theentire garrison as prisoners. The Hollanders blustered,insisted on the release of their men, threatenedreprisals, and closed the ports of Batticaloa, Kottiar,and Kalpitiya. The King remained unmoved, butwhen Hendrik Draak who had been sent as ambas-sador in 1663 and had been detained by him, died,his body escorted by some Hollanders was sent toColombo with the greatest ceremony for interment.For years no Hollander had dared to venture onan embassy within the King's dominions, but at lasta soldier named Henricus van Bystervelt was foundwilling to undertake the dangerous mission.

Starting from Colombo on the 21st of February1671, Bystervelt was received by the King's officersat Sitawaka and escorted in procession to Hanguran-

3


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18 Ceylon and the Hollandersketa, for the King never returned to Senkadagalaafter the rebellion. Another plot to poison theKing had been recently discovered and the guiltycooks and other palace servants had been impaled,hanged or thrown to the elephants. Raja Sinha wastherefore in a friendly mood towards the Hollanders,who on their part were prepared to humourhim to the utmost. The Company's letter wascarried within the palace by the ambassador on hishead in a golden salver, and he greeted the King withthe humble prostrations which eastern etiquette exactedfrom a King's subjects. His reception was mostcordial. The King was warm in his expressions ofesteem for the Hollanders, and promised to restorethe prisoners he had recently captured and also tosend back the previous ambassadors who were beingdetained by him. He however complained of theclosing of the ports, and Bystervelt hastened tore-assure him with the old formula that all that hadbeen done for the better protection of his Kingdom,as well as to punish those traitors to the King whowere responsible for the recent acts of hostility.

Bystervelt was appointed a Mohottiar of theKing, and presented with the silver inkstand, hour-glass, style and knife which were usually issued tosuch officers. A sword, a chain of gold, rings andother jewels were also given to him, and so far didBystervelt's obsequiousness proceed that he carriedthe set of Sinhalese clothes which was sent to him,within his quarters on his own head. Food wassupplied to him daily from the royal kitchen, hislodgings were guarded by Udapalata Disawa himself,an officer who was in high favour with the Kingand who was said to have saved his life during therebellion, and he was summoned to numerous audi-ences. But though months passed in this fashion nosubstantial business was done. It was clear thatwhatever Raja Sinha's own feelings were, his Coun-cil was bitterly hostile to the Hollanders, and did not


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Henricus van Bystervelt 19hesitate in the ambassador's presence to urge adeclaration of war on the Company. The Kingexclaimed that he would never permit that, but ashrewd Dane who had been at Court for twenty-oneyears, caustically remarked that the Company alwaysemployed fine words to the face, but calumny at theback, of people. Bystervelt, whose training had notbeen that of a diplomat, was beside himself with ragehe declared that if the detained ambassadors werenot sent back, the whole Kingdom would be block-aded ; he challenged the King's Councillors to singlecombat, and finally insisted on being given permissionto return. He was coldly told that he could do soand was allowed to withdraw ; after some more delayhe started on his return journey, and when he reachedColombo on the 29th of October, dressed in all theparaphernalia of a Sinhalese official, he received awarm greeting and the hearty congratulations of theCouncil.

In the meantime a terrible storm had burstupon the United Provinces of Holland, and threatenedtheir very existence. Louis XIV had by a secretTreaty signed at Dover in May 1670 purchased theservices of the licentious Charles II who still disgracedthe throne of England, and declared war on theRepublic; but the Hollanders, led by the youthfulWilliam of Orange, faced the peril with the indomitablecourage which had always characterised the race inmoments of stress. In March 1672 a large Frenchfleet commanded by Admiral de la Haye, with whomwas the restless Francois Carron, appeared at Trinco-malee, and seized an island at the entrance to theinner harbour. An embassy was then despatchedto the Court and was welcomed by Raja Sinha, whopresented the entire bay to the French, whereuponthe Admiral occupied Kottiar which the Hollandershad abandoned. A fleet of the latter now appearedon the scene, while the King's troops were gatheringalong the coast. Sickness however broke out among


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20 Ceylon and the Hollandersthe French, and on the 9th of July de la Haye sailedaway, leaving behind a garrison at Kottiar. Thisbefore long was compelled to surrender to theHollanders, while it was with difficulty that his fleetescaped to the Choromandel Coast.

Before leaving de la Haye sent to the Court afresh ambassador, Count de Lanarolle, a Huguenotnobleman. The choice was not a fortunate one, forthe Count, no doubt contrasting the splendour of thegreatest Court in Europe with the squalor of thatto which he was accredited, bore himself with adegree of hauteur which was not likely to renderthe path of negociation less rugged. He travelledon horseback all the way from Kottiar, and whenhe arrived at Hanguranketa he insisted on ridingpast the palace, in spite of the agitated remonstran-ces of the Sinhalese courtiers, who were horrified atthis breach of etiquette. The King however tookno notice of this, and granted an interview. De Lana-rolle was escorted to the Palace by night with theusual ceremonial, but he was so annoyed at thedelay in ushering him before the King, that heturned on his heel, and returned to his lodgings.The King was enraged and ordered the ambassadorand his suite to be chastised in order to teach themthe conduct which was becoming in dealing withOriental Kings. The ambassador was kept in chainsfor six months, and his suite, nervous as to theconsequences of their chiefs arrogant temper, beggedto be separated from him. They were accordinglytaken to the King's service, and three of them wereplaced in charge of his favourite horse, while therest were allowed to settle in the town where theymade a living, as so many of the Portuguese whowere there also did, by distilling arack and openingtaverns.

De La Haye never returned, and De Lanarollewas subsequently pardoned by the King, who made


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Capture of Bibilegama 21him one of his Mohottalas, and had him married toa Sinhalese lady at Court. Their descendants arewell known in various parts of the Island.

The Hollanders were much excited by theseevents. They feared that the peace for which theyhad striven so arduously would be broken after all,and hurried to strengthen the garrisons of their out-posts. There was some fighting in the South, butRaja Sinha remained quiet till 1675, in April ofwhich year Van Goens handed over his office to hisson Rykloff van Goens junior, who was born inBatavia. Four months later a Sinhalese army appearedbefore the fort which the Company had raised atBibilegama, and laid it under siege. They succeededbefore long in cutting off the garrison from its supplyof water, and then collecting a huge pile of faggotswhich was pushed over nearer threatened to bumdown the entire fort. Further resistance was outof the question, and ninety Hollanders and their fourguns were taken in triumph to Raja Sinha. Theformer were treated with every consideration andseveral attempts were made to persuade their com-manding officer to enter the Royal service, while theguns were mounted on richly carved carriages andretained at the palace as trophies of the victory.

In Colombo there was much anxiety, for theSinhalese were reported to be threatening Ruwanella.Clement Magellian, a Chalia of distinguished courageand unusual ability, who was sent into the BeligalKorale, was deserted by his men during a skirmishand killed, his head being taken as a trophy to theKing. This man had been educated by the Portu-guese priests, and in 1663 was appointed Maha Vidaneover his caste, in succession to Anthony Mendis.He attempted to raise a body of lascarins among hisown people but he fell under suspicion of carryingon a treasonable correspondence with the King, andwas placed on his trial. He was honourably acquitted


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22 Ceylon and the Hollandersand in compensation was made Mudaliyar over allthe Chalia Lascarins, while he won so much reput-ation in the hostilities with the King that he waspermited to increase the number of these lascarinsto five hundred men; they however failed him inhis hour of need. His death was a great loss tothe Company.

Tennekon, now Disawa of the Seven Korales,was hovering near Kalpitiya with his men. In theSouth the Matara Disawani was being menaced fromSabaragamuwa. Batticaloa was said to be in revolt, andAripo, the possession of which was of such import-ance for the protection of the Pearl Fishery, wasin danger from the restlessness of Kayla Wanniawho was acting in concert with Tennekon. Hostilitieswould undo all the work which the Company hadso patiently built up during the years of peace, andthe garrisons were hastily withdrawn from the threat-ened outposts.

A few years before this a mysterious figure hadappeared in the Seven Korales; he declared that hehad a mission to preach the religion of the Name-less God, to destroy the dewales in the country, andto establish this new religion. The King watchedhim with saturnine amusement while he enrichedhimself with the wealth of the dewales, but whenit began to be whispered about that he was the sonof his late brother Wijayapala, Prince of Matale, hebegan to exercise a scrutiny over his actions whichwas disconcerting to the pretender. The latter there-fore fled to Colombo, where he was well receivedand maintained in state at the Company's expense.There by his shrewdness he acquired, under thename of Ambanwela Rala, a reputation as a wizardwhich has survived up to the present day. The Hol-landers considered that the moment was opportune tomake use of his great influence among his country-men, and emissaries were sent into the Seven Kora-


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The King's pleasantries 23les to distract the King by creating a movement in hisfavour. At the same time on instructions from Bat-avia a humble letter was despatched to the Kingbegging him to take back all the districts which hadbeen occupied by the Company since 1665, torelease the Hollanders whom he had captured, andto receive the Company once more into his friendship.

This was followed by an ambassador who tookwith him a live lion, as a subtle compliment to theKing, whose name signified the Lion King. RajaSinha however was not satisfied with the reportsbrought to him with regard to the appearance of theanimal, and would not deign to look at it. Theambassador was detained at a remote village till thelion died, and then he was summoned to Hanguran-keta. Months passed without an audience beinggranted, till at last the ambassador impatient of thelong delay attempted to force his way within thepalace. He was arrested by the guards at the en-trance and on the King's orders was detained at thespot for three days in order to teach him patience,and then released.

The King displayed much sense of humour inhis dealings with the Hollanders, and at a latter datesent as a return present for the despised lion atruculent elephant of gigantic size which had beenused as an executioner and which had got beyondcontrol. To neglect this gift would have been deemedan insult to the King, and the Company was oblig-ed to obtain two other elephants to attend on it, andundergo all the expense of its maintenance.

These pleasantries did not distract the atten-tion of the King from his determination to make him-self as disagreeable as possible. Tennekon was onthe borders of the Kalutara district and all thepopulation retired within the King's dominions, whilethe Company's outposts had to be abandoned. Thecollection of cinnamon was seriously affected ; there


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24 Ceylon and the Hollandershad been no pearl fishery for eight years, and theanxious merchants tried to soothe the King by apresent of the two finest Persian horses available.Noone however appeared on behalf of the King toreceive them, while on the other hand there was goodreason to fear that a hostile demonstration wasbeing prepared on the boundaries of the Three Kora-les. The outposts here were next withdrawn, leavinga garrison at Sitawaka, and shortly after Tennekonappeared in the Siyane Korale threatening Malwana.He had the reputation of being the most able of theKing's Generals and it was believed that the Kingwas regarding his abilities with jealousy. At anyrate Tennekon entered into a secret correpondencewith the Company's officers, and on the 30th October1673 deserted to Colombo with his family and threehundred of his men. Van Goens was delighted; aceremonious reception awaited the renegade, a greatcollar of gold was placed round his neck, and hewas given lands for his maintenance till his servicescould be effectively utilised. The King betrayed nofeeling on the subject, and allowed all the traitor'sproperty which became forfeit to the Crown, to rotwhere it stood.

The following month Ambanwela Rala fled backto the King; he was not considered of much valueand was shortly after put to death. The people ofthe Wanni were still in a restless condition, andwhen Don Philip, their most influential chief, died,they appointed a successor to his office without anyreference to the authorities at Jaffna. Matters appear-ed so ' threatening that it was considered necessaryto despatch a military expedition to the district, andthis display of force was found sufficient to overawethe inhabitants.

It was during these troubled times that theGerman, Paulus Hermann of Halle, a physician inthe Company's service and later Professor of Botany


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Progress 25at Leyden, laid the foundation of European Botanyin Ceylon by forming the herbarium which was after-wards used by Linnaeus. At the same time Grimm,a Swede, was making some study of native medicineand drugs.

Towards the end of 1679 van Goens, whowas then only thirty seven years of age, handedover the administration to Laurens Pyl, the experi-enced Commandeur of Jafanapatnam, and started forIndia. In spite of the trouble with Raja Sinha andthe anxieties of the war with Louis XIV whichhad been ended in July of the previous year by theTreaty of Nimeguen, Van Goens had been able tomake his term of office a financial success. Themonopoly of the arecanut trade yielded such abund-ant profits as to meet the expence of the increasedarmy of 3400 men; cotton goods were imported bythe Company alone, and in addition to the directprofits of their sale, there was a large indirect pro-fit arising from their being used as a medium ofexchange for obtaining arecanut. The retail tradein cloth was the perquisite of the burghers. Ele-phants had been plentiful and their sale had attractedboth money and rice, in which latter commodity theanimals were frequently paid for. The collection ofcinnamon had been satisfactory, and the Chalias hadbeen allowed by the King to penetrate in searchof the bark into the wilds of the Pitigal Koralewithout any opposition being raised.

The labour devoted to increasing the local pro-duction of rice had been well repaid and Van Goens con-fidently expressed his opinion that it was beyond doubtthat the establishments of Ceylon could be maintainedfrom the profits derived from its own products. TheLascarins had been increased to 5000 and proved ofgreat service during the recent troubles; as a rewardthey had received some of the best villages andtheir lands were largely exempt from the duties towhich the lands of others were liable. The Com-

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26 Ceylon and the Hollanderspany realised that so long as it refused to surrenderColombo to Raja Sinha, it could not expect per-manent peace, and its constant policy was to cajolehim with presents. However, plans had been care-fully formed as to what was to be done in theevent of his death. The Hollanders, adopting theroute followed by their illfated predecessors the Portu-guese, were to occupy Allauwa and Arandora,and seize the Low Country, while at the sametime attacking Chilaw by sea. In such anevent much was expected from Tennekon and Pun-chi Appuhami of Wikeliya, another renegade, whohad been appointed Disawa of the Ruhuna and of apart of Matara.

When Van Goens set sail for Batavia therewent with him Robert Knox, who at last, after acaptivity of nineteen years, had succeeded in escap-ing from the dominions of the King. He was sentby the Company back to England, where he prepar-ed an Historical Narrative ot his experiences whichmake very painful reading. The greed and the vio-lence of the West had crushed the sweetness out ofthe life of the East. Raja Sinha, the gallant andchivalrous warrior, had degenerated into an embit-tered and ferocious tyrant, haunted by the consum-ing desire to punish the obsequious merchants whohad cheated him. Every other consideration was sub-ordinated to this passion ; he preferred to see hissubjects stricken with poverty and devoid of themost ordinary comforts of life, while the arecanutswhich might purchase foreign goods for them rottedungathered under the trees, rather than that the Com-pany should make any profit from his Kingdom.Frequent plots against him had rendered himmerciless, and the life of no prominent subject wassafe ; cruel tortures were freely employed, impalementwas of common occurrence, the elephants which weretrained to act as executioners were kept busy andentire families were exterminated for the treason?real or only suspected, of one member. Others again were


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Raja Sinha at home 27arrested and kept in jail for years without a wordof explanation or charge. His government was abso-lutely autocratic, and while he rarely acted underthe influence of haste or passion, the advice of nocouncillor would sway him from the course he hadmarked out for himself. No officer was implicitlytrusted and no one knew what commands had beengiven to another ; each served as a spy on the others ;but the common people found that any oppressionby the King's officers would be swiftly punished, forthe King brooked no tyranny save his own.

Hanguranketa was now his permanent residence.The palace precincts, which covered a large extentof ground, were enclosed by a stout clay wall andabutted on the hill which was the place of refuge,where no one dared to venture on penalty of death.The numerous dependents of the palace lived in lowthatched buildings within the precincts, where therewere also a few storied buildings occupied by thehigher officials. The King's own residence was en-tered by elaborately carved gates ; its windows wereoverlaid with silver and ebony ; and within the palacewas full of intricate passages crowded with guardswho were not permitted to talk to each other. TheKing's personal guard was composed of Kaffirs, hisattendants were pages of the best families, and hiskitchen was in charge of women. As a precautionagainst poisoning all food had to be tasted threehours before it was served to the King, whose dietconsisted almost exclusively of vegetables. The King'sRan Doliya resided at Senkadagala with a separateestablishment, while the Yakada Dolt lived in villagesclose to the palace, where no stranger durst enter.

The diversions which had attracted the King inhis youth still continued their hold on him. As theHollanders knew, he loved strange animals, and ablack leopard, a white deer and a spotted elephantwere in his menagerie. Though he now rarely ap-peared on horseback, he delighted to watch his horses


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28 Ceylon and the Hollandersbeing ridden. He was fond of elephant sports andspent much time in feeding fishes in the lake whichhe had constructed. He liked architecture and wasalways busy with improvements at the palace. Hewas proud of his armoury and had some beautifulguns of local make, richly inlaid with silver andgold.

In matters of religion he was very tolerant.Though he himself made little profession of Buddhism,there was at Hanguranketa a College of priests in-cluding his own uncle, which supervised religiousmatters. The temple villages were still so numer-ous as seriously to affect the royal revenues, forsuch villages were exempt from taxation. There wasa strong feeling among the people for their religionand numerous small temples were built on all sidesthese were mean buildings usually of clay, and in noway compared in grandeur with the older buildingswhich had been destroyed. The Indian Fakirs werestill in charge of the sacred Peak, and crowds stillflocked to worship the Bo tree among the ruins ofAnuradhapura. After the rebellion the King neverventured to interfere with the Perahera, though hehimself preferred the Karti Mangalya which wascelebrated in honour of the War God, and he nolonger insisted on being addressed as divine. Herespected Christianity, though the scandals whichgrew round the Church of the Portuguese at Senka-dagala compelled him to close it. Even the Moorswere permitted to have there a mosque which wassupported by a small contribution from the public.

The King still loved a stout fighter; hewas very partial to Europeans and always en-deavoured to enlist them in his service. FrancoisVandenburg was given a high military command tillhe was found guilty of treasonable correspondence,and executed. Richard Varnham was placed in chargeof the artillery and alloted several villages for hismaintenance. De Lanarolle, as already stated, was


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The King and Europeans 29made a Mohottala ; and an ambassador from theCompany was placed in charge of the Kottalbadda,or Artisans Department, and married to a Sinhaleselady. Several Europeans were employed in the palaceand there was a special company of European sold-iers commanded by a Portuguese and a Hollander. Allthe European prisoners were fed at the public ex-pence, till their numbers rendered this a seriousdrain on the resources of the humble villager. TheEuropeans however found the want of beef a greathardship, and the Jesuit Verghonce, who also was aprisoner among them, encouraged them to kill theirneighbours' cows. This priest was fond of food, andwould often visit the temples and share with thetom tom beaters and weavers the food which wasoffered there. It is not surprising that Knox hasrecorded with much appreciation that on board VanGoens' vessel "every meal he had ten or twelve dish-es of meat with variety of wine."

The Portuguese were given many privileges oftrade, and opened taverns where the other Europeanswould congregate of a Sunday. The weakness of the Hol-lander was well known and the Sinhalese proverb whichKnox has preserved says "Wine is as natural to whitemen as Milk to children." It is pleasant to notethat in spite of the abject poverty of the people,Knox was still able to say "They have none oftheire own nation that begg thare, for all releavethose of theire owne families." Pyl continued to treatthe King in the manner recommended by VanGoens. Successive embassies were sent, both fromColombo and from Batavia, to secure peace and toobtain the release of prisoners, but the King wouldnot grant them audience. Lions, tigers, horses, civetcats, falcons, Persian sheep and rare fowls wereoffered in order to tempt him into good humour, butnone of these had any effect. The peeling of cinna-mon was permitted till the whim seized the Kingto attack and drive away the peelers, when an hum-ble apology from Colombo secured a further preca-


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30 Ceylon and the Hollandersrious permission. There were rumours that armedforces were again on the frontier, and in conse-quence the outposts were again withdrawn, and theforts of Hanwella and Kalutara strengthened. It wasalso whispered about that the fierce old tyrant hadtaken to : opium or to drink. At last in 1684 anambassador arrived to announce the King's goodhealth, and not long after the messengers of theCompany who had been detained so long, madetheir appearance with numerous presents. However nomention was made of the return of the prisoners, thematter regarding which there was so much anxietyon the part of the Company.

The Sinhalese now resumed possession of someof the Korales which the Company had offered tosurrender, as well as of the salt Lewayas in theSouth, and no resistance was offered to their doingso. Pyl adopted a most conciliatory attitude ; he senta private communication to the King admitting thatthe Company had done wrong in retaining Colombo,that the whole Island belonged to the King, andthat the Hollanders were there merely for the pur-pose of assisting him in its defence He even de-scribed himself as the King's "faithful and humbleGovernor," and Colombo as the "King's imperial andinvincible castle." The effect was excellent and it wassoon perceived that the King, whose health wasknown to be in a precarious condition, had softened.This impression was strengthened by the arrival in 1686of his chief High Priest on a visit to Pyl. Thisdignitary was received with almost royal honours,and so effective were the Governor's powers of per-suasion that warm hopes were entertained of a speedysettlement of the question of the prisoners. A beauti-ful jewelled Medal was presented by Pyl to NavaratnaofMatara, the inheritor of a great name, who wasthe Chief Mudaliyar and Basnayaka of Colombo, asa token of his appreciation of the share whichthe Basnayaka had taken in the negotiations.


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Death of Raja Sinha 31The expectations thus created were not dis-

appointed, and in May, to the great delight of theHollanders, the King's Adigar, Aswala Rala, appearedwith a long train of released prisoners.

In the meantime Hendrik Adriaan Van Rheedewho had been appointed High Commissioner forthe Indies, had arrived at Nagapatnam, and Pyl wentthere to meet him. Raja Sinha was suspicious ofhis having done so without any notice to him, andsent Mattamagoda Chetty to bring him back. VanRheede was prepared to make numerous concessionsand in August Pyl, acting on his directions, offeredto the King's ambassadors to restore all the territoryoccupied since 1665 ; but they replied that they hadno authority from the King to deal with thatquestion.

Raja Sinha, clear headed to the last, realisedthat his end was not far off. He summoneda Council of his Ministers at Hanguranketa, and ledbefore them a gentle-faced man, whom he introducedas the Prince Mahastana, his son, and heir to theThrone of Lanka. The secret of his existence hadbeen well kept. The Ministers were silent ; theywere incredulous but dared not display any sign ofhesitation. It is said that the terrible Autocrat hadto prostrate himself at the feet of his son, andswear allegiance to him as King, before the Minis-ters recognised him.

On the 10th of December two ambassadorsarrived at Colombo to announce that the princehad succeeded to the Sinhalese Throne. Agreat demonstration of joy followed ; the slaveswho were in chains were released, and all criminalscondemned to death or to be lashed were pardoned.Five days later fresh ambassadors arrived with thenews of the death and cremation of Raja Sinhathey also added that his last instructions to his sonwere to remain on friendly terms with Pyl, who he


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32 Ceylon and the Hollandersbelieved was not an untrustworthy man like theother Hollanders.

On the 23rd of December 1687 the deathof the late King was observed at Colombo bya memorial celebration, accompanied with all thefuneral pomp so dear to the heart of the Teuton.Long lines of Lascarins, companies of soldiers andsailors with arms reversed and trailing pikes, eachcompany preceded by a field-piece dragged by slaves,and the Governor's guard in armour, went in frontof the trumpets and kettledrums which were onhorseback. The great standard of the King, smallerstandards, his personal banner, led horses coveredwith black velvet, gilt spurs, gauntlets, dagger, hel-met, coat of mail, etc, came next. These were suc-ceeded by a coach drawn by six led horses, allhung with the King's device of the Red Lion on agold ground, the horse of State, herald in armour,the Sword of Sovereignty, the Crown and the Sceptre,These last were carried on cushions by noblemenand were guarded by halberdiers, and accompaniedby lighted flambeaux. Next came the Governor,whose train of six ells in length was borne by apage, with the Sinhalese ambassador by his side.The Political Council, the Ministers, the Council ofJustice, and other officials followed, while the burg-hers and domestics brought up the rear.

This long procession wended its way to the Churchwhere the insignia remained on a table till evening ; thenthey were removed under three vollies of musketry anda royal salute from all the guns in the city and thefort, and escorted back to the Governor's house withthe same marks of distinction. After this demon-tration of respect to the memory of the King whosedeath had filled them with exultation, the wearyofficers were regaled with spirits and wine andallowed to return to their homes.


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CHAPTER III.On the 10th of July 1688 the Maha Mohottiar

arrived from the Court to announce that on the 27thof the previous month the new King had girded onthe Sword of State; he brought with him a gun ofsoHd gold as a present for the Governor, and hewas accompanied by a long train of Hollanders whom,with their wives and children, the King had beenpleased to set at liberty. On the 15th following thenew King was proclaimed from the balcony of theCouncil House under the name of Wimala DahamSurya Maha Raja amidst great shouts of "Long livethe King"; a display of fire-works completed thefestivities.

The re-arrangement of Colombo which hadbegun in 1656 was now complete, and the originaltown, now known as the Old City or Oude stad, sepa-rated from the Castle. The former in the mainoccupied the Pettahof today, and was divided intotwelve squares ; in the centre was the graveyard,round two sides of which ran the public market,where anything from a slave to a betel leaf couldbe purchased. On the east and south the town wasstrongly defended by ramparts and the lake, whichteemed with crocodiles; the only entrance was onthe North-east corner, iDy the Negombo gate, whilethe adjacent sea shore was used as a fish market.The buildings within the walls were chiefly of Portu-guese construction, and the residents included severalEuropeans with their Sinhalese or Mestico wives.Outside the walls there was thick jungle running inthe direction of Wolvendahl, the Agoa de Lopo ofthe Portuguese.

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34 Ceylon and the HollandersThe Castle itself was separated from the Old City

by a broad stretch of marshy ground terminating inthe moat into which the original outlet of the lakehad been converted, and was protected on three sidesby the lake, the sea, and the bay respectively. Acauseway connected the Castle with the Old City;on the South West ran the road to Galle throughthe Galle Gate, while the Water Gate led down bytwenty steps, into the Bay. Within the Castle andfacing the Bay was the Governor's house, and closeto it was the house reserved for the accommodationof Sinhalese Ambassadors. Most of the officials resi-ded within the walls, though the finest street wascuriously enough occupied mainly by Tupasses andSinhalese. The five bastions of the Castle were ofcabook, and a canal ran within the fortifications andalongside the eastern rampart. Vessels were obligedto anchor a couple of miles away in consequenceof the sand bar at the entrance to the harbour.

The plans which the Company had formed for ahostile demonstration on the frontiers at the deathof Raja Sinha were left in abeyance, for its officialsbelieved that they could obtain all they desired bydiplomatic pressure on his inexperienced successor.They assumed the position that all treaty obligationsentered into with the late King, as well as the offermade to him to restore the territory occupied since1665, were no longer binding ; but they soon receiveda rude awakening. Pyl had declared that all theIsland belonged to the Sinhalese King, and one of thefirst .'acts of Wimala Daham Surya was to send anambassador with his Sannas granting the historic portof Weligama to Navaratna, accompanied by a requestthat the Sannas should be delivered to the Basnayakabefore the full Council.

The Councillors were in consternation ; theyhastened to explain that when they had describedthe Hollanders as the servants of the King, they didnot mean anything more than that they were there


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The New Policy 35to render the King service. It was impossible forthe Sannas to be regarded as effective; some evildisposed person, they said, must have suggested thegranting of the port in order to annoy the Com-pany; and they hinted that as a matter of fact theKing was largely in their debt for the services theyhad rendered against the Portuguese. However aftermuch agitated discussion they agreed to the Sannasbeing formally presented as requested, but at thesame time Navaratna was privately instructed toreturn it to the Political Secretary.

It was soon discovered that the King did not pro-pose to rule autocratically, as his father had done. Heapparently had spent his time since 1664 in a temple,and he had the good sense to allow himself to be guidedby Ministers, including his Maha Nayaka, who under-stood the Company much better than he did; andhe had also the valuable advice of de LanaroUe.The attitude taken up by the Court was very sim-ple: the ports of Ceylon must be thrown openand the Company must surrender all the territoryoccupied since 1665, and from this position the Min-isters were not prepared to stir.

The Hollanders, acting under the advice ofthe High Commissioner van Rheede, tried what wouldtoday be described as bluff. They had made uptheir minds that under no circumstances could thetrade of Ceylon be thrown open to their rivals.They declared that the King must enter into a freshtreaty with them and the whole question of theoccupied territory must be discussed anew. Theyaccordingly submitted the terms which they proposedas the basis of the new treaty, specially reservingfor themselves the exclusive and unhampered tradewith the Sinhalese Kingdom, as well as the rightto collect cinnamon within the King's dominions,subject to the payment to him of a yearly subsidythey also suggested that the occupied territoriesshould either be held by them as security for their


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36 Ceylon and the Hollandersalleged claim against the King, or be transferredto them absolutely in full discharge of all such claims.

However "His Imperial Majesty," as they insistedon addressing Wimala Dharma, was in no hurry ; theterms were carefully considered and were not foundacceptable. The Ministers denied that the Companywas entitled to make any claim against the King'sTreasury ; he was willing to grant them the requiredpermission for gathering cinnamon, but as to therest he desired first to see the Governor personally.This did not suit the Company, and a reply wassent that Pyl could not under standing orders leavethe Company's lands unless a suitable substitute wasavailable to take his place ; but from this date beganthe custom of sending every year an ambassador toCourt with the promised subsidy, in order to receiveformal permission for the peelers to enter the Sin-halese Kingdom.

The Hollanders were not feeling comfortable.The people of the Low Country were going in largenumbers to Court to receive titles and distinctionsfrom the King, as Suzerain, and even Navaratnahad in consequence of his too frequent correspon-dence with the King's Ministers, become an objectof suspicion. In order to avoid unpleasantness theydeemed it advisable quietly to evacuate the mountainKorales, as well as the Three Korales,

ceylon and the hollanders, 1658-1796 (1918)

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