The present work does not deal with all aspects of Dutch rule in the period under review. Only the outstanding themes and problems are considered. The main political problem was the Century 17th., legacy of -, _. unsettled relations between the King of Kandy and >0C. The issue was the Kandyan desire to recover their rights of unlimited trade and intercourse with the outside world, especially India. The Dutch on their part were determined to retain their monopoly of the island's trade and to deny to Kandy all access to independent trade. The war of 1760-66 was essentially a conflict arising out of this clash of interests. The VOC and the Kingdom of Kandy were both plagued by internal upheavals, though not in the same way. So far as Kandy was concerned it took the form of a divided Court which resulted in the attempted dethronement of Kirthi Sri Rajasinha; for the Dutch the cause of trouble lay primarily in their land and agrarian policies, in their attempt to maximise incomes from land and their desire to increase collections of cinnamon which was in greater demand in Europe. 1 11 During the period there is certain evidence of a population increase-. and a consequent expansion of arable land. The rise in the demand for cinnamon meant that more land had to be preserved for cinnamon if that demand was to be met. The land policies of Governors Loten and Schreuder which attempted to restrict drastically the eipansion of cultivated land was a result of that situation and a direct cause of the rebellionsof. l? 57-60., The resentment generated by the compilation of the Thombos was another major cause of the rebellions. The Kandyan intervention in the disturbances of the lowlands led to the war which resulted in the treaty of 1766. This represented a loss to the Kandyans for the Kingdom became land-locked and intercourse with the outside world became even more difficult; but the victory was by no means unqualified for the Dutch. The wax was expensive and the maintenance of peace became equally so. ý This,, produced a chronic weakness in the financial structure of the Company in Ceylon in the-following-period
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:299449 |
| Date | January 1968 |
| Creators | Kotelawele, Don Ariyapala |
| Publisher | SOAS, University of London |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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