British Ceylon

Sri Lanka, 1815–1948. Draft, not yet reviewed

British Ceylon refers to the imperial possessions of the United Kingdom in the island of Ceylon, present-day Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 4 February 1948. Initially, the area it covered did not include the Kingdom of Kandy, which was a protectorate, but from 1817 to 1948 the British possessions included the whole island. The British Ceylon period follows the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom into the hands of the British Empire, ending over 2300 years of Sinhalese monarchy. The British rule on the island lasted until 1948 when the country regained independence following the Sri Lankan independence movement.

Seat of power: Colombo

Rulers

Sir Robert Brownrigg, 1st Baronet

Governor of British Ceylon, 1812–1820

In 1815, he acquired the Kingdom of Kandy through an agreement with the help of defecting ministers of the Kandyan King, in the central region of the island, and annexed it to the British crown. Brownrigg fought the Great Rebellion of 1817 and managed to defeat that, aided by reinforcements from India, by enacting martial law.

Portrait of Sir Robert Brownrigg, 1st Baronet: Thomas Lawrence, Public domain, file

Sir Edward Barnes

Governor of British Ceylon, 1824–1831

He directed the construction of the great military road between Colombo and Kandy, and of many other lines of communication, made the first census of the population, and introduced coffee cultivation based on the West Indian system.

Portrait of Sir Edward Barnes: George Dawe, Public domain, file

Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, 3rd Baronet

Governor of British Ceylon, 1831–1837

In Ceylon he implemented the recommendations of the Colebrooke–Cameron Commission forming Ceylon's First Legislative Council and Executive Committee. He abolished the feudal practice of compulsory labour and recognised the right to private property. He started the first newspaper of Ceylon, the Colombo Journal, and the first mail coach in Asia.

Portrait of Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton, 3rd Baronet: Richard James Lane, Public domain, file

Colin Campbell

Governor of British Ceylon, 1841–1847

A British Army officer and colonial governor, he was promoted to the governorship of Ceylon in November 1840.

Portrait of Colin Campbell: William Salter, Public domain, file

George William Anderson

Governor of British Ceylon, 1850–1855

He was appointed governor of Ceylon on 19 October 1850, following the harsh suppression of the 1848 civil uprising by the previous office holder, Viscount Torrington. He resigned in 1855.

Henry George Ward

Governor of British Ceylon, 1855–1860

In 1855 he became governor of Ceylon, and his first speech that year dealt with railways. He developed economic policy on communications and telegraphy, and immigrant labour, and consolidated the public administration. On the outbreak of the Indian rebellion of 1857 he despatched all the European troops in the colony to Bengal.

Portrait of Henry George Ward: William Henry Mote / After James Holmes, Public domain, file

Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead

Governor of British Ceylon, 1865–1872

He was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong, then 13th Governor of Ceylon.

Portrait of Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead: American & Australasian Photographic Company, Public domain, file

William Henry Gregory

Governor of British Ceylon, 1872–1877

He served as Governor of Ceylon from 1872 to 1877. He was the founder of the Colombo Museum, which was established on 1 January 1877.

Portrait of William Henry Gregory: J. R. Weinman, Public domain, file

James Robert Longden

Governor of British Ceylon, 1877–1883

Most notable of his tenure in Ceylon was his grant of land that established the Borella General Cemetery, that has since interred the names of many great Ceylonese over the centuries.

Portrait of James Robert Longden: Book by Arnold Wright; Photographer not stated, Public domain, file

Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore

Governor of British Ceylon, 1883–1890

He held a number of colonial governorships, including Governor of Ceylon from 1883 to 1890.

Portrait of Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Arthur Havelock

Governor of British Ceylon, 1890–1895

He was governor of Ceylon from 1890 to 1895, after postings as governor of Sierra Leone and Natal.

Portrait of Arthur Havelock: not identified, Public domain, file

West Ridgeway

Governor of British Ceylon, 1896–1903

He was Governor of Ceylon from 1896 to 1903. In 1884 Ridgeway was given command of the Indian section of the Afghan Boundary Commission, established by Russia and the United Kingdom to determine the northern boundary of Afghanistan.

Portrait of West Ridgeway: Photograph by Platé & Co., Half Tone by Skeen & Co. Produced for the Government of British Ceylon., Public domain, file

Henry Edward McCallum

Governor of British Ceylon, 1907–1913

His last appointment came as governor of Ceylon in 1907. He retired from colonial service in 1913 and returned to England.

Portrait of Henry Edward McCallum: Ceylon Agricultural Society., Public domain, file

William Manning

Governor of British Ceylon, 1918–1925

In September 1918 he was appointed governor of Ceylon. He retired in 1925.

Portrait of William Manning: The National Archives UK - Flickr account, OGL v1.0, file

Andrew Caldecott

Governor of British Ceylon, 1937–1944

He was sent to Ceylon to examine the situation in the island closely and report on issues such as the governing structure, the representation of the minority communities and the franchise. His observations regarding these issues had an important impact on the evolution of the Ceylon constitution. During his governance, in 1938, the first diesel locomotive ran to Galle, in 1939, the Bank of Ceylon opened, and, in 1942, the University of Ceylon was established.

Portrait of Andrew Caldecott: The original uploader was Clithering at Chinese Wikipedia., Public domain, file

Culture

The British found that the uplands of Sri Lanka were very suited to coffee, tea and rubber cultivation, and by the mid-19th century Sri Lankan tea had become a staple of the British market, bringing great wealth to a small class of European tea planters.
To work the estates, the planters imported large numbers of Tamil workers as indentured labourers from south India, who soon made up 10% of the island's population.
Universal suffrage was introduced in 1931, over the protests of the Sinhalese, Tamil and Burgher elite who objected to the common people being allowed to vote.
The laying of the railway was carried out during the Governorship of Sir Henry Ward.

Picture

The Colombo National Museum, founded in 1877, is a museum in Colombo and the largest in Sri Lanka.

Image: A.Savin, FAL, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.