Dutch rule in Sri Lanka (1658–1796)

Government

The Dutch governor, residing in Colombo, was the chief executive; he was assisted by a council of the highest officials. The country was divided into three administrative divisions (named after their principal cities): Colombo, Galle, and Jaffna. Colombo was ruled by the governor, Galle and Jaffna by commanders. The three divisions were subdivided into dissavanis (provinces) and, further, into korales (districts) in the traditional manner. The ruler of each dissavani was invariably a Dutch officer; subordinate offices were held by Sinhalese or Tamils loyal to the Dutch.

Economy

The period of Dutch rule was of great significance to Sri Lanka’s economic development. It was during this time that decisive steps were taken toward the incorporation of the island into the emerging world economy. Rain-fed commercial crops such as cinnamon and betel had become important items in the export trade, as had high-value gemstones from mines in the Central Highlands and pearls from fisheries on the northwestern coast. Because the processing of cinnamon demanded a moderately skilled labour force, many workers were recruited from the neighbouring subcontinent. Miners were drawn from the local population, but a good number of divers came from south India to participate in pearl-collecting operations. Exports also included other spices, lacquer, coconut oil, ropes of coconut fibres, and such sea products as cowrie and conch shells. Elephants were among the most important items of trade during this period; there was consistently a high demand, especially in Golconda in south India and Bengal in the northeast, where elephants were valued as war vehicles.

The link between trade and agriculture, which strengthened considerably during this period, was evident especially in the increased production of two new cash crops, tobacco and coffee—the cultivation of which was encouraged by the VOC. Tobacco, which thrived in the Jaffna Peninsula, found good markets in the kingdom of Travancore in south India as well as in Southeast Asia, especially at the port of Aceh (Acheh) in northern Sumatra and at various ports in the southern Malay Peninsula. Production of coffee, grown extensively across Sri Lanka, rose sharply in the first half of the 18th century; the island’s coffee found markets in Europe, the Middle East, and the neighbouring subcontinent.

The Dutch continued the Portuguese policy of respecting the traditional land structure and service relationship but used it more methodically to enhance revenue. Taxes in kind collected for the state were used in trade. Remuneration of Sinhalese officials in land and obligatory services to the state were continued. The Sinhalese nobility also was retained because the Dutch depended on the rural nobility for knowledge of the system.

Although the Dutch tried to promote trade with neighbouring countries, it was under a strictly controlled system. They sought to monopolize the export of major commodities, but this effort led to a decline in trade with India, which, in turn, resulted in a shortage of essential goods, such as rice and textiles. In the early 18th century some relaxation occurred, and private traders from India were admitted into the island’s trade system. Nevertheless, the Dutch retained their export monopolies in some areas, and they continued to control trade commodities and prices through a system of passes and inspection.

The expansion of Sri Lanka’s trade called for the development of a more extensive infrastructure and more-sophisticated transport facilities. The VOC developed three major canal systems in the western, southern, and eastern parts of the island. The western system, which linked the city of Colombo with Kalpitiya to its north and Bentota to its south, was the most complex. Somewhat less complex was the eastern system, which linked the commercial centre of Batticaloa with the Vanderloos Bay to the north and the minor port of Sammanturai to the south. The least intricate of the systems was in the south, where canals linked the city of Matara with the township of Valigama. While the three canal systems attested to the technological achievement of the hydraulic engineers of the VOC, a chain of solidly built and well-equipped forts displayed a matching level of accomplishment among the VOC’s military engineers.

The use of cannons, as well as guns and other smaller firearms, was introduced by the Portuguese and spread rapidly once the rulers of local kingdoms grasped the significance of the new technology. Guns enabled the centralization of storage and control of commodities and thus represented a strategic resource by which to boost the power of the rulers. The new military technology also created a demand for specialists, who were recruited from among the Europeans; under the direction of such specialists, the island’s metalworkers developed a capacity for the production of high-quality guns.

Law

The Dutch judicial system was well organized. There were three major courts of justice, in Colombo, Galle, and Jaffna; appeals were heard by the Colombo court. In the various districts, the provincial head (the dissava) presided over the circuit court, called the Land Raad. Native chiefs were invited to hear cases involving local custom. The customary law of the land was administered in the courts, unless it clashed violently with Dutch jurisprudence.

Increasingly in the 18th century, Roman-Dutch law was used in the Sinhalese areas of the southwest and south. This had important social consequences. Private property rights in land spread more widely in these areas, and property transfers were subject to Roman-Dutch law. Moreover, where Sinhalese society had been polygynous to some degree, a gradual shift toward monogamy occurred under the influence of the new legal system.

Some attempt was made to codify customary law. The Thesawalamai—laws and customs of the Tamils of Jaffna—was codified in 1707. Because of the difficulty in codifying Sinhalese law and custom in view of its regional diversity and complexity, Roman-Dutch law was increasingly applied to the Sinhalese of the cities and the seacoast, especially to those who professed Christianity.

Religion

The Netherlands was ardently Protestant—specifically, Calvinist—and in the early years of Dutch rule an enthusiastic effort was made to curtail the missionary activities of the Roman Catholic clergy and to spread the Reformed church in Sri Lanka. Roman Catholicism was declared illegal, and its priests were banned from the country; Catholic churches were given to the Reformed faith, with Calvinist pastors appointed to lead the congregations. Despite persecution, many Catholics remained loyal to their faith; some nominally embraced Protestantism, while others settled within the independent Kandyan kingdom. In their evangelical activities the Protestant clergy were better organized than their Catholic counterparts; in particular they used schools to propagate their faith.

During the period of Dutch rule in the coastal areas there was a revival of Buddhism in the Kandyan kingdom and in the southern part of the island. While the Dutch felt great antipathy toward Catholicism, they indirectly contributed to the revival of Buddhism by facilitating transport for Buddhist monks between Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the Arakan (Rakhine) region in southwestern Myanmar (Burma). Such services helped the Dutch maintain good relations with the king of Kandy.

Representing a new strand in the traditions of both Sinhalese and Tamil literature, Christian writings began to appear during the Dutch period. Although most of these new works were translations of basic canonical texts, some were polemics that targeted both Buddhism and Hinduism. The 18th-century writer Jacome Gonƈalves was among the most notable figures in Sri Lankan Christian literature. The VOC’s establishment in 1734 of the first printing press in Sri Lanka—used to meet the needs of missionaries as well as administrators—aided the proliferation of Christian texts.