Matale Rebellion

Main article: History of Sri Lanka

History of Kandy
This article is part of a series
Kingdom of Kandy (1469–1815)
Founding
Sinhalese–Portuguese War
Kandyan Treaty of 1638
Portuguese period in Ceylon
Treaty of Batticaloa
Kandyan Wars
Colonial Kandy (1815–1948)
Kandyan Convention
Matale Rebellion
South East Asia Command
Kandy (1948–Present)
Modern Kandy
See also:
An Historical Relation of the Island Ceylon
List of Kandyan Monarchs
History of Sri Lanka
Kandy Portal v · Ceylon against the British colonial government under Governor Lord Torrington, 7th Viscount Torrington. It marked a transition from the classic feudal form of anti-colonial revolt to modern independence struggles. It was fundamentally a peasant revolt. Background The Kandyan provinces were in a state of turmoil. They had been under British rule for 32 years. Under the wastelands ordinance, the British had expropriated the common land of the peasantry and reduced them to penury. In the 1830s, coffee was introduced into Ceylon, a crop which flourishes in high altitudes, and grown on the land taken from the peasants. The principal impetus to this development was the decline in coffee production in the West Indies, following the abolition of slavery there. However, the dispossessed peasantry were not employed on the plantations: The Kandyan villagers refused to abandon their traditional subsistence holdings and become wage-workers in the nightmarish conditions that prevailed on these new estates, despite all the pressure exerted by the colonial state. The British therefore had to draw on its reserve army of labour in India, to man its lucrative new outpost to the south. An infamous system of contract labour was established, which transported hundreds of thousands of Tamil 'coolies' from southern India into Sri Lanka for the coffee estates. These Tamils labourers died in tens of thousands both on the journey itself as well as on the plantations. An economic depression in the United Kingdom had severely affected the local coffee and cinnamon industry. Planters and merchants clamoured for a reduction of export duties. Sir James Emerson Tennent, the Colonial Secretary in Colombo recommended to Earl Grey, Secretary of State for Colonies in London that taxation should be radically shifted from indirect taxation to direct taxation, which proposal was accepted. It was decided to abolish the export duty on coffee and reduce the export duty on cinnamon leaving a deficit of £40,000 Sterling which was to be met by direct taxes on the people. A new Governor, 35 year old Lord Torrington, a cousin of Prime Minister Lord Russell was dispatched to Colombo by Queen Victoria to carry out these reforms. On 1 July 1848, license fees were imposed on guns, dogs, carts, shops and labour was made compulsory on plantation roads, unless a special tax was paid. These taxes bore heavily not only on the purse but also on the traditions of the Kandyan peasant. A mass movement against the oppressive taxes was developing. The masses were without the leadership of their native King (deposed in 1815) or their chiefs (either crushed after the Uva Rebellion or collaborating with the colonial power). The leadership passed for the first time in the Kandyan provinces into the hands of ordinary people. Rebellion On 26 July 1848, the leaders and the supporters entered the historic Dambulla Vihara and at 11.30 a.m., Gongalegoda Banda was consecrated by the head monk of Dambulla, Ven. Giranegama Thera. Gongalegoda Banda was called "Sri Wickrama Siddapi" and spoke fluently in Sinhala. He asked the people, whether they were on the side of the Buddhists or the British. On the same day Dines, his brother was declared the sub-king and Dingirala as the uncrowned king of the Sat Korale (Seven Counties). Veera Puran Appu was appointed as the prime minister or the sword bearer to Gongalegoda Banda and attended his consecration ceremony with 400 others. After the proclamation of the king, he with his army left Dambulla via Matale to capture Kandy from the British. They attacked government buildings including the Matale Kachcheri and destroyed some of the tax records. Simultaneously, Dingirirala instigated attacks in Kurunegala, where eight people were shot dead by the British army. Governor Torrington immediately declared Martial Law on 29 July 1848 in Kandy and on 31 July in Kurunegala. Puran Appu was taken prisoner by the British troops and was executed on 8 August. Gongalegoda Banda and his elder brother Dines escaped and went into hiding. Gongalegoda Banda lived in a cave at Elkaduwa, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) from Matale. Torrington issued a warrant for his arrest with a reward of £150 for information on his whereabouts. On 21 September, he was arrested by Malay soldiers - although he offered resistance before his arrest - and was brought from Matale to Kandy where he was kept a prisoner. The trial of Gongalegoda Banda commenced on 27 November at the Supreme Court sessions in Kandy. He was charged with high treason for claiming to be King of Kandy and waging war against the British. He declared that he was guilty of all the charges. The Supreme Court condemned him to be hanged on 1 January 1849. Subsequently, a proclamation was issued to amend the death sentence to flogging 100 times and deportation to Malacca (Malaysia). By deporting Gongalegoda Banda, Governor instilled in the inhabitants a permanent fear of rebellion against the British rule, since deportation was deemed worse than hanging.[citation needed] Leaders The movement for the liberation of the island in 1848 was led by leaders such as Gongalegoda Banda, Puran Appu, Dines and Dingi Rala who were supported by the people and the village headmen of Matale. These were workers with links to the low country, with rather broader vision than the Kandyan peasants they led. Gongalegoda Banda Gongalegoda Banda, the son of Wansapurna Dewage Sinchia Fernando was the leader of the 1848 Rebellion and pretender to the throne. He had been employed by the police. He was engaged in transport work on the Kandy road and came to reside at Gongalegoda, Udunuwara where he became a popular figure among the Kandyans. He was seen at the Temple of the Tooth just before the 1848 Rebellion broke out. Gongalegoda Banda led a protest march regarding unjustifiable taxes on 6 July 1848, near the Kandy Kachcheri. Veera Puran Appu Hennadige Francisco Fernando alias Veera Puran Appu is one of the most colourful personalities in Sri Lanka's history. He was born on November 1812 in the coastal town of Moratuwa. He left Moratuwa at the age of 13 and stayed in Ratnapura with his uncle, who was the first Sinhalese proctor, and moved to the Uva Province. In early 1847, he met and married Bandaramenike, the daughter of Gunnepana Arachchi in Kandy. Legacy Memorial of the Matale Rebellion in Matale The Matale Rebellion was the first transitional step towards abandoning the feudal form of revolt, being fundamentally a peasant revolt. The masses were without the leadership of their native King (deposed in 1815) or their chiefs (either crushed after the Uva Rebellion or collaborating with the colonial power). The leadership passed for the first time in the Kandyan provinces into the hands of ordinary people, non-aristocrats. The leaders were yeomen-artisans, resembling the Levellers in England's revolution and mechanics such as Paul Revere and Tom Paine who were at the heart of the American revolution. However, in the words of Colvin R. de Silva, 'it had leaders but no leadership. The old feudalists were crushed and powerless. No new class capable of leading the struggle and heading it towards power had yet arisen.' References Tyronne Fernando, Veera Puran Appu: stood up against the might of British Empire accessed 5 December 2005. Dr. K. D. G. Wimalaratne, Director, National Archives, Gongale Goda Banda (1809-1849) : The leader of the 1848 rebellion accessed 5 December 2005. Fred Halliday, The 1971 Ceylonese Insurrection accessed 5 December 2005. Colvin R. de Silva, Hartal! accessed 5 December 2005. External links Matale rebellion remembered Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Somerville House ART Grand Prix Look at other dictionaries: Matale (disambiguation) — Matale may refer to: Matale, a town in central Sri Lanka in Matale District, Central Province Matale District, an administrative district of Sri Lanka Matale Electoral District, a multi member electoral district of Sri Lanka Matale Electoral… …   Wikipedia Matale — Coordinates: 7°28′N 80°37′E / 7.467°N 80.617°E / 7.467; 80.617 …   Wikipedia Uva Rebellion — The Uva Rebellion, also known as the Great Rebellion of 1817 1818 (or the 3rd Kandyan War by the British) took place in Ceylon against the British colonial government under Governor Robert Brownrigg, which had been controlling the formerly… …   Wikipedia Kandy — For other uses, see Kandy (disambiguation). Kandy මහ නුවර கண்டி   City   …   Wikipedia Gongalegoda Banda — Infobox pretender English name = Gongale Goda Banda Sri Wickrama Siddapi birth date = 13 March 1809 birthplace = Ceylon death date = 1 December 1849 deathplace = Malacca known for=Matale Rebellion , National Heroe of Sri Lanka regnal = title =… …   Wikipedia Keppetipola Disawe — Rajapaksa Wickramasekera Mudiyanselage Bandaranayake Monaravila Keppetipola Born Udugoda, Udasiya Pattuwa, Matale, Sri Lanka Died 25 November 1818 Kandy, Sri L …   Wikipedia History of Sri Lanka — This article is part of a series Documents …   Wikipedia National Heroes of Sri Lanka — are those who are considered to have played a major role in the Sri Lankan independence struggle from British Colonial rule. On February 4 each year on Independence Day these heroes are celebrated. Contents 1 List of National Heroes 1.1 Uva… …   Wikipedia Sri Lanka — Ceylon redirects here. For the time period of 1948 1972, see Dominion of Ceylon. For other uses, see Ceylon (disambiguation). Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රජාතාන්ත්‍රික සමාජවාදී ජනරජය (Sinhala) இலங்கை சனநாயக சமத்துவ… …   Wikipedia Central Province, Sri Lanka — Central Province මධ්‍යම පළාත மத்திய மாகாணம்   Province   …   Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”