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The Ceylon Expedition of 1803

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

Extract

In the year 1505 the Portuguese, under Albuquerque, discovered Ceylon, and from that date until 1818 the island was the scene of intermittent warfare between its original possessors and successive European Powers.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Historical Society 1918

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References

1 ‘On the glaring want of good faith and the impolicy of this embassy, at a period when England and Holland were not only at perfect peace, but in strict alliance, no comment is necessary’ (Marshall, “Description and Conquest of Ceylon,” p. 63).

page 94 note 1 Sir Thomas Maitland, Walter Frewen Lord, p. 72.

page 95 note 1 C.O. 54, II, vol. ii. May 7, 1803.

page 95 note 2 Hon. J. Fortescue, History of the British Army, vol. v. chap. v.

page 95 note 3 Forbes, Major, Eleven Years in Ceylon, London, 1840.Google Scholar

page 96 note 1 Ceylon, 1801. W.O. I, 363. North to Hobart, October 5, 1801.

page 96 note 2 Muttusámí.

page 96 note 3 Sir J. E. Tennent, Ceylon, vol. i.

page 96 note 4 Ceylon, 1801. W.O. Records. North to Hobart, October 5, 1801.

page 96 note 5 Ibid

page 96 note 6 lbid., I, 363. North to Hobart, December 19.

page 97 note 1 W.O. I, 363. MacDowall to North, October 30, 1801.

page 97 note 2 Ibid. North to MacDowall, December 19, 1801.

page 97 note 3 Ibid. Miscellanies, March 11, 1802.

page 97 note 4 Ibid. Miscellanies, Dundas to North, March 1801.

page 97 note 5 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. Clive to North, February 11, 1801.

page 97 note 6 Ibid. North to Hobart, January 15, 1801.

page 98 note 1 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. North to Clive, January 30, 1801; North to Hobart, January 15, 1801.

page 98 note 2 Ibid. July 22, 1802.

page 98 note 3 Ibid.

page 99 note 1 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i.

page 99 note 2 Ibid. North to MacDowall, February 2, 1803.

page 99 note 3 Ibid.

page 99 note 4 Ibid. North to MacDowall, February 2.

page 100 note 1 C.O. 54, vol. i. 10. North to MacDowall, February 2.

page 100 note 2 W.O. Wellington Despatches (ii. 143, 165).

page 100 note 3 A Description of Ceylon, Rev. Jas.Cordiner, , 2 vols. London, 1807.Google Scholar

page 100 note 4 Account of the Interior of Ceylon, Davy, J., 1 vol. 1821.Google Scholar

page 100 note 5 Voyages to India and Ceylon, Valentia, Lord, 3 vols. 1809.Google Scholar

page 100 note 6 Account of the Island of Ceylon, Capt.Percival, R., 1 vol. 1803.Google Scholar

page 100 note 7 Letters on Ceylon, Capt. de Bussche. 1826.

page 100 note 8 Description and Conquest of Ceylon, Dr. H. Marshall, 1840.

page 100 note 9 Eleven Years in Ceylon, Forbes, Major, 2 vols. 1840.Google Scholar

page 100 note 10 Ceylon, SirTennent, J. E., 2 vols. 1859.Google Scholar

page 100 note 11 Knighton, W., History of Ceylon, 1 vol. 1845.Google Scholar

page 100 note 12 Ceylon, Pridham, C., vol. i. 1849.Google Scholar

page 100 note 13 History of the British Army, HonFortescue, J., vol. v. chap. v.Google Scholar

page 101 note 1 The Malay Regiment, or First Ceylon Regiment, otherwise called Champagne's Regiment, after its first commanding officer.

page 101 note 2 Marshall, Description and Conquest of Ceylon, p. 85.

page 101 note 3 Fortescue, History of the British Army, vol. v. chap. v.

page 102 note 1 Lieut. O'Connell to Robert Arbuthnot, June, 1802, C.O. 54, vol. i. 10.

page 102 note 2 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. O'Connell to Arbuthnot, June 23.

page 102 note 3 The official title of ‘Agent of Revenue’ has since become ‘Government Agent’.

page 102 note 4 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. Lewis Gibson to Arbuthnot, January 1803.

page 102 note 5 A fort in a strong position upon the road from Colombo to Kandy.

page 102 note 6 Ranamuka Dassanayaka Wikramasinha Mohandiram of Yatigaha Pattu of the Hapitigam Kórale to the Maha Mudaliyar of Colombo. February 1, 1803. C.O. 54, 10, vol. i.

page 103 note 1 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. MacDowall to North from the Camp at Kotadeniya. February 5–6, 1803.

page 103 note 2 Ibid.

page 103 note 3 Ibid.

page 103 note 4 Ibid.

page 104 note 1 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. North to MacDowall, February 1803.

page 104 note 2 Ibid.

page 104 note 3 Ibid. MacDowall to North, February 19, 1803.

page 105 note 1 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. Barbut to Arbuthnot, February 18.

page 105 note 2 Cordiner, Description of Ceylon.

page 105 note 3 This little volume was published by the Philanthropic Society, St. George's Fields, in 1809. It is somewhat rare, and moreover, the Appendix in question is rarer still, since it is only known to exist in one copy, which was presented by Mr. J. P. Lewis, C.M.G., to the Colombo Museum. This copy is probably unique: the one in the British Museum does not contain the Appendix.

page 105 note 4 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. Barbut to Arbuthnot, February 12, 1803.

page 105 note 5 Ibid. MacDowall to North, February 24, 1803.

page 106 note 1 Lieut. T. Anderson, Journal of the Trincomalee Detachment.

page 106 note 2 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. MacDowall to North, February 24.

page 106 note 3 Ibid.

page 106 note 4 Ibid.

page 106 note 5 Ibid. March 23.

page 107 note 1 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. North to Hobart, April 14.

page 107 note 2 Ibid. North to MacDowall, March 18.

page 107 note 3 Ibid. North to Hobart, April 14.

page 107 note 4 Ibid. North to MacDowall, March 25.

page 107 note 5 Ibid. North to Hobart, April 14.

page 108 note 1 Medical Report on the Establishment of Ceylon, 1803.

page 108 note 2 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. North to Hobart, May 17.

page 108 note 3 Ibid. MacDowall to North, February 15.

page 108 note 4 Ibid. North to Hobart, April 14.

page 108 note 5 Cordiner, , Description of Ceylon, vol. ii. p. 197.Google Scholar

page 109 note 1 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. MacDowall to North, March 9.

page 109 note 2 Ibid.

page 109 note 3 Marshall, Conquest of Ceylon, p. 90.

page 109 note 4 United Service Journal, 1829, Part ii.

page 110 note 1 Anderson, Poems written chiefly in India. Appendix.

page 110 note 2 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. Barbut to Arbuthnot, April 22.

page 110 note 3 Ibid. North to Hobart, July, 1803.

page 110 note 4 Fortescue, History of the British Army, vol. v. chap. v.

page 110 note 5 Capt. Percival, Account of Ceylon, 1805.

page 111 note 1 W.O. 1, 363, Ceylon. North to Hobart, December 19, 1801.

page 111 note 2 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. North to Hobart, April 20, 1803.

page 111 note 3 Ibid. North to Hobart, April 19, 1803.

page 111 note 4 Cordiner, ii. 201.

page 111 note 5 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. North to Hobart, May 4.

page 111 note 6 Ibid.

page 111 note 7 J. P. Lewis, C.M.G., Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon, p. 83.

page 112 note 1 C.O. 54, 10, vol. i. North to Hobart, May 17.

page 112 note 2 Lieut. T. A. Anderson, Poems written in India. Appendix.

page 112 note 3 Ibid.

page 113 note 1 Lieut. T. A. Anderson, Poems written in India. Appendix.

page 113 note 2 Ibid.

page 113 note 3 Ibid.

page 114 note 1 Lieut. T. A. Anderson, Poems written in India. Appendix

page 114 note 2 Ceylon, 1801. W.O.I, 363, Miscellanies.

page 115 note 1 Marshall, Description and Conquest of Ceylon, p. 90.

page 115 note 2 Anderson, Poems written in India. Appendix.

page 116 note 1 C.O. 54, 11, vol. ii. North to Hobart, July 8, 1803.

page 116 note 2 Alexander, Bombardier, Life, written by himself and edited by Howell, J. 2 vols. Blackwood, 1830.Google Scholar

page 116 note 3 Courier and Evening Gazette, Thursday, March 15, 1804.

page 117 note 1 The enemy here referred to is, of course, not the Kandyans but France, of whose designs in the East we were, at this time, very suspicious.

page 117 note 2 MS. Notes, Mr. Simon Sawers. From deposition of Mullegama Disawa, whose information was confirmed by the family of Milawa, Disawa of Wellassa

page 117 note 3 Anderson, Wanderer in Ceylon. Appendix.

page 118 note 1 C.O. 54, vol. iii. 12.

page 118 note 2 Mis–spelt ‘Gavin’ in one of the native depositions. The officers present in Kandy at the time of the surrender were as follows: —

Malay Regiment—Major Adam Davie, Captain Rumley, Lieutenant Mercer, Ensigns Barry, Goupil, and Fanthome, Assistant–Surgeon Greeving.

19th Regiment—Lieutenants Blakeney, Plenderleath, Byne, Maclaine, Ensign Smith, Quartermaster Brown, and Assistant–Surgeon Hope.

51st Regiment—Lieutenant Ormsby and Sergeant Stuart (with the rank of Ensign).

East India Company's Troops—Captaim Humphreys and Assistant–Surgeon Hollaway of the Bengal Artillery.

page 119 note 1 Sangunglo.

page 119 note 2 According to Barnsley, it was Lieut. Blakeney of the 19th who first died in single combat with the Malay leader. However, Greeving is borne out by the annotator of his Manuscript who adds in parenthesis: ‘Lieut. Blakeney was twice wounded in the attack, but lived till the other Europeans were killed, and was then murdered ’.

page 120 note 1 Nouradeen, who was of the royal Kandyan blood, was a very brave and loyal man. Early in June he had received a letter, begging him to renounce his allegiance to the British, in which case the King would reward him richly. Nouradeen refused steadfastly, and did all he could to prevent desertion amongst the Malays.

page 120 note 2 This ‘mountain’ is a green mound near the ferry. The bo–tree, of which the rotten trunk still surmounts it, is known as Davie's tree, and a tablet has been placed here.

page 122 note 1 C.O. 54, vol. iii. 12.

page 123 note 1 Life of Bombardier Alexander, vol. i.

page 123 note 2 Pridham, Ceylon, vol. i.

page 124 note 1 Williams, Historian's History, vol. xxii.

page 125 note 1 J. P. Lewis, Tombstones and Monuments in Ceylon, p. 430.

page 125 note 2 Hon. J. Fortescue, History of the British Army, vol. v. chap. v.

page 126 note 1 Diary of Sir John D'Oyly, Index, p. xvi. Letters from Ceylon, De Busesche, 1817.

page 126 note 2 C.O. 54, 11, vol. ii. North to Hobart, July 1.

page 126 note 3 Ibid.

page 127 note 1 C.O. 54, 11, vol. ii. North to Hobart, July 8.

page 127 note 2 Ibid.

page 127 note 3 Ibid.

page 127 note 4 C.O. 54, 13, vol. i. Hobart to North, March 29, 1804.