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Matale rebellion
The Matale rebellion, also known as the Rebellion of 1848, took place in Matale city, Ceylon against the British colonial government under Governor George Byng, 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.
The Kandyan provinces were in a state of turmoil. They had endured British rule for 32 years. Under the Crown Lands (Encroachments) Ordinance No. 12 of 1840 (also called the Crown Lands Ordinance or the Waste Lands Ordinance), European planters expropriated the common land of the Kandyan peasantry, reducing them to penury. In the 1830s, coffee was introduced into Ceylon, a crop that thrives in the island’s highlands, and it was cultivated on lands seized from the peasants. This expansion of coffee cultivation was driven largely by the decline of coffee production in the West Indies following the abolition of slavery there.
However, the dispossessed Kandyan peasants were not employed on these new plantations. They steadfastly refused to abandon their traditional subsistence lifestyles and to work as wage labourers under the harsh and demeaning conditions that prevailed on the estates—despite persistent pressure from the colonial administration. Faced with this resistance, the British turned to India to supply labour for their profitable new enterprise. An infamous system of indentured labour was introduced, through which hundreds of thousands of Tamil labourers—derisively referred to as “coolies”—were brought from southern India to work on the coffee plantations of Ceylon.
Meanwhile, an economic depression in the United Kingdom severely affected Ceylon’s coffee and cinnamon industries. Planters and merchants clamoured for a reduction in export duties. Sir James Emerson Tennent, the Colonial Secretary in Colombo recommended to Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies in London, that the island's tax structure be radically altered from indirect to direct taxation. This proposal was accepted, and it was decided to abolish the export duty on coffee and to reduce that on cinnamon, leaving a deficit of £40,000 sterling to be covered through direct taxes imposed on the local population. To implement these reforms, Lord Torrington, a 35-year old cousin of Prime Minister Lord Russell, was dispatched by Queen Victoria to serve as Governor of Ceylon.
On 1 July 1848, a series of new taxes was imposed: license fees on guns, dogs, carts, and shops, as well as compulsory labour on plantation roads unless a special tax was paid in lieu. These measures struck harshly not only at the finances but also at the traditions and dignity of the Kandyan peasantry. Discontent spread rapidly, and a mass movement against these oppressive taxes began to take shape. Deprived of the leadership of their native king—deposed in 1815—and their chiefs—either crushed after the Uva-Wellassa Rebellion or co-opted by the colonial administration—the Kandyan people rose in defiance. For the first time, leadership of resistance in the Kandyan provinces passed into the hands of ordinary people, marking the beginning of a new phase in the struggle against colonial rule.
In 1847, due to the British government's unlimited tax policy, efforts to destroy Sinhala Buddhist culture, and the persecution of the indigenous people, this battle was started by Paranagama Nilame in the Paranagama village of Matale with the aim of saving the country, nation and Buddhism. This battle was also called the Battle of Paranagama. This was completed in 1848 with the leadership and support of leaders such as Veera Puran Appu, Diyes and Gongalegoda Banda.
On 26 July 1848, the leaders of the uprising, along with their supporters, gathered at the historic Dambulla Vihara. At 11.30 a.m., Gongalegoda Banda was formally consecrated as king by the chief monk of Dambulla, Ven. Giranegama Thera. He was bestowed the regal title "Sri Wickrama Subha Sarva Siddhi Rajasinghe". Addressing the assembly, Gongalegoda Banda asked the people whether they were on the side of the Buddhists or the British. On the same day, his brother Dines was declared the sub-king and Dingirirala as the uncrowned king of the Sat Korale (Seven Counties). Veera Puran Appu was appointed Prime Minister and the Sword Bearer to Gongalegoda Banda and attended the consecration ceremony accompanied with nearly 4000 supporters.
Following the proclamation of the new king, Gongalegoda Banda and his army departed Dambulla via Matale, determined to capture Kandy from the British. Along their march, they launched attacks on several government establishments, including the Matale Kachcheri, and destroyed a number of tax records—a symbolic act of defiance against colonial oppression. Simultaneously, Dingirirala instigated attacks in Kurunegala, where the confrontation resulted in the deaths of eight people at the hands of British forces. In response to the escalating rebellion, Governor Lord Torrington immediately declared martial law on 29 July 1848 in Kandy and subsequently in Kurunegala on 31 July.
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Matale rebellion
The Matale rebellion, also known as the Rebellion of 1848, took place in Matale city, Ceylon against the British colonial government under Governor George Byng, 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.
The Kandyan provinces were in a state of turmoil. They had endured British rule for 32 years. Under the Crown Lands (Encroachments) Ordinance No. 12 of 1840 (also called the Crown Lands Ordinance or the Waste Lands Ordinance), European planters expropriated the common land of the Kandyan peasantry, reducing them to penury. In the 1830s, coffee was introduced into Ceylon, a crop that thrives in the island’s highlands, and it was cultivated on lands seized from the peasants. This expansion of coffee cultivation was driven largely by the decline of coffee production in the West Indies following the abolition of slavery there.
However, the dispossessed Kandyan peasants were not employed on these new plantations. They steadfastly refused to abandon their traditional subsistence lifestyles and to work as wage labourers under the harsh and demeaning conditions that prevailed on the estates—despite persistent pressure from the colonial administration. Faced with this resistance, the British turned to India to supply labour for their profitable new enterprise. An infamous system of indentured labour was introduced, through which hundreds of thousands of Tamil labourers—derisively referred to as “coolies”—were brought from southern India to work on the coffee plantations of Ceylon.
Meanwhile, an economic depression in the United Kingdom severely affected Ceylon’s coffee and cinnamon industries. Planters and merchants clamoured for a reduction in export duties. Sir James Emerson Tennent, the Colonial Secretary in Colombo recommended to Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies in London, that the island's tax structure be radically altered from indirect to direct taxation. This proposal was accepted, and it was decided to abolish the export duty on coffee and to reduce that on cinnamon, leaving a deficit of £40,000 sterling to be covered through direct taxes imposed on the local population. To implement these reforms, Lord Torrington, a 35-year old cousin of Prime Minister Lord Russell, was dispatched by Queen Victoria to serve as Governor of Ceylon.
On 1 July 1848, a series of new taxes was imposed: license fees on guns, dogs, carts, and shops, as well as compulsory labour on plantation roads unless a special tax was paid in lieu. These measures struck harshly not only at the finances but also at the traditions and dignity of the Kandyan peasantry. Discontent spread rapidly, and a mass movement against these oppressive taxes began to take shape. Deprived of the leadership of their native king—deposed in 1815—and their chiefs—either crushed after the Uva-Wellassa Rebellion or co-opted by the colonial administration—the Kandyan people rose in defiance. For the first time, leadership of resistance in the Kandyan provinces passed into the hands of ordinary people, marking the beginning of a new phase in the struggle against colonial rule.
In 1847, due to the British government's unlimited tax policy, efforts to destroy Sinhala Buddhist culture, and the persecution of the indigenous people, this battle was started by Paranagama Nilame in the Paranagama village of Matale with the aim of saving the country, nation and Buddhism. This battle was also called the Battle of Paranagama. This was completed in 1848 with the leadership and support of leaders such as Veera Puran Appu, Diyes and Gongalegoda Banda.
On 26 July 1848, the leaders of the uprising, along with their supporters, gathered at the historic Dambulla Vihara. At 11.30 a.m., Gongalegoda Banda was formally consecrated as king by the chief monk of Dambulla, Ven. Giranegama Thera. He was bestowed the regal title "Sri Wickrama Subha Sarva Siddhi Rajasinghe". Addressing the assembly, Gongalegoda Banda asked the people whether they were on the side of the Buddhists or the British. On the same day, his brother Dines was declared the sub-king and Dingirirala as the uncrowned king of the Sat Korale (Seven Counties). Veera Puran Appu was appointed Prime Minister and the Sword Bearer to Gongalegoda Banda and attended the consecration ceremony accompanied with nearly 4000 supporters.
Following the proclamation of the new king, Gongalegoda Banda and his army departed Dambulla via Matale, determined to capture Kandy from the British. Along their march, they launched attacks on several government establishments, including the Matale Kachcheri, and destroyed a number of tax records—a symbolic act of defiance against colonial oppression. Simultaneously, Dingirirala instigated attacks in Kurunegala, where the confrontation resulted in the deaths of eight people at the hands of British forces. In response to the escalating rebellion, Governor Lord Torrington immediately declared martial law on 29 July 1848 in Kandy and subsequently in Kurunegala on 31 July.