An insightful look at the Wellassa rebellion

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the great rebellion which historians describe as the most formidable insurrection during the British occupation of our country.

The Kandyan kingdom was brought under the British in March 1815. It took only 18 months for it to rise against foreign domination and surprisingly the first shots fired were from the least populated and least developed part of the Kandyan kingdom, Wellassa. It is a creditable feat that within a short space of time the rebels could galvanize the entire Kandyan region and fight against an army better trained and better equipped. The struggle was sustained for over one year and collapsed due to the disunity among the Kandyan leadership and treachery on the part of some of them.

When I was the Government Agent of the Moneragala District in 1967 I came across a book entitled “Manual of the Province of Uva” compiled by Herbert White of the Ceylon Civil Service and published in 1893. It is an informative book covering different aspects of Uva, but what is important is chapter eight on the Rebellion of 1817. Herbert White draws the material from several sources like that of Dr.Davy who took part in the campaign which were not entirely complimentary to the British.

Several years later my attempts to get a copy of the Manual of Uva here failed and I succeeded in getting one from Amazon US ( I provided a copy to the Royal Asiatic Society.) P.G. Punchihewa Via email