Declaration of authenticity Research Master HLCS

Instructor: dr. Dries Lyna Course: Research Master Thesis Historical Studies (LET-HLCS-HS15-2019-JAAR-V) Title of the document: “Een thuijn geleegen buijten de Z. O. zeijde dezer steede”. Land use and land ownership in the eighteenth-century Four Gravets of Colombo (Sri Lanka)

Date of submission: 15 August 2020

The work presented here is the responsibility of the undersigned. The undersigned hereby declares not to have committed plagiarism and not to have cooperated with others unlawfully.

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Student name: Afra de Mars Student number:

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

“Een thuijn geleegen buijten de Z. O. zeijde dezer steede”

Land use and land ownership in the eighteenth-century Four Gravets of Colombo (Sri Lanka)

Afra de Mars Supervisor: dr. Dries Lyna Research Master Thesis Historical Studies Second reader: dr. Coen van Galen 15 August 2020

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Front page: “een thuijn gelegen buijten de Z.O. zeijder dezer steede” (SLNA 1/3802, S. Sebastian 15). Translation: a garden located outside the South East side of this city.

Word count: 25.467 (Excl. front matter, foot notes, appendices and bibliography)

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Acknowledgments

This thesis would have looked very different (if it had existed at all) without the help of some people. Many thanks to: dr. Dries Lyna for supervising this thesis and commenting on first drafts; Luc Bulten for advice, comments and answers to pressing questions; Sanne de Laat for her comments and helping me out with English language issues; and last but not least to the friends and family who were there when I needed them.

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Summary

In the late seventeenth and the entire eighteenth century, the coastal regions of Sri Lanka were a colony of the Dutch Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, better known as the VOC. Between 1659 and 1796 Colombo functioned as the capital of this colony. In this thesis, I study the developments of the land market and land use in the (mid-)eighteenth-century suburbs of this city, the so-called Four Gravets of Colombo. In studying this case, I tie into three ongoing debates in urban/historical research: debates on the development of various social groups in Sri Lanka, studies into colonial land management (which often focus on British colonies and in Dutch cases on Batavia/Java), and studies into suburbs (which all too often focus on nineteenth-century and more modern settings). In order to examine the developments that took place in Colombo’s Four Gravets, I use contemporary land registers, the land thombos. These registers are a unique source for socio-economic studies into the lives of (indigenous) people under colonial rule. This thesis consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, I aim to provide insights in the functioning and effects of VOC (land) policies outside its (political) centre Batavia, as well as to broaden existing knowledge on land management by a colonial power in a pre-nineteenth- century suburban setting. It also deals with the development of land prices in this period. The aim of the second chapter is to find if any notable differences existed between the various social groups in the Four Gravets in their behaviour on the land market. This chapter deals with the social group and caste the landholders belonged to, but also studies the influence of age, gender and marital status, and place of residence on one’s chances to own purchased lands (instead of (inherited) service lands). Amongst other things, it shows the role of women and manumitted slaves on the land market. The last chapter looks into the way people used their lands, by focussing on both subsistence (i.e. household consumption) production and substantial market production of coconut. This chapter shows that most people probably combined wage labour with private gardening and shows which social groups were leading in the substantial market production of coconut. Combined, these chapters provide an insight into land use and land ownership in the colonial suburbs of Colombo.

Word count: 380

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Contents

Acknowledgments ...... 4 Summary ...... 5 Abbreviations ...... 8 A note on the references ...... 8 Introduction ...... 9 Social groups in Sri Lanka ...... 10 Colonial land policies ...... 11 The Four Gravets as colonial suburbs ...... 12 Source material: The land thombos of the Four Gravets ...... 13 Conceptual framework ...... 15 Methodology ...... 17 Demarcation of research & Structure ...... 18 Chapter I: Buying and owning land in a colonial context: Land policies and the land market in the Four Gravets...... 20 Introduction ...... 20 1.1 VOC policies ...... 21 1.1.1 Colonial policies: India & Batavia ...... 21 1.1.2 VOC policies in Dutch colonial Sri Lanka ...... 24 1.2 The Land Market of the Four Gravets ...... 28 1.2.1 The Four Gravets of Colombo ...... 28 1.2.2 Land transactions in the thombos ...... 33 1.2.3 The general trends ...... 34 1.2.4 The location factor ...... 36 Concluding remarks on Chapter I ...... 41 Chapter II: The Have’s and the Have-Not’s: Landowners in the Four Gravets, ca. 1730-1766 ...... 43 Introduction ...... 43 2.1 Social groups ...... 44 2.1.1 The problem with colonial categories ...... 44 2.1.2 General patterns ...... 45 2.1.3 Moors and Chetties ...... 48 2.1.4 The Dutch/European group ...... 49 2.1.5 The Sinhalese and Tamils ...... 50 2.1.6 Manumitted slaves and ‘others’ as PLHs ...... 53 2.1.7 Concluding remarks on social groups ...... 54 2.2 Gender and Civic state ...... 56

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2.3 Age ...... 63 2.4 Place of residence of the PLH ...... 66 Concluding remarks Chapter 2 ...... 71 Chapter III: Living off the land? Subsistence agriculture and market-oriented agriculture in the Four Gravets ...... 72 Introduction ...... 72 3.1 Subsistence ...... 74 3.2 Plantations ...... 86 3.3 Plantations & Subsistence ...... 97 Concluding remarks Chapter III ...... 99 Conclusions ...... 100 Summary and concluding remarks ...... 100 Further research ...... 101 BIBLIOGRAHPY ...... 103 Works Cited ...... 104 Sources and Source publications ...... 110 APPENDICES ...... 111 Appendix I: Appendix to Chapter I ...... 112 Appendix II: Appendix to Chapter II ...... 118 Appendix III: Appendix to Chapter III ...... 125 Appendix IV: Mapping the Four Gravets ...... 138 Appendix V: Units (Surface areas & Prices) ...... 143 Appendix VI: Folio numbers in the land thombos ...... 144

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Abbreviations

In references A Appendix Ch. Chapter. Esp. Especially. ING Instituut voor Nederlandse Geschiedenis. NL-HaNA Nationaal Archief (The Netherlands, The Hague). NNBW Nieuw Nederlandsch Biografisch Woordenboek. SLNA Sri Lanka National Archives. D-SLNA Database made by Raaijmakers & Piek/Colonialism Inside Out-project from a source from the SLNA.

Other abbreviations Rd Rijksdaalder.

A note on the references

In this thesis, I used land and population registers known as the land and head thombos (SLNA 1/3802 (land) and (D-)SLNA 1/3758 (head)). The easiest way to navigate these documents is through a combination of the name of the village and the identification number of the family group. Whenever I refer to specific people, I use this combination as reference rather than the folio number. In many cases, this reference is more precise (as several people can be registered on the same page). Thus, a reference may look like this: SLNA 1/3802, S. Sebastian 26. This means that the person or family group referred to had identification number 26 within the village S. Sebastian, and that I am referring to a land thombo entry. The identification number can be found in the source itself. Appendix VI includes the folio numbers of the land thombos for readers who prefer those. This Appendix lists the folio number on which the first family head for each village is mentioned, and the last page on which the village is mentioned. As I used a database compiled by others to access the head thombos (Raaijmakers and Piek/D- SLNA 1/3748), I could not supply a similar list for the head thombos. The only exception to this method of referencing appears in Figures 1-3, which depict three specific pages in the thombos, and Appendix V, which refers to specific pages as well. These have been given a folio number, as the pages are referenced rather than specific (groups of) people.

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Introduction

“[…] city versus countryside; European versus non-European; modernization versus traditionalism. These sets of antagonisms dominate in many writings on colonial cities. Ensuing from this, the early modern colonial city in Asia in particular has often been viewed in isolation from its surroundings, as European spots in an Asian tapestry. Consequently, these cities have become detached from their natural surroundings […]” (Raben, Batavia, 1)

Written almost 30 years ago, this statement still holds much truth. The early modern city’s ‘detachment of its natural surroundings’ may be best illustrated by the lack of historical research into the city’s outskirts, the suburbs. Ample attention has been paid to urban and rural environs, but the suburbs, especially colonial ones, are often overlooked. In this thesis, I study the (mid-)eighteenth-century suburbs of Colombo. Using contemporary land registers, I will look into the development of the land market and land use in this area. In this period, Colombo was the capital of the Dutch colony on Sri Lanka. The Dutch Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (Dutch East-India Company, henceforth: VOC) was not the first European power to claim control over parts of the island. The Portuguese had held considerable areas for about 60 years before the king of the indigenous kingdom of Kandy requested the Dutch for assistance in driving out the Portuguese. Attracted by Sri Lanka’s natural stock of exotic trade goods, especially cinnamon and elephants, the VOC agreed. The effort succeeded and by 1658 they had gained control over most of the coastal regions of Sri Lanka. This was not to the liking of the king of Kandy, however, which resulted in a strained relation for considerable periods of the Dutch administration. By 1766, the VOC gained control over the entire coastal area, encircling the kingdom of Kandy, but they would never succeed in conquering the entire island. The Dutch administration in Sri Lanka lasted until 1796, when the English drove the Dutch out (Bulten et al. 53; Raben, Batavia, 20-21, 23; Belt et al. 482; Wickramasinghe 13). Colombo became the capital of Dutch Sri Lanka in 1659 after the VOC had conquered the city in 1656. Within the larger VOC trade empire, it was the second most important city, ranking only after Batavia on Java, which was home to the central VOC government in the East (Raben, Batavia, 5, 21, 23). During the Dutch period, Colombo’s population grew enormously. This population increase did not take place in the Fort of Colombo, or even in the Town itself. The majority of these new inhabitants were to be found in the direct vicinity of the city, namely in the Vier Gravetten (Four Gravets). Counting a mere 2,650 inhabitants in 1683, and 3,397 in 1766 (excluding tenants), an early British census numbered 21,644. This increase was not so much the result of natural population growth or rural-urban migration, as so often seen in Europe, but has been attributed to migration from other parts of Asia to

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Colombo (Raben, Batavia, 103-108). It is this setting in the vicinity of Colombo and witnessing this spectacular population growth, that make the Four Gravets into such an interesting case study of land ownership and land use in colonial suburbs. In studying this case, I tie into three ongoing debates in urban/historical research: debates on the development of various social groups in Sri Lanka, studies into colonial land management (which often focus on British colonies and in Dutch cases on Batavia/Java), and last but not least, studies into suburbs (which all too often focus on nineteenth-century and more modern settings).

Social groups in Sri Lanka The debate surrounding caste groups as/and colonial categories goes back to at least 2005, when Rogers Brubaker and Frederick Cooper wrote a chapter in Colonialism in Question on the concept of identity. They argued that the term ‘identity’ was best avoided, as it has far too many, and often contradictory, definitions (Cooper and Brubaker 59-71). Concerning South- Asia, an important work in this respect is Beyond Caste (2013) by Sumit Guha, who aims to historicize the concept of caste. He argues that it is not possible to find “a single, unified rationale for the internal workings and external relations of each of thousands of ethnic corporate groups”. Instead, he argues that we should consider the society on the Indian sub- continent “like any complex civilization, multi-stranded or polyadic” (Beyond, 1). Like India, Sri Lanka has a caste system that, allowing for changes through time, already existed when European powers invaded the island in the early modern period. As Nira Wickramasinghe pointed out, recent research into social groups in Sri Lanka has been influenced by the twentieth- and twenty-first-century ethnic tensions between Tamils and Sinhalese (xii). In Sri Lanka in the Modern Age she distinguished three trends in scholarship on these groups: “primordialist” scholarship (xiv), that assumes that the divide between Tamil and Sinhalese groups has always existed; the “modernist” approach that argues that these group identities are the result of fairly recent historical developments, especially taking place in the colonial period; and “postmodernist” (xiv) scholarship, that aims at deconstructing identity categories. She further highlights the importance of gender in (political) history and briefly deals with identity as a dynamic concept (xiv-xviii). Although Wickramasinghe writes elaborately on the pre-independence history of Sri Lanka, her work is most prominently focussed on the events in the twentieth- and twenty-first-century. For the Dutch colonial period, Remco Raben has elaborated on various social groups living and interacting in and near Colombo (Raben, Batavia). Taking a different approach, Nirmal Dewasiri also dealt with social groups, focussing on indigenous people in Colombo’s countryside and their socio-economic position. In this way he also described how certain castes rose to a position of power in the Dutch period, which they would retain in the centuries to

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars come (Dewasiri, esp. 82-83, 103-130). Considering the three categories mentioned by Wickramasinghe, Dewasiri seems to fit in the “modernist” approach, although he argues that important processes leading up to developments in the English colonial period (nineteenth and twentieth century), can already be found in the earlier Dutch colonial period. Raben’s dissertation is more difficult to place within Wickramasinghe’s categories, but his recent article on colonial categories in Batavia is of a postmodernist nature. In this article he argues that historians should look beyond the categories provided by the colonial archive and instead read the sources in ways that allow us to gain glimpses of everyday interaction (“Ethnic”, 116, 118). The idea of dynamic or flexible categories, as proposed by Cooper and Brubaker, and Guha, is also being applied to the Dutch colonial period in Sri Lanka (Bulten and Lyna). Classification and development of the various social groups in Sri Lanka is not the central theme in my thesis. Nevertheless, by looking at how several groups participated in the suburban land market and how they used their lands, I will be touching upon this subject in a way somewhat similar to what Dewasiri has done for Colombo’s countryside. The aspect of gender, deemed so important by Wickramasinghe, will also be dealt with.

Colonial land policies The focus of historians studying colonial land policies has for a long time been directed at other countries than Sri Lanka. Much attention has been paid to India, that was governed by the British East India Company (EIC) and the British Crown (e.g. Bhattacharyya; Mukherjee). The topics researched vary and even include a study on land prices (Chaudhuri), which I have not been able to find for any other Asian colonial context. However, these studies are mainly focused on the nineteenth century and seldom look into developments in earlier centuries. When we turn to the historiography of Dutch colonialism in Asia, Java and the city of Batavia have been studied most often. Although ample attention has been paid to nineteenth- century developments, especially regarding the production regime known as the Cultuurstelsel (e.g. Fasseur; Bosma, “Het cultuurstelsel”), it cannot be said that earlier developments have been neglected. Remco Raben has thoroughly studied the development of Batavia as capital of the VOC (Raben, Batavia), while the Ommelanden (Batavia’s direct surroundings) have been discussed in detail by Bondan Kanumoyoso. The latter also examined land grants by the VOC and production regulations (that influenced the way the land was used) (Kanumoyoso). VOC land policies and monopolisation of the coffee production outside Batavia have been studied as well (Breman). In this thesis, I draw on the information available on Batavia and Java in the VOC period to provide a comparative case to Sri Lanka. Dutch colonial rule in Sri Lanka has received less attention, not to mention the land policies and land market, but more and more research is being done recently. Early works were written by S. Arasaratnam and D.A. Kotelawele, who also included policies regarding land

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars ownership and land use in their approach (e.g. Arasaratnam; Kotelawele). Dewasiri was the first to elaborately study social groups and pay attention to their access to landed property (Dewasiri). The most recent research takes a different, though equally interesting approach, focusing on the interaction between local people and the VOC government and its regulations, looking at how people made use of these policies and influenced colonial law-making (e.g. Rupesinghe, Negotiating; Schrikker; Bulten). Although these studies do not always directly relate to land policies, their findings on colonial administration processes and inheritance practices provide valuable insights that could also apply to policies regarding land ownership and land use. By examining land ownership and land use in the Four Gravets of Colombo, I add to existing scholarship by studying an early modern case that is neither British, nor focused on the Dutch centre in Batavia. Furthermore, I do not scrutinise the land policies or policy making as such, but rather the developments they were supposed to influence.

The Four Gravets as colonial suburbs The question as to what defines a suburb has been an academic debate for years. Recent research on the topic points out that no definition exists that suits all scholars working in the field. An important reason for this is the disparity in the meaning of ‘suburb’ through both time and geographical space (May 1-2; Walle 19-20). Various closely related terms have been proposed, such as ruralopolis for the large, very densely populated ‘agrarian’ regions in the twenty-first-century Third World (Qadeer 2) or septic fringe for the unplanned settlements that appeared outside British colonial towns in South-Africa (Home 83). Other possibilities are opting for a relational definition of the region, or using the term peri-urban instead of suburb. (May 1-5; Home 82-83). In the case of Colombo’s Four Gravets, the term peri-urban is the best substitute for ‘suburban’, as “it is neither rural nor urban; it is a zone in transition” (May 2). Historians of the early modern period face yet another problem when dealing with suburbs. Most studies focus on (relatively) modern cases, while earlier developments are rarely studied.1 Still, this does not mean that all research on modern suburbs is useless for research into early-modern city fringes. Mohammed Qadeer, who studies twenty-first-century urbanization, points to the importance of population growth, and therefore a rising population pressure on land (Qadeer 1, 8). Similarly, Robert Home points to growing size of peri-urban settlements caused by natural population growth and rural-urban migration (Home 83). This factor of population increase is also present in Colombo, as the period under consideration in this paper witnessed population growth, albeit through international rather than rural-urban

1 A recent example of a study into pre-modern (Western) suburbs, is the PhD-dissertation of Tinneke Van de Walle on fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Oudenaarde (Belgium). 12

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars migration (Raben, Batavia, 103-108). Similarly, May’s use of a relational definition of suburbs is relevant. She uses it to study processes, rather than a set of characteristics. She also points to capitalistic influences from the city on the suburban real estate market. The difference between the city and its (sub)urban neighbour is in the availability of more and cheaper land in the suburbs, at least until the point that urbanization in these regions really took off2 (May 3). Dewasiri categorised the developments regarding land tenure in Colombo’s countryside the eighteenth century as proto-capitalistic (esp. 169), but one might think that ‘capitalistic influence’ is too strong a term for the eighteenth-century Four Gravets and that it could maybe better be supplanted by ‘colonial influence’. In any case, we are dealing with a region under control of a colonial power that was aiming at making profit from their businesses in the area.

Source material: The land thombos of the Four Gravets In order to answer the questions posed, this thesis uses the so-called land thombos of the Four Gravets of Colombo. These are part of a larger series of thombos, which functioned as a population and land registry, roughly comparable to a modern cadastre. These Dutch thombos are part of a registration tradition that outdates the Dutch occupation. Before any European power set foot on of the island, the indigenous kings had a system of registration called lēkam- miti. When the Portuguese took control of parts of the island, they built onto this Sinhalese system when they constructed their tombos (land registers) and forals (tax lists). Both these pre-Dutch registers already included the (labour) services someone needed to pay to an overlord in exchange for landed property. Sri Lanka knew a service system, named rājakāriya, which was more or less comparable to the European feudal system. In this system, the ‘lord of the land’ (bhupati, in pre-colonial times: the king) owned all the lands and could grant them to others in exchange for services.3 Especially for the Portuguese and the Dutch after them, gaining knowledge of the services their colonial subjects were obliged to perform, was an important motive for composing the t(h)ombos. After the Dutch drove out the Portuguese and set up a colonial government, they continued the Sinhalese-Portuguese tradition and produced the thombos. (Bulten ch. 1; Rupesinghe, Negotiating, 45; Bulten et al 62; Belt et al. 482; Dewasiri 94-95). Although the Dutch already tried to create an updated thombo in the seventeenth century, it took them until the 1740s for the attempts to be successful. The completion of this effort took about seventeen years, which caused the Governor of Ceylon4 to call for a revision once it was finished. Then, after the Dutch-Kandy War (1760-1766), a second series was compiled (Belt et al. 482; Rupesinghe, Negotiating, 47). In this thesis, I use

2 May borrows this definition from earlier research by A. Mace, for her discussion of the definition, see: May 3-5. 3 For a more elaborate discussion on the concept of bhupati and the use the VOC made of it, see: Dewasiri 94-98. 4 Ceylon was the contemporary Dutch name for Sri Lanka. 13

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars the land thombos from this second 1767-1771 series (SLNA 1/3802). Furthermore, I used a database that was recently created in the Colonialism Inside Out-project to access the corresponding head thombos.5 The land thombos are complementary to the head thombos; together, the head and land thombos make up a thombo series.6 The head thombos include information on all members of the family. The first person noted is the head of the family (or Principal Land Holder, see conceptual framework) and all others are recorded according to their relation to this family head. In these family registers we find all kinds of personal information, including age and caste or social group. It also records the service a person was obliged to perform for the VOC. A more elaborate discussion of the head thombos, can be found in Chapter III. The complementary land thombo of a family covers two pages. Fig. 1 and 2 provide an example of the Four Gravets land thombo. The first page notes the family head and the family’s landed property, differentiating between gardens and paddy fields. This page also tells how the property came into a family’s possession and other details of the lands, like location and sometimes size and price. The second page records how many trees were planted in the garden, though this was only done for coconut, jak-fruit7 and areca nut trees. For the paddy fields, the size and the type of taxes that were due to the VOC were noted down. Like any historical, and especially colonial, source, the use of the thombos comes with some questions and issues.8 In the case of the land thombos, it has been suggested that only those with access to land were included, which would be the majority of Sri Lanka’s population at the time (Bulten et al. 63). However, the thombo of the Four Gravets included those without land for at least some villages.9 Nadeera Rupesinghe has noted that it is difficult

5 Raaijmakers, Wouter, and Imre Piek. Colonialism Inside Out-project, Database: Sri Lanka National Archive. Colombo. Records of the Dutch Administration, 1/3758. “The Officers of the General Government - The dissave - The Tombos - The tombo-series of 1766-1771 - “Landraad” Series – “Hoofd” tombos – Colombo Four Gravets. Henceforth: D-SLNA 1/3758. The D refers to the database, as opposed to the scan of the thombo referred to with SLNA 1/3758 in Chapter III. This scan is not part of the database. 6 A third type of thombos did exist. The so-called school thombos, these were parish registers of (protestant) village schools. Although the person composing the school thombos was also involved in drawing up the head and land thombos (Bulten et al. 60-62), the school thombos were not used for this paper and will therefore be left out of the discussion. 7 The word used in the thombos is zoorzak, which would translate to soursop in English; however, both Dewasiri and Rupesinghe refer to jak-fruit (neither spells it as jack-fruit) being registered in the thombos rather than soursop (e.g. Dewasiri 13; Rupesinghe, Negotiating, 131). 8 Apart from the issues mentioned in the text, some others have been raised: The register was drawn up by a colonial government and there are records of protests against this practice by indigenous people, especially, but not exclusively, in the Galle region (Rupesinghe, Negotiating, 49). Moreover, it is known that some people tried to have their caste or service changed at the registration in the school thombos, to profit from a higher status or a lighter service obligation (Bulten et al. 61). 9 The majority of Sri Lanka’s population at the time owned land. Only registering the landholder would mean that the few landless people would then be excluded (Bulten et al. 63). For the Four Gravets, it seems that thombo includes those without land, at least for some villages. In some cases, the entry read ‘heeft geen bezittingen’ (‘holds no possessions’) (For instance, SLNA 1/3802, S. Sebastian 6). If a 14

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars to use the head thombos as a population census. She has several reasons to state that, but the most important for this study concerns the repetition of names in the register. She stated that almost ten percent of the names occurred twice (or more). Rupesinghe also states that it is difficult to eliminate those doubles, but may be possible when the data are computerised (Rupesinghe, Negotiating, 125-128). Something similar is possible in the land thombos, when people hold land in two villages in the Four Gravets. In that case, they feature as two family heads, instead of one. It was not within the time scope of this study to exhaustively search for and eliminate/connect those doubles, therefore, one has to keep in mind that there may be a slight overestimation of the numbers of landholders and family members. Despite the issues one encounters, there are reasons to use the thombos for historical research. Previous studies have shown that indigenous people were well aware of the importance of a good thombo registration. After all, these registers were used in court to settle land disputes. It was therefore important to have one’s property registered correctly, as the entry in the thombo safeguarded one’s property rights and would enable a procedure against greedy neighbours, chiefs or even family members (Rupesinghe, Negotiating, 48-50; Bulten et al. 61, 63). Furthermore, there are strong indications that indigenous people themselves exerted influence over their registration in the thombo, rather than just being passive objects of a registration by the colonial government (Bulten and Lyna). As such, the thombos provide a unique source for socio-economic historical research into (indigenous) people under a colonial government in the early modern period.

[Figure 1 has been removed]

Fig. 1: A page from the land thombo of S. Sebastian in the Four Gravets of Colombo. This page shows us the entry of the family head Isabella d'Zilva (1). It contains personal information on d'Zilva and describes three gardens and three sowing fields in possession of her family. Furthermore, a note is included that d’Zilva possessed lands outside S. Sebastian (and the Four Gravets). The start of the second entry (2. Gardieralelage Joan Alvis) is also visible. (Source: SLNA 1/3802, f. 1v).

[Figure 2 has been removed]

Fig. 2: The second page of the land thombo, complementary to the one shown in Fig. 1. It tells us the number of coconut, jak-fruit, and areca nut trees in each of d’Zilva’s gardens and describes the size of her sowing fields. It also contains information on the possession of the second owner that was visible on the page in Fig. 1. (Source: SLNA 1/3802 f.2r).

Conceptual framework Some recurring terms and their use need further explanation, which will be provided in this section for the terms: land market, Principal Landholder (PLH), and Owner of Once Transacted Land(s) and Owner of Non-Transacted Land(s) (OTL and ONTL).

person had no possession in the village where he/she lived, but did have them elsewhere, this was also noted (For instance, SLNA 1/3802, Maradana 21). 15

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Land market

The term ‘land market’ will be used to refer to the buying and selling of land. In this, I follow the definition of Binay Bhushan Chauduri, who used the term to refer to “the sales and purchases of estates, and the intercourse between buyers and sellers that such transactions necessitated” (39). The focus of this paper, however, will only be on the buyers on the land market. Chauduri studied (forced) auction sales of property, as there was no information available on private transaction (5). Through the thombos, I do have information on both private sales and auction purchases, although no distinction will be made between the two types of sales, as that would result in too small sample sizes.

Principal Landholder (PLH)

Dewasiri introduced the concept of Principal Landholder (henceforward: PLH) to indicate the person at the top of a family group in the head thombos. This is also the person that is mentioned in the land thombos. He states that the PLH was usually the senior male of the family group, or his widow. This position was a legal one, as the PLH did not need to be the (only) cultivator of the plot of land. The members of the family group noted down in the head thombos, called PLH group by Dewasiri, all had a share in the property or lived on the lands (Dewasiri 13, 81, 82). This might seem like a relatively straightforward definition, but Rupesinghe has criticised Dewasiri’s proposition regarding the PLH’s (legal) position. She points out that there is no evidence that the PLH had claims to all the property, or held any special rights, for that matter. She even encounters court cases over landed property involving members of the PLH-group that do not feature the PLH (Rupesinghe, “Defining”, 147). To further complicate matters, the land thombos of the Four Gravets record (un)married (not widowed) women and even children below the age of 10 as PLHs (e.g. SLNA 1/3802, Kochchikada 34, S. Sebastian 19). Here, I use to term PLH to refer to the person mentioned in the land thombo and at the top of the family group listed in the head thombo, regardless of age, gender or other qualifications mentioned.

Owner of Once Transacted Land(s) and Owner of Non-Transacted Land(s) (OTL and ONTL)

OTL and ONTL are abbreviations for Owner of Once Transacted Land(s) and Owner of Non- Transacted Land(s). If lands registered under a PLH were at some point bought, the thombo record includes information on the size of the garden, the price paid for it and the date of the transaction. The PLH, however, is not necessarily the person that bought the property; this can

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars also have been a family member, or a late relative. Therefore, I do not use the term buyer (and non-buyer), as the PLHs whose information is provided by the land thombos are not always the actual buyers of the plot. Instead, I choose to use the terms OTL and ONTL. The term OTL is used to refer to those PLHs who have registered under their name lands that at some point were acquired through a purchase by someone. ONTLs, however, were not necessarily landless (although the few landless people that were registered in the thombos, are included in this group), but often held lands they had acquired through inheritance, gifts, or as compensation for (caste-related) labour and services. We cannot denounce these people as non-owners or tenants, because these people could still ‘own’ land through the service system. From a modern, Western perspective, it might be difficult to understand how any type of land ownership could exist in a system such as the rājakāriya system, with a ‘lord of the land’ owning all the land in the country (in theory). However, Sumit Guha has pointed out that under similar conditions “secure titles and an active land market in various rights” (“Property”, 15) did exist in England in the past, and that even nowadays most people cannot make unrestricted use of their property, as there are all kinds of government regulations determining what type of buildings or commerce are allowed in a certain area (“Property”, 14-15). In pre-colonial times in Sri Lanka, the king was considered the ‘lord of the land’ within the rājakāriya system. Once the VOC had defeated the Portuguese, it took over this system and declared itself to be the ‘lord of the land’ (Dewasiri 94-95).10 Part of this feudal-like system were the so-called paravēni lands. These were ancestral lands that were passed on within the family. These could be subject to a service (service paravēnis), but these services (and therefore the land attached to it) were inheritable. As long as the heirs preformed the service, they could access the land (even if the original owner had died). People who possessed service paravēnis were also responsible for the cultivation of the land (Dewasiri 79-81, 89-90). As these land were heritable and meant to be cultivated by the family who was responsible for the service, we can consider these lands as ‘owned property’.11 Therefore, it is not possible to use the term ‘owner’ to indicate someone who has access to landed property that was bought.

Methodology Methodologically, this thesis fits into the spatial turn. This ‘turn’ in humanities research took place at the beginning of this century and meant that historians and other humanity scholars took a new interest in the spatial, geographical, aspects of their subjects (Doorn). Recently, Don DeBats et al. have defined spatial history as “encompass[ing] the array of technological

10 For information on the Portuguese period, see: Serrão 183-195 11 For a more elaborate discussion of the various types of land tenure in pre-colonial and Dutch Sri Lanka, see: Dewasiri, ch. 4. 17

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars and methodological innovations that have revolutionized the relationship between geographical information and historical research” (1). One of these innovations, is the use of digital Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (DeBats et al. 1), software that enables the user to present information from a database on a map. The use of maps in history is not necessarily new, but GIS-software offers a range of analytical tools to the researcher (Schuurman and Boonstra 12-15). Onno Boonstra and Anton Schuurman have defined various uses of GIS in history, that range from visualising research results to reconstructing geographical data and objects (Boonstra and Schuurman 20-34). In this paper, I have used GIS both as a way to visualise research results and to analyse the source material for spatial patterns. Although GIS offers all kinds of analytical tools, I did not apply these, simply because the historical maps that are available do not yet allow for such detailed analysis. As others have noted before (Boonstra and Schuurman 35-36; Doorn), GIS does not deal well with historical uncertainties and using the analytical tools in the program (e.g. for measuring distances or densities) would in this case create results that look more certain than they in fact are. Instead, I visualised the data on the map and studied the patterns that emerged on the map.12 It is not (yet) possible to map the information from the land thombos on household level. Therefore, the information has been aggregated on village level. In some sections I have included data from the head thombos of the Four Gravets, by linking the data from the head thombos database (D-SLNA 1/3758) to the information from the land thombos.

Demarcation of research & Structure The focus of this thesis on the developments on the land market and land use will be on the period 1732-1766, for which most data are available, although occasionally references will be made to earlier years. The land thombos were composed in the years 1766-67. In temporal analysis, I do not discuss 1767, as not all transactions of that year were yet incorporated. The same could be said for 1766, but even with missing transactions, so many were available that it would be a loss not to include the year 1766. When discussing general patterns, for instance in the ratio between ONTLs and OTLs, all transactions available were included. Furthermore, the focus of this thesis is on gardens only and thus excludes paddy fields, because too few of the last are mentioned in the land thombos of the Four Gravets. This thesis consists of three chapters, each dealing with another aspect of landownership and land use in the Four Gravets. The first chapter will scrutinise the market for buying lands in the area. It will deal with VOC policies regarding land and landownership, and will show how land prices and garden sizes developed. Once this general trend is clear,

12 For an account of the way the villages were located, see Appendix IV. 18

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars the second chapter dives into the various social groups that were active on the land market. This chapter aims to uncover how various communities behaved on the land market and will show that the role of women should not be underestimated. Finally, the last chapter examines how people used their lands, shedding light on both subsistence levels and early market- oriented agriculture. Combined, these chapters provide an insight into land use and land ownership in the colonial suburbs of Colombo.

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Chapter I: Buying and owning land in a colonial context: Land policies and the land market in the Four Gravets

Introduction Until 1740, the basis of the VOC economy on the island was in the export of exotic products, most importantly cinnamon. However, in the second half of the eighteenth century their focus changed to gaining profit by collecting land revenue and taxes, which came with an increasing bureaucratisation (Bulten, ch. 1; Belt et al. 482). In this chapter, the Four Gravets of Colombo are presented as a case study to show how a land market functioned in the suburbs of a colonial city in the early modern period. As of yet, little is known of the land market and land policies near Colombo, but the Dutch land management strategies in Java have long been a subject of academic research. At the time of VOC rule in Sri Lanka, Batavia, nowadays known as Jakarta, functioned as the Asian capital of the VOC network. This city has therefore received ample attention in academic research and information is available on the VOC land policies in Batavia. In this chapter, Java will be used as a comparative case for the Colombo case study. In order to provide a proper overview of how the suburban Colombo land market functioned, the first paragraph will start with considering the available knowledge on colonial land management in general and on Java and near Batavia specifically before elaborating on the land policies on Sri Lanka. In the next section, the movements of the land market will be scrutinized using the thombo registers of 1766-1767. These registers provide information on about 430 land sales in the Four Gravets that took place between 1688 and 1767. While the majority of the data concerns the period after 1750, the thombos could possibly still provide information on earlier developments. By looking into Colombo’s land market and the VOC land policies in Sri Lanka, I aim to provide insights in the functioning and effects of VOC (land) policies outside its (political) centre Batavia, as well as to broaden existing knowledge on land management by a colonial power in a pre-nineteenth-century suburban setting.

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1.1 VOC policies

1.1.1 Colonial policies: India & Batavia Studying the area surrounding Madras, India, David Washbrook introduced the idea of a colonial transition. Although he does not very clearly define this term, he refers to the gradual process through which the British EIC gained far-reaching, but not all-encompassing, control over Madras. He relates this process to many local and non-local factors and emphasizes that the outcome should not be seen as the inevitable result of these factors (Washbrook 487-490, 492-93). As will become clear below, three factors and developments he mentions are of special interest to this study: the EIC’s claim of retaining local tradition, and the importance of knowledge of the practices of the Other (and hence the leverage that this gave to those who could provide this knowledge) (Washbrook 487, 490-94). The third factor he refers to a transition in the means of gaining profit. Washbrook states that a situation was created “[…] in which ‘profit’ would be sought much more readily through the pursuit of ‘rent’ than through the expansion of production” (508). Other scholars working on India mention features of the EIC government that seem to fit in with Washbrook’s theory. Debjani Bhattacharyya refers to the EIC aiming at revenue generation by regulating the urban property market and states that regulating the land market also served “the administrative purpose of governing native populations through spatial control” (1067). Thirthankar Roy puts it more strongly, stating that the land market was a tool for the EIC to subdue the local powers and to neutralize intermediaries (Roy, 39, 46, 43). This colonial transition that Washbrook distinguishes was not unique to India or the EIC. Alicia Schrikker has used it to describe the transition from Company-run to state-run country in Sri Lanka between 1780 and 1815, while also briefly discussing the situation in Java (Schrikker 3-7). She writes that “policymakers on the spot were increasingly involved in the exploitation of the interior and expanding further to the peripheral regions which lay a basis for the colonial exploitation systems of the nineteenth century” (4). In order to see how this transition worked in a slightly earlier period in a suburban environment, I draw upon the Ommelanden (surroundings) of Batavia and the coffee monopoly that the VOC installed in Java’s rural areas as comparative cases for the Four Gravets, before discussing VOC policies in Sri Lanka.

In the early seventeenth century, the VOC decided that it needed a centre in the area where it pursued its business interests. In doing this, the Company followed earlier Portuguese and Spanish examples. This Asian capital of its business empire would not only be inhabited by an Asian population, but would also be home to European, and specifically Dutch, settlers. After some deliberation, the Company intended on settling in the area near Jakarta, which they

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars captured after a short conflict with the local population. The already existing city, Jakarta, was burnt to the ground to make way for the plans of the VOC directors (Raben, Batavia, 10-11). Dutch settlement on Java offers two comparative cases for this study on Sri Lanka: Batavia’s direct surroundings (the Ommelanden), and the VOC coffee monopoly. The best comparison can be made with the Ommelanden. Even though the developments in Batavia’s surroundings as described by Raben and Kanumoyoso mainly took place in the seventeenth century, there are important similarities with the Colombo case. Apart from the suburban environment, the VOC could start collecting tolls and taxes after conquering Batavian and Sri Lankan territories. The land surrounding Batavia, held no traces of any earlier habitation when occupied by the Dutch, due to the war that had preceded VOC occupation. As the VOC saw itself as the rightful owner of the land, as it would in Sri Lanka, it began granting lands outside the city gates to anyone who showed an interest in starting an agricultural enterprise. However, these land grants were lacking a systematic approach, which led to an irregular pattern of plots that was still visible in the early eighteenth century. In the earliest period, lands were granted in fief; however, from 1629 onwards transferring land grants became possible and in the years after a peace treaty with Banten (1684) citizens were allowed to purchase lands in the Ommelanden (Raben, Batavia, 10, 17, 58; Kanumoyoso 81, 94, 95). In time, this lack of policy in land grants and the increasing demand for lands became a source of conflicts between landowners. In order to deal with these conflicts, Batavia instituted the so-called Heemraden, which were charged with solving the conflicts and sanctioning all land transfers, among other tasks.13 Proprietors near Batavia ought to have a deed of ownership of their lands and every sale had to be announced to the Heemraden (Kanumoyoso 89, 91, 106; Raben, Batavia, 61). Still, as Raben points out, the Heemraden “had great difficulties in bringing some order to the issue of land. Until late in the eighteenth century, land surveys continued to leave a lot to be desired” (Raben, Batavia, 61). It seems that these Heemraden had a Sri Lankan counterpart in the Landraden that were installed in the 1740s and were charged with similar tasks. The biggest landowners in Batavia’s surroundings were high ranking European VOC- officials and burghers, or their widows. They mostly settled near the city, near rivers and canals, whereas the smaller plots of the Mardijkers and Chinese owners were located on river and canal banks further from the city. Javanese headmen were granted lands in fief that were generally located furthest from the city. Most Javanese of lower status probably acquired land ‘illegally’, by just settling on unclaimed lands. Official landowners enjoyed an enormous power over the tenants that were located on their property. They both had a right to shares of

13 Apart from these duties, the work of the Heemraden also included supervision of the public works and ensuring public security in Batavia’s hinterlands (Kanumoyoso 89-91). 22

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars the crops and held judicial powers, letting them deal with the maintaining of order on their own grounds. Although this caused power abuse by the owner over his/her tenants, it took the colonial government until 1806 to diminish the landowners’ power (Raben, Batavia, 61; Kanumoyoso 80, 94, 96-97). The land price in Batavia’s surroundings was determined, according to Kanumoyoso’s research, by its location (proximity to the city, rivers or canals) and the land’s fertility (Kanumoyoso 105). Fertile lands had to be “suitable for paddy fields or sugar cane plantations” (Kanumoyoso 105). However, Raben points out that the land market that existed in this area was by no means a free market. He states that rising prices in the inner city of Batavia forced many poor people out, as did legislation, such as laws expelling certain ethnic groups from the city (Raben, Batavia, 59, 61). This is especially important to keep in mind since similar mechanisms were at work in the Four Gravets (Raben, Batavia, 184, 187-188). With the development of the Ommelanden, the VOC aimed to ensure a proper food supply for both the city and the ships that called at its port. This meant that some lands were used as pasture ground in addition to the ploughing fields that could be found in the area. However, as Kanumoyoso points out, the production of paddy and sugar cane were the most important features of this region. By the middle of the seventeenth century the paddy fields had become so successful that it became profitable to levy a paddy-tax.14 As sugar was a profitable export product, the VOC soon set out to monopolise it. When too much sugar was produced and the VOC feared that prices at the market would become too low as a result, they decreased the payments to the sugar producers (Kanumoyoso 101-102; 141-142).15 The second comparative case can be found in the VOC coffee monopoly, a production regime that the Company installed after having gained control of Java.16 A first, superficial similarity with the VOC settlement on Sri Lanka can be spotted already: the Company was primarily interested in the provision of valuable export products, albeit cinnamon and elephants instead of coffee. With the coffee monopoly, the VOC started to interfere in the production process in the Java regions under its control and forced the local population, especially the peasants in the Preanger, to grow coffee for the Company. The VOC even reasoned that it had to right to decide if new trees had to be planted or old trees be destroyed, for, in their vision, the peasant did not own the land he/she worked on. The peasant only worked on the land for the VOC (Breman 69, 70, 76). Furthermore, part of this scheme were several (successful) attempts to lower the prices that producers were to receive for the coffee delivered, while at the same time increasing the production. According to Breman, this increasing demand was part of a change in the business

14 For more information on land use in the Ommelanden, see: Kanumoyoso 101-105. 15 For more information on the VOC’s sugar production and policies, see: Kanumoyoso 126-163. 16 For an elaborate discussion of this subject, see: Breman, especially chapter 3: Breman 65-104. 23

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars pursued by the Company. He states that in the first decades of the eighteenth century, the VOC turned its attention to bulk goods that could be sold for profit at the European market, instead of high-priced quality products for the Asian market it had focussed on before (Breman 70, 72, 74-75, 87-88). In executing these plans, the VOC depended on local officials. The Company was well aware of this and even deemed it necessary; however, that did not mean that the Dutch trusted the officials they were forced to rely on. In time, Dutch officials were appointed to keep track of these local officials (Breman 71, 88-92).

With regard to the colonial transition, it is clear that the VOC extracted revenue from its peasants and that the landholders in the Ommelanden held similar rights over their tenants. At the same time, however, the coffee monopoly was meant to increase production. Another similarity lies in the VOC claiming to follow local customs in their method of claiming and managing land in both the Ommelanden and in the coffee monopoly. In doing this, especially in the Preanger, they relied heavily on the knowledge of these local customs that existed among the local elites which put those in powerful positions. The VOC recognized this, but thought it necessary and abandoned attempts to curtail the power of these elites. Although similarities can be found between the VOC policies on Java and Sri Lanka, there are also some clear differences in the way the VOC managed its Sri Lankan ‘possessions’. This will become clear in the following section.

1.1.2 VOC policies in Dutch colonial Sri Lanka When the VOC came into possession of the maritime regions of Sri Lanka, the Company assumed the role of ‘lord of the land’.17 As Dewasiri points out, the VOC interpreted this practice in such a way that they were entitled to a share in the peasants’ production, including labour and money. As they saw themselves as the chief proprietor of all the lands under their jurisdiction, the practice also enabled them to claim lands as their own possession when these could not convincingly be claimed by someone else, as well as to claim and control important resources and trade commodities, such as cinnamon and elephants. During the VOC period a land market existed on the island, which was instigated by the sales of Company grounds, according to Dewasiri (3-4, 85, 88, 94, 96-97). Nevertheless, research on the Portuguese colonial period has shown that the Portuguese policies unintentionally led to the onset of a market in landed property by the island’s aristocracy from the 1620s onwards. Until then almost nothing like that had existed in Sri Lanka (Serrão 192)18.

17 See the introduction for an elaboration on this concept. 18 Earlier transactions can be found in the Dutch thombos of the Hinagam corle (Colombo dissavony), which were put into a database by Albert van den Belt. In the village Pillekottoewe, the thombo clerks registered a garden and four sowing fields owned by a man called Don Siman Wejesoendere Senewiratne. According to the 1767 thombo entry, all of these lands were bought by Senewiratne’s 24

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Some more information on the Dutch land market can be found in a 1985 article by Arasaratnam and Luc Bulten’s forthcoming PhD dissertation. In the eighteenth century, an increase can be seen in both government auctions and private sales of land. These auctions of state lands provided a source of income for the Dutch government and due to a high demand for such lands, the land prices rose. As land found to be without an owner were sold on auction, this also provided a means to start cultivation on uncultivated lands, and even to disperse people from densely populated areas. The private sales often occurred in secret, in underhand transactions, which led the VOC to stipulate regulations on private sales of land (Arasaratnam 50; Bulten ch. 1). The policies and processes that influenced the land market in Sri Lanka are closely intertwined, but can be roughly described as policies regarding land tenure, policies regarding produce and an increasing bureaucratisation to ensure the implementation of these regulations. These close links are visible in Arasaratnam’s article. He states that in the seventeenth century the VOC granted lands to ensure the loyalty of Sinhalese families. This practice continued for about 30 years. However, after the 1690s, facing labour shortage, the Company no longer wanted to depend on Sinhalese officials for knowledge on labour services connected to the land. This was one reason for compiling the thombo registers, which are part of the increasing bureaucratisation that will be discussed below. At the same time, the VOC still depended on the Sinhalese for the production of cash crops for the international market (Arasaratnam 41- 44). Similarly, Dewasiri describes how the Company changed tactics in the second half of the 1730s by moving from granting entire villages to local chiefs, to granting a specific amount of land revenue as the former practice had been harmful to the VOC’s interests (Dewasiri 89). In the 1750s, the VOC proclaimed land tenure regulations aimed at reclaiming the cinnamon lands that were in possession of the inhabitants. A change occurred from service tenure lands, which could not be sold by the holder, to a pattern of freeholdings, which could be alienated by the holder (Kotelawele 23-24). It seems safe to say that this facilitated the sale of lands. As Bulten points out, the policies adhered to by the VOC, and the changes in these measures, depended on the mindset of the ruling governor and also on the orders of the higher VOC government in Batavia (Bulten ch. 1). The attention of the VOC regarding the garden production mostly went to those crops in which the Company had an interest; cash crops like cinnamon, pepper and coffee, which

great-grandfather in 1503. This date, however, seems unlikely. (Belt, Albert van den. Database: Sri Lanka National Archive. Colombo. Records of the Dutch Administration, 1/3860-3861. “The Officers of the General Government - The dissave - The Tombos - The tombo-series of 1766-1771 - “Tombohouder” Series - Land tombos – Siyane Korale – Meda pattuwa. In 2 divisions.” & Sri Lanka National Archive. Colombo. Records of the Dutch Administration, 1/3776. “The Officers of the General Government - The dissave - The Tombos - The tombo-series of 1766-1771 - “Landraad” Series - Land tombos – Siyane Korale – Meda pattuwa.)

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars could be exported to the international market. Their policies can be called paradoxical at best. While encouraging and controlling the production, the Company also tried to gain a monopoly in the trade in many of these crops (Kotelawele 5-6, 12-13). Illustrative of the effect of these measures is the downfall of the areca nut production in the seventeenth century. After initial decent prices in the international market, the VOC monopoly caused the prices to drop to a level that proved too low to even profitably harvest the crop. In the eighteenth century the regulations regarding other crops followed a similar pattern. (Arasaratnam 49-50). Another paradox is signalled by Dewasiri, who states that although the Company encouraged the production of cash crops in gardens, it did not allow chenas19 to be turned into said gardens. Nevertheless, he notes a growing importance of gardens in production of crops (Dewasiri 47- 48, 54). An important aspect of the VOC land policies on Sri Lanka were the thombo registers. A mix of economic, judicial and political motives incensed the VOC to increase its registration of people and property. With the income from export decreasing, the VOC found a new source of income in land revenue and taxes, which led to an interest in gathering information on the services and taxes that were due to them and in reclaiming lands that were previously lost to them. The thombos were meant to register landowners and the services they were obliged to perform, but also served to aid in solving land conflicts. Furthermore, the bureaucratisation process was also a means to diminish the dependence of the VOC on local chiefs and hence to curtail their political power. It almost goes without saying that several groups tried to influence the registration process to their own benefit (Kotelawele 26, 29, 32; Bulten ch. 1). Another feature of bureaucratisation was the institution of the Landraden (Land Councils) in the 1740s, institutions that show some similarity with the Batavian Heemraden. The Sri Lankan variant was responsible for the compilation and maintenance of the thombos; however, its duties went further than that. The Landraad also functioned as a local court, which had to deal with all kinds of conflicts that arose around landed possessions, and had to keep an eye on the Company’s interests in the areas under its jurisdiction. This judicial power of the Landraad of Colombo was not limited to the city and its surroundings, but stretched into the hinterlands as well. The council consisted of both European VOC officials and indigenous headmen; however, one of the aims at instituting the Landraad had been to contain the power of these headmen, who, before, had had a considerable and unchecked say in judicial procedures (Rupesinghe, “Defining”, 144-145; Bulten ch. 1). As such, it seems that the VOC in Sri Lanka was more determined to limit the power of indigenous headman than in Batavia.

19 Chena: area cultivated by slash-and-burn agriculture (Dewasiri 18). 26

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

When comparing the various land policies and their effects on Sri Lanka and Java, both similarities and differences come to light. There was an economic interest woven into all the policies applied, and both the coffee monopoly in the Preanger and the bureaucratisation in Sri Lanka originated from a changing business strategy, that might be characterised as a colonial transition as Washbrook and Schrikker distinguished. On Java this resulted in a monopoly on coffee, whereas on Sri Lanka, the monopolised good was cinnamon. The VOC justified its actions by claiming a sovereign right that allegedly gave them power over the people and lands under their jurisdiction, which was a feature they claimed to base on local tradition. Furthermore, there seems to be a similarity in the tasks and aims of the Heemraden that were instituted in the Ommelanden of Batavia and in the Landraden that came into being in the 1740s in Sri Lanka. An important difference between the colonies can be pointed out as well. Although previously wishing differently, the colonial rulers in Batavia seem to have put a smaller effort in containing the power of local chiefs, whereas in Sri Lanka, an important aim of the bureaucratisation and the institution of the Landraden was to limit the influence the local headmen previously enjoyed in the administration and judicial processes. Finally, both in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Batavia and Colombo the VOC pursued segregation policies, banishing indigenous people from the fortified towns.

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1.2 The Land Market of the Four Gravets

1.2.1 The Four Gravets of Colombo When the VOC captured Colombo from the Portuguese in 1656, they came in the possession of a city in state of disrepair through siege. Although there were ambitious plans to restore the entire walled area, in the end only the Portuguese fort itself was restored. This area is called het Casteel (the Castle) in the thombos, and the neighbourhood is nowadays still known as Fort. Outside Colombo Fort, in the remains of the larger Portuguese defences, a residential area (re)developed, that was indicated as the Oude Stad (Old Town) in the thombos. At present, this area goes by the name of Pettah (Raben, Batavia, 20, 23-24, 27, 29, 33).20 (See also Map I.1). Each of the large cities in Dutch Sri Lanka were surrounded by a semi-urban semi- agrarian area known as the Four Gravets (Hovy 1: lxxxvi). Through segregation policies, the VOC tried to make the Fort and Old Town of Colombo exclusively European, which resulted into the appearance of suburbs outside the old city boundaries. These were inhabited by people from Sinhalese, Moors, Tamil and South-Indian (Chetties) descent. The quarters of the Moors and the Chetties, two large social groups, could be found outside the city, but were also separated from one and other (Raben, Batavia, 31, 70, 188). In the eighteenth century, the VOC slowly let go of its desire to segregate the several foreign Asian groups present in the region of Colombo. In 1746, the Company also discontinued a ban on Moors owning lands, which enabled them to become the largest group of landholders in the Four Gravets. The rise of this group as landholders marked a change in the initial division of lands in the Four Gravets. According to Raben, the VOC and other Europeans started off as the largest landholding group, but gradually Moors, Chetties, and to a lesser extent Sinhalese took over as landholders in the area. Only near the administrative centre Hultsdorp, the location of the Landraad, many landholders were still European Company servants, burghers and Asian free burghers (Raben, Batavia, 69-70, 188, 190). The coastal area stretching from Negombo to Panadura, where Colombo is also situated, and the Four Gravets themselves have been described as densely populated (Dewasiri 22; Raben, Batavia, 72). Raben reckons that there was no structured settlement pattern in the Four Gravets and even states that borders between the villages and their fields could not be discerned (Batavia, 70, 72). Economically, the coastal region of this part of Sri Lanka became less concerned with agriculture, and also centred around new economic activities that were to provide for the urban centres, of which Colombo must have been one. These activities included

20 For a more elaborate history of the construction of Dutch Colombo, see: Raben, Batavia, 20-33. 28

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars coconut and cinnamon plantations, but also construction works and other services that were needed near a city (Dewasiri 22).21 Although the term ‘Four Gravets’ features often in contemporary sources and modern academic literature,22 the exact delineations are hardly ever defined. For this study, I drew the borders of the area as indicated with the green line in Map I.1. For the reasoning behind this choice, see Appendix IV.

21 Dewasiri later discerns three regional sub-formation in the Colombo region, the interior and coastal formations and the Colombo Four Gravets-formation; however, this is based on the distribution pattern of different castes (Dewasiri 144). Therefore, his remarks on the economy of the coastal area earlier seems also applicable to the Four Gravets. 22 For example: Nationaal Archief. Den Haag. Verzameling Buitenlandse Kaarten Leupe, number entry 4.VEL, number inventory 953, http://proxy.handle.net/10648/0f496dcf-84cd-56ae-24a6-42d8e3f2f7c2. Accessed 4 May 2020. Hovy 2: 487-489; Dewasiri 141-142. The map mentioned is the one presented as ‘background map’ in all the maps in this thesis and will henceforth be referred to as: NL-HaNA 4.VEL953 29

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Map I.1: The Boundaries of the Four Gravets (Source: NL-HaNA 4.VEL.953; SLNA 1/3802; Raben, Batavia, 53)

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The land thombos of the Four Gravets record information on eleven villages. The head thombos appear to have included three more villages (Raben, Batavia, 192).23 The settlements mentioned in the land thombos are indicated in Map I.2:

▪ S. Sebastian ▪ Maradana ▪ Dematagoda ▪ Ketawalamulla ▪ Keselwata ▪ Weg naar Goudenstein ▪ Javaanse Straat ▪ Zilversmidstraten ▪ Kotahena ▪ Kochchikada and Chekku street (henceforth: Kochchikada) ▪ Hultsdorf24

Sadly, the land thombos for Mattakuliya, Lunupokuna, and Mutwal appear to be missing, while their head thombos have survived. These villages were small, inhabited by nine, thirteen, and thirty-two people, 25 respectively (Raben, Batavia, 192). Their numbers would probably not significantly alter the results presented below.26 Another conspicuously absent geographical entity is Slave Island, which housed the Company slaves and military personal from Malay and Javanese descent (Paranavitana). Although the term “Slaven Eijlandt” can be found in the land thombos as the residence of some of the land holders in the Four Gravets (SLNA 1/3802, Maradana 68, 69), the situation on the island itself is not described in any of the registers.

23 See also: Raaijmakers, Wouter, and Imre Piek. Colonialism Inside Out-project, Database: Sri Lanka National Archive. Colombo. Records of the Dutch Administration, 1/3758. “The Officers of the General Government - The dissave - The Tombos - The tombo-series of 1766-1771 - “Landraad” Series – “Hoofd” tombos – Colombo Four Gravets. 24 For the sake of briefness, I decided not to use the exact names as given in the thombos, but chose (a name close to) the present-day name, when available. Exceptions are: Weg naar Goudenstein, Javaanse Straat, and Zilversmidstraten. The first and the second were rather difficult to locate. So, to prevent misunderstandings via the use of present-day street names, I decided to hold on to the Dutch name given in the thombos. The Zilversmidstraten could be located, but I was only sure about one street (while the plural ‘straten’ suggests that there were more than one). In all three cases an English translation from the Dutch names seemed awkward. For more information on how I located the settlements on the maps, see the second section of Appendix IV. 25 The number of heads of households in these villages was: two heads, two heads and five heads of household, respectively (Raben, Batavia, 192). 26 A small remark can be made on the chiando, a caste group, present in the registers: most of them (six heads of household, thirty-nine people) lived in these three missing villages. This does not change the fact that they were a very small group. Only eleven people of this group, of whom two heads of households can be found in the other villages (Raben, Batavia, 192). 31

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Map I.2: The villages in the land thombos of the Four Gravets (Source: NL-HaNA 4.VEL.953; SLNA 1/3802).

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1.2.2 Land transactions in the thombos The earliest land transaction that was found in the thombos of the Four Gravets, concerned a plot of 405 square roeden27 in Kotahena. It was bought in 1688 by a man named Don Lasarus for 40 rijksdaalder (Dutch rix dollar), and via his daughter’s marriage28 it came into possession of another man, Anthonij Salgadoe. In 1761, he bequeathed it to their daughter, Jebel Salgadoe. By the time the thombo was drawn up, she was the widow of a chiando man and lived in Lunupokuna, while still being the PLH of this plot in Kotahena (SLNA 1/3802, Kotahena 18). The thombos provide a wealth of information on social, economic and demographic developments in Dutch Sri Lanka; amongst others, they contain the details of about 430 land transactions that took place between 1688 and 1767 in the Four Gravets of Colombo. The entry discussed above is typical for many descriptions on transacted land in the registers, which generally include the date the land was sold, the price it sold for and its measurements. Furthermore, these entries contain information on the owners and on how the land came into their possession. With regard to this last aspect, the entry mentioned above is rather specific, as in many cases only the latest transaction seems to be recorded. The example above points out some things one has to keep in mind when dealing with these data, and when discussing the land market and its buyers. First, when only one transaction is mentioned in the entry, it is not safe to assume that that indicates a first-time sale of the property. Certainly when dealing with lands sold in the 1760s, it is unrealistic to assume that in all these cases no earlier transactions took place. Moreover, as the example clearly shows, the mentioned PLH in the thombo did not necessarily buy the land. As explained in the introduction, I will refer to these people as Owners of once Transacted Land (OTL) and I will attach the information available on the current PLH to the piece of land. Nevertheless, it is not necessarily problematic that Jebel Salgadoe was not the actual buyer of the land she possessed. The entry still shows that she and her relatives could afford to (or maybe, were forced to) own bought land. Up until the moment of registration they had not needed (or had not been in the position) to sell the land to others. In short, the fact that this widow was the PLH of this land still tells us something about the socio-economic position of her family. The discussion below focusses on these OTLs.

27 405 square roeden is a little more than 5748 m2 (a football field is about 7000 m2). For the conversion from square roeden and other eighteenth-century units to square metres, see Appendix V. 28 This is not stated explicitly. The entry, however, tells us that Don Lasarus was de ‘moeders vader’ (father from the mother, i.e. grandfather from mothers side) of the PLH in 1767. 33

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

1.2.3 The general trends Median price/m2 per 5 years (without outliers) 0,18 160 0,16 140

in rd in 0,14

2 2 120 0,12 100 0,1 80 0,08 0,06 60 0,04 40 0,02 20

Median price/m 0 0 N[umber N[umber transactions] of

5-year period

Median Price/m2 N

Graph I.1: The median price per square metre land in the Four Gravets and the number of transactions per five- year period, excluding the outliers (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

The development of the price paid for a square metre of land in the Four Gravets can be seen in the graph above (Graph I.1). It shows an increase in the prices paid,29 but also an increase in the number of transactions that occurred. The latter might partly be due to the source used, which was drawn up in the 1766-1767 and, if they occurred, did not include the transactions before the latest sale. The upwards trend in both prices and number of transactions is especially clear from the 1742-1747 onwards. The earlier peak in prices for 1727-1736 is caused by a combination of comparatively few transactions recorded and three buyers paying prices that were high, but not classed as outliers. This rising trend corresponds with Arasaratnam’s remark that land prices (of lands sold by the government) increased over time. He concludes this on the basis of the Memoir of Governor Van Gollenese, who held this post between 1743 and 1751.30 Arasaratnam attributes this increasing price to a high demand for freehold lands (Arasaratnam 50). Although the increase in sales (and prices) seem to confirm Asaratnam’s statement, other explanations are also possible. The first that comes to mind is that these rising prices were caused by inflation, but Albert van den Belt argues that inflation probably did not occur in VOC Sri Lanka until 1780-1785, and states that prices of goods and services hardly increased in the eighteenth century (Belt, Het VOC-bedrijf, 82). Another explanation might be

29 Outliers in price were left out of Graph I.1. These outliers were defined compared to entire range of data (1688-1766), as price/m2 > 0,647194. For the Graph including outliers and the number of outliers per year, see: Appendix I, Graph AI.1 and Table AI.1. 30 If a governor withdrew from office, he left an informal document (the so-called ‘memoires’, or memoir in English) to his successor, in which he left instructions for his successor. For more information, see: Hovy 1: lxxxix. 34

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars found in the increasing bureaucratisation from the 1740s onwards (Bulten ch. 1). Although this might not directly explain the rising prices, it, at least, accounts for the increase in the number of sales recorded. Especially after 1740, the VOC itself put more effort into recording affairs regarding land ownership. The increase in the number of transactions recorded, may simply have been caused by a better or more efficient registration process. Perhaps the most remarkable feature of these increases is that they continue throughout the period 1757-1766 in both the amount of transactions and the prices. In the years 1760- 1766, the Dutch were at war with the King of Kandy, but this does not seem to have influenced the developments at the land market. Although the Dutch-Kandy war was not fought in the direct vicinity of Colombo, one would expect that such unrest would have its effects on the land market of the Four Gravets. A dip in the number of transactions registered can be seen in the years 1760 and 1761 (Table I.1). By 1762, however, the number of transactions is back at the earlier level of 1759, and by 1764 the number reaches heights not seen before in the thombo records. So, although the war with Kandy seems to have had some impact in the amount of transactions in 1760-61, it did not have any long-lasting influence of the developments on the market. Year Number of transactions 1756 18 1757 17 1758 24 1759 23 1760 14 1761 8 1762 21 1763 22 1764 30 1765 30 1766 50 Table I.1: The number of transactions per year in the period 1756-1766 (SLNA 1/3802)

If we turn to the size of the purchased gardens, a downward trend becomes apparent. Graph I.2 shows both the average and the median size of the gardens per 5-year period from 1732 onwards. The graph including the period before 1732 can be found in Appendix I (Graph AI.2), but no clear pattern is visible in these earlier years, which is probably due to a lack of available data.31 Although the average and median value are wide apart, both lines show a downwards

31 See Appendix I, Table AI.2 for the amount of transactions in Graphs I.2 and AI.2. The outliers from the price graphs were included, and no outliers were calculated for the size of the garden. Nevertheless, the number of sales recorded can differ due to the source that was not readable or lacked information needed to calculate the size of the garden. 35

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars trend. This trend occurs in a period that the number of transactions and the price begin to rise steadily. The increasing price suggests that while more people bought lands, the availability decreased. This resonates something of the developments described by David Ludden for nineteenth-century India, where less land became available, while competition over land increased the prices (Ludden 133). The increasing demand and price in the Four Gravets is also in line with Asaratnam’s statement that there was a “constant demand for freehold land” that had an increasing price as result (50). The period he refers to is not entirely clear; however, as he bases himself on the memoir of governor Van Gollenese (50), I assume that he means the period when Van Gollenese’s held the governor’s office (1743-1751). Based on the data presented here, I would situate the increase in prices and demand slightly later, just after Van Gollenese’s time.

Average and Median surface bought per 5 year, 1732-1766 10000

8000

6000

4000 Surface Surface (m2) 2000

0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766 5-year period

Average surface (m2) Median surface (m2)

Graph I.2: The average and median surface in square metres bought per 5-year period, 1732-1766 (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

1.2.4 The location factor The section above discussed the development of prices in the entire Four Gravets area. This paragraph will discuss the prices per village, paying special attention to the differences existing between the various settlements. Before turning to the actual prices paid in the areas, another geographical patterns ought to receive some attention: the division between OTLs and ONTLs per village.32 Although the average division between OTLs and ONTLs is about even, this ratio was not the same in all the villages, as is shown in Graph I.3.

32 For the definitions of OTLs and ONTLs, see Introduction. 36

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

ONTLs vs. OTLs per village

100% 1 90% 7 4 80% 32 18 84 366 70% 8 134 32 60% 28 50% 29 18 40% 30 12 30% 51 23 80 368 20% 5 104 29 10% 5 0% 0

Percentage ONTLs Percentage OTLs

Graph I.3: The shares of ONTLs vs. OTLs per village in the total number of PLHs in that area. The black numbers in the blue and yellow bars indicate the number of PLHs that make up that part (e.g. Dematagoda had seven OTLs and 30 ONTLs) (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Five villages show a ratio between OTLs and ONTLs that is remarkably different from the about fifty-fifty division seen in general: Dematagoda, Hultsdorf, Keselwata, Ketawalamulla and Kotahena. In Dematagoda, Keselwata and Ketawalamulla, the ONTLs easily outnumber those with transacted land in their possession, whereas the opposite is the true for Hultsdorf and Kotahena. In Kotahena, every PLH had some transacted land in his/her possession. When categorizing the villages as having either a majority of OTLs or ONTLs (however big or small that majority is) and visualizing that on a map of the Four Gravets, a clear divide occurs. The villages were the OTLs are a minority are furthest away from Colombo Town and the Fort. In the cases of Keselwata and S. Sebastian the nearness of the VOC administrative centre in Hultsdorf does not seem to change this pattern (Map I.3). Although the ratio of OTLs to ONTLs is only slightly in favour of the ONTLs in S. Sebastian (44% - 56%), Keselwata does not show that tendency (3% - 97%).

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Map I.3: Villages with a majority of OTLs or ONTLs. As can be seen, the villages with a majority of ONTLs are located further from Colombo (Source: SLNA 1/3802; NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

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The information available on land transactions varies per villages. Unfortunately, for some villages only a single or a couple of transactions are recorded for the entire period stretching from 1688 to 1767. In order to study the importance of location as a factor influencing the price, I have plotted the data on the transactions between 1732 and 1766 on Map I.4. Furthermore, separate maps have been made with the transactions of the 1740s, 1750s and 1760s (Appendix I, Map AI.1-AI.3).33 The prices have been divided into four categories: Low, Medium-Low, Medium-High, and High. The values that fall within each category are based on the average prices paid in 1760s. So, when a village is indicated as ‘Medium-Low’ in 1740s, the prices paid in this period fall within the ‘Medium-Low’ category of the 1760s (whereas they might have been in a higher price range in the 1740s).

33 The number of transactions included in each decade depicted in the Maps I.4, AI-AIII can be found in Appendix I, Table AI.3. 39

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Map I.4: The average price per square meter per village (1732-1766) and the population size per village (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758; NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

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If we study Map I.4 certain patterns emerge. The vicinity of Colombo seems to influence the price, as can be seen in Kochchikada, Weg naar Goudenstein, and Hultsdorf. However, it is not a decisive factor, as becomes clear from the low land prices for the Javaanse Straat. Despite this village being located closer to Colombo than the Weg naar Goudenstein, the prices are lower. The villages further away from Colombo (such as Maradana) are all in the low price ranges. The maps in Appendix I show a similar picture, but highlight some temporal patterns. We can see rising prices in the 1750s, but only for the Zilversmidstraten and S. Sebastian this trend continues into the 1760s. A possible explanation for this increase might be the vicinity of Hultsdorf, which was the seat of the Landraad and therefore a colonial administrative centre. However, the Landraad was established in the 1740s, so one would expect to see the results of this change earlier on. Furthermore, other villages that are located close to Hultsdorf, like Keselwata (with only one transaction for the entire period) and the Javaanse Straat do not show a similar trend. Perhaps that developments surrounding the Kleine Pas, a ‘customs-point’ near S. Sebastian may have influenced the prices there. However, information on such developments was not found in the course of this study. Another pattern that becomes clear is that the expensive villages were already high- priced villages in the 1740s. Considering the suburban context of the Four Gravets, one might think that a higher population size, and thus a higher demand for land, drove the prices in these villages to a higher point. The population size in Map I.4 was based on the head thombos.34 Population size only appears to be part of the explanation: Kochchikada and the Weg naar Goudenstein are expensive villages with a large population, but a large population size is also found in the Javaanse Straat, while this village ranks among the low-priced settlements.

Concluding remarks on Chapter I This chapter first looked into the land management in Batavia and Sri Lanka, before turning to the actual land market in the direct surroundings of Colombo. Although similarities can be found between Batavia and Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan VOC policies were no exact copy of the Batavian ones. The most crucial change in Sri Lanka took place around the 1740’s, when the VOC took interest in taxes and labour services as a means of providing profit, instead of a focus on the trade in exotic products. In this period, Sri Lanka seems to have gone through a colonial transition. Pinpointing the exact effects of the land policies on the developments on the land market, remains difficult. The thombos registration appears to have influenced the amount of

34 I used the population size for want of information on the population density. See Chapter 3 for a more elaborate discussion. There, the combination of the land and head thombos is also further elucidated. 41

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars transactions that were recorded, as can be seen from the increasing numbers from the 1740s onwards. Other developments on the land market take off around this period, or slightly later, as well. The prices of property increased, while the surface areas people bought decreased at the same time. This suggests a growing demand and/or scarcity of land. There are differences to be found between the prices paid for land in the various villages. Neither the location factor, nor the population size fully explain the variations in price. Other factors therefore need to be considered, as the price and the location are not the only variables to be found. There was also a difference in the standing of the socio-economic groups that inhabited the area. It is the behaviour of these different group on the land market that will be the topic of the next chapter.

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Chapter II: The Have’s and the Have-Not’s: Landowners in the Four Gravets, ca. 1730-1766

Introduction The previous chapter showed that the location of property did not provide a full explanation for the variations in land prices in the suburbs. Location, however, is not the only variable in this story. The socio-economic status of the inhabitants of the various villages varied as well. Raben points out the location of the different socio-economic groups:

Caste and occupational groups were still concentrated in their villages: clearly visible are the washers’ (Hena caste) settlement in Keheelwata, the concentration of smiths (Navandanna) in the Silversmiths’ Streets east of Hulftsdorp, and the fishers (Karava) north of the Chetty quarter along the coast in Kochchekadde and Cheku Street. Evidently, the Moors had made full use of their newly acquired freedom, and had spilled over the borders of the Moors’ quarter into the villages and fields of the Four Gravets. They dominated much of the environs of Colombo, with the Chetties following their example (Raben, Batavia, 190).

Raben, however, does not look at land sales and therefore does not scrutinize the behaviour of these groups on the land market. The thombos provide detailed information on the landholders, and combining this personal information with the data on land transactions enables analysis of the different landholding groups. So, although this chapter does not mean to challenge Raben’s findings on the distribution of caste groups in themselves, it argues that there are additional aspects to consider. Due to the information provided in the thombos, we can compare the shares of each group in the ownership of transacted land. Moreover, we can analyse the size of the lands bought and the money spent, and hence try to discern if differences existed between these (internally diverse) groups. Furthermore, this chapter does not only look into the castes as mentioned by Raben, but also investigates the position of other groups on the suburban land market. The sections in this chapter each centre around one of the categories on which information could be found in the thombos: social group, gender and marital state, age, and place of residence. Each section will discuss the division between OTLs and ONTLs within the several subgroups within the category. This discussion will include all the data available, whereas the next part, with a focus on the differences between the buyers, will draw only on the transactions between 1732 and 1766. The aim of all the sections combined is to find if any notable differences existed between the groups in their behaviour on the land market.

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2.1 Social groups

2.1.1 The problem with colonial categories There are multiple challenges connected to societal categories used in population censuses drawn up by colonial governments.35 Cooper and Brubaker have pointed out that identity as a concept has become virtually useless, because its definition is (too) wide and often contradictory in social analysis. According to them, the term ‘identity’ is best avoided (Cooper and Brubaker 59-67). Recently, Raben pleaded for a new way of looking at colonial archives to deal with the problem of colonial categories. He states that colonial archives are reflections of the concerns of the colonial government and not of the everyday experiences of people (Raben, “Ethnic disorder”, 118, 121, 122), and through a different approach we can distinguish “large numbers of people transgressing formal ethnic borders, stepping out of their alleged ethnic domains” (Raben, “Ethnic disorder”, 126). In the case of the thombos, these problems are mainly encountered when dealing with the delineation of social groups and castes. Castes in themselves have been subject to research that uncovered similar problems. Guha states that there is “no single, unified rationale for the internal workings and external relations of each of thousands of ethnic corporate groups” (Beyond, 1). He sees castes as ethnic groups in a larger society that are hierarchically related to each one. These groups combine political, socio-economic, cultural and kinship ties (Beyond, 2, 3, 9, 10). Much has been written on Sri Lankan caste groups, but Guha’s statement that there is no ‘unified rationale’ still stands. It has become clear that the sheer number of castes was changeable throughout time, as was the ranking between the castes and between different groups within castes (Dewasiri 134-135). What does this mean for the use of the thombos? Luc Bulten and Dries Lyna have argued that we should see both the identities of people and the categories used to define them as fluid. At the same time, the thombo registers were not solely made by the colonial government, as they were the result of the interaction between government administrators and local people. As such, while being aware that these registers are tools of power, there are also many traces of local influence and agency (Bulten and Lyna). Following this line of reasoning, I decided to stay close to the categories I encountered in the source material. In some cases, several groups were put together under one umbrella term. For example, the thombos record inlands (native) as well as Singalees (Sinhalese).36 In the discussion below, both have been put in the category Sinhalese. I also included all caste members and local officials under this

35 On colonial censuses specifically, see also: Cohn 224-254. 36 As with the caste groups discussed below, people described as ‘inlands’ could also be Tamils; however, Tamils lived mainly in the North, while Sinhalese tended to live in the South (Schrikker 17, 43). As Colombo is located in this southern part, I included everyone described as ‘inlands’ in the Sinhalese group. 44

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

‘umbrella term’.37 Nonetheless, it remains important to be aware that these social groups were internally diverse, even apart from the everyday experiences of individuals. A case in point are the Chetties. Originally, they were traders from South-Indian descent who had been visiting Sri Lanka long before the Dutch arrived; however, by the time of the thombo composition, this group included a range of people, including recent immigrants and manumitted slaves (Raben, Batavia, 249).

2.1.2 General patterns The general patterns were discussed in the previous chapter, but the graphs dealing with the separate social groups (Graph II.1 & II.2) show that each of these social groups follow that pattern: the number of transactions increased, the average surface area bought decreased and the average price paid per transaction remained more or less the same (hence the increasing price per square meter). That is not to say, however, that all social groups show the same behaviour. There seems to be a divide between the larger and smaller groups. This divide originated sometime around 1740, around the time that the first thombo series was produced. This might indicate an under-registration of the largest group of OTLs before this period, but this argument does not seem to hold for the smaller groups of OTLs that were virtually absent before the 1760s. Their rise co-occurs with a sharp increase of the larger OTL groups. Strangely, this is taking place at a rather unstable time, the beginning of the Dutch-Kandyan War (1760-1766). Still, all groups show a sharp increase around this time. The rising number of transactions coincides with a decline in the size of the surfaces bought per transaction, and only the Tamils seem to buy larger plots. However, the information available for this group is too small to allow for any definitive conclusions. In the period 1757- 1766, the Dutch bought the largest plots, showing only a small decline in the size of their plots. The prices paid per transaction do not show large differences (Graph AII.1), with the exception of larger sums of money paid by the Dutch. The next sub-sections will discuss each of the social groups in more detail.

37 Table AII.1 in Appendix II shows per ‘umbrella term’ which groups from the thombos were included in this term for this analysis. 45

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Number of transaction per 5-year period 40

35

30

25

20

15

10

5

0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766

Chetty (n) Dutch/European (n) Manumitted slave (n) Moors (n) Other (n) Sinhalese (n) Tamil (n)

Graph II.1 The number of transactions per 5-year period, per social group (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Surface area (m2)/transaction (social groups) 30000

25000

20000

15000

10000

5000

0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766

Chetty (surface area/transaction) Dutch/European (surface area/transaction) Manumitted slave (surface area/transaction) Moors (surface area/transaction) Other (surface area/transaction) Sinhalese (surface area/transaction) Tamil (surface area/transaction)

Graph II.2 The average surface area (m2) per transaction, per social group (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

46

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

) The average ) The

5

) The total price in in price total ) The

7

ial group (Source: SLNA 1/3802). SLNA (Source: group ial

square meter per social group; ( persocial meter square

) The price perprice The )

4

) The total surface area in square meters bought per social group;bought ( per meters social square in areatotal Thesurface )

6

) The average price paid per OTL per soc per paid price average ) The

8

number of OTLs per social group; of number ( pergroup; social OTLs

II.8: (3) The (3)II.8:

paid per social group; per( group; social paid

-

surface area in square meters per OTL; surface area meters ( square in rijksdaalder Graphs II.3 47

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

ONTLs vs. OTLs (social groups) 100% 90% 58 80% 9 92 6 70% 88 13 60% 56 50% 40% 30% 14 118 PERCENTAGE 107 8 20% 62 12 10% 11 0%

SOCIAL GROUP

Percentage ONTLs Percentage OTLs

Graph II.9 The percentage of ONTLs and OTLs per social group. The black numbers in the bars indicate the number of PLHs that make up that section, e.g. the Chetty group has 88 OTLs and 62 ONTLs, these 150 PLHs together are 100 % (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

2.1.3 Moors and Chetties Raben notes that the Chetties and the Moors were two of the largest landholding groups (Batavia, 190). Moors tended to pay a low price per square meter, while buying rather large pieces of land. Chetties, on the other hand, paid higher prices while buying smaller surface areas (Graphs II.3 – II.8). As can be seen in Graph II.9, there were more Chetty OTLs than Moorish ones, both absolutely and relatively. This might have something do with their background in trade. Moors were percentually the smallest group of OTLs. Notwithstanding this low percentage, the Moors form a rather remarkable group. In 1665, the VOC government had banned any type of land transactions to Moors.38 These restrictions were only lifted in 1746, after which they became the largest group of landholders in the Four Gravets (Raben, Batavia, 108, 141). Despite the ban on land transactions to Moors until 1746, the graph above (II.1) shows that (social connections of) Moors were buying land before that year. Purchases can also be found before 1732. Seven gardens were bought before 1746, only one of which was bought by the PLH himself.39 In two cases the land was bought by in-laws.40The other gardens had been purchased by people without a specified family

38 “eenige erven ofte landerijn op dit eylant aan enige Mooren ofte heydenen sullen mogen vercoopen, veralliëneren, versetten off verpanden, directelijck off indirectelijk – ‘t sij dan dat deselve als parveniën, leengaven tot weerroepen toe ofte erffelijk weggeven sijn – ofte onder wat schijn sulcx soude connen gepractiseert werden” (Hovy, 1: 123). For the entire ban, see: Hovy, 1: 123, 124. 39 I.e. SLNA 1/3802, Maradana 17. 40 I.e. A father-in-law, and a grandfather-in-law: SLNA 1/3802, Maradana 74, Javaanse Straat 132. 48

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars connection.41 For at least one of these transactions, we know for certain that a Moor bought land during the ban. As Moors mainly married in their own group (Raben, Batavia, 251), the in-laws were probably also Moors. In the other instances, the thombo mentions that the land was possessed by (a relative of) the PLH, sometimes under the pretence of a gift or purchase.42 However, the thombos do not mention when exactly these people came in the possession of these lands after it had been bought by someone else. Despite this uncertainty, these PLHs show that some Moors found a way around the VOC’s discriminatory regulations and might even point towards them having and using an elaborate social network. The name of one of the buyers, ‘Hoflandt’, suggests that this man had a Dutch/European parentage, while another was a mudaliyar, a high-ranking indigenous official. This may very well be a case of interaction between different social groups, possibly working together to circumvent VOC regulations. Although the Sri Lankan setting was less dramatic, this reminds of the “intricacies of social relations” (Raben, “Ethnic”, 122) pointed out by Raben in discussing the situation in Batavia after the Chinese rebellion of 1740 (“Ethnic”, 122-123).

2.1.4 The Dutch/European group By drawing on information from the names given and the occupations people held, a considerable number of Dutch or European PLHs can be found as well. Even though these people had Dutch names, they were not necessarily born in Europe. If not, they probably descended from Dutch(wo)men. Furthermore, the Dutch/European group consists of people described as ‘burger’.43 Raben writes that the Dutch started off as the first landholders in the Four Gravets, but that generally other groups came to live there as well. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, however, the VOC stopped granting lands to citizens for agricultural purposes in the Four Gravets, and even retreated itself (Raben, Batavia, 69-70, 188). Nevertheless, a large number of Dutch PLHs can be found, of which a majority were OTLs. This is less remarkable than it might seem at first. The Dutch, as outsiders, did not fit into the Sri Lankan service system and were therefore ‘forced’ to buy lands to gain access to private grounds. This explanation cannot be used to account for the high percentage of landowners among the

41 Twice we encounter a man named Franncisco Matthijs (SLNA 1/3802, S. Sebastian 25; Maradana 32); once a mudaliyar from the attepattoe (a high-ranking indigenous official) named Michiel Sammenkroon and a man named Giaaik Hoflandt (SLNA 1/3802, Maradana 27, Maradana 32). 42 In possession of relative: SLNA 1/3802, Maradana 32. Possessed under pretence of gift or purchase: SLNA 1/3802, S. Sebastian 25, Maradana 27. 43 Portuguese names could be found as well, but as these people were repeatedly assigned caste groups (For example: SLNA 1/3802, S. Sebastian 1; Kochchikada 62; Kochchikada 136). I decided not to include them in this group and deal with those in the paragraph on Sinhalese PLHs (amongst which I included caste members). That is, if they were assigned a caste. If they were not, they were included in the group ‘unknown’, which I decided not to discuss in this sub-section on social groups (if information is available on e.g. civic state or age, they will be discussed there). 49

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Chetties, as both they and the Moors were included in the service system in a special service category (uliyam).44 A comparison between the prices, surfaces areas and prices per square meter per group (Graphs II.3-II.8) shows that the Dutch landowners on average bought the most lands per transaction. The price they paid per square meter, on the other hand, did not turn out to be extremely high, even though they were apparently prepared to spend much more than others, as we can also see in Graph AII.1. The Dutch PLHs will receive more attention in the next chapter, where some of them feature as major plantation holders.

2.1.5 The Sinhalese and Tamils Raben states that the Four Gravets and Colombo remained the “abode of non-Sinhalese” (Batavia, 108) for a long time. If we include only those recorded as Singalees (Sinhalese) or inlands (native), then indeed the group is not very large, comparable in size to those mentioned as Mallabaar (Tamil). For this section, however, I choose to include everyone for whom we know a caste in the group of Sinhalese PLHs. They could be from Tamil descent as well, but the south of Sri Lanka was mainly inhabited by Sinhalese people, while Tamils could be found primarily in the north (Schrikker 17, 43). The Sinhalese tended to buy comparatively large plots of land (Graphs II.3-II.8), but paid low prices per square meter. The Tamil group paid rather high prices, but this might be a distortion because the sample-size is rather small. Both groups had a more or less similar chance to own transacted lands.

OTLs vs ONTLs (caste groups) 100% 90% 4 80% 15 5 27 70% 19 60% 9 50% 40% 25 30% 26

PERCENTAGE 5 30 20% 12 10% 3 0% Ämbättayo Goyigama Karāva Āchāri Radā Other (barbers) (bellale) (fishers) (smiths) (washers) CASTE GROUP

Percentage ONTLs Percentage OTLs

Graph II.10 The percentages of OTLs and ONTLs per caste group. The percentage is based on the caste group (barbers, etc. separately). The black number in the bars of the graph indicate the number of PLHs that are part of this group, e.g. 5 OTLs and 5 ONTLs among the āmbāttayo, 10 PLHs then makes 100% (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

44 The Company considered Moors and Chetties as foreigners. The uliyam service was part of the service system and meant to obtain labour from these foreign groups. See: Dewasiri 65. 50

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

paid per caste caste per paid

aalder

rijksd

) The number of OTLs per caste group; (12) The price per square meter per caste group; (13) The average surface area averageper in (13) caste group;surface The permeter square Thegroup; of price number per ) (12) caste The OTLs

II.16: (11 II.16:

–

.11

GraphsII total The group;bought in price area per meters totalcaste square (15) in Thesquareper surface OTL; meters (14) SLNA 1/3802). group per (Source: caste averageperOTL paid price Thegroup; (16)

51

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

The information available on Tamil OTLs is limited, but we can look at the Sinhalese group more closely by studying the differences between the several caste groups.45 The exact hierarchy between Sri Lankan castes has been historically contested (Dewasiri 134-135), but in general the goyigama (or bellale in the thombos, the farmers caste) were considered as the highest caste, whereas the radā (washers) and ämbättoya (barbers) were of a lower ritual status. However, within castes, there were significant differences in social standing. This is particularly true for the goyigama caste that included a majority of the population (Dewasiri 136-140). Both numerically and relatively, the radā are the smallest OTL group, with only four PLHs that are OTLs (Graph II.10). This might be explained by their lower social status. Another, somewhat more surprising feature, is the relatively low percentage of goyigama OTLs. One might expect that this caste, consisting of cultivators, would actually have a higher percentage of OTLs. Instead, slightly more than half of them are ONTLs. The āchāri (smiths) caste has a higher percentage of OTLs than the goyigama caste. Although the goyigama paid the highest price per transaction and bought the largest sized plots (Graphs II.11-II.16), the members of the radā caste paid the highest price per plot, even though they did not buy large surfaces. This combination results in a high price per square meter. Similarly, the ämbättoya paid high prices. Although none of the prices paid would have been considered outliers in the previous chapter, the sample sizes for these groups might simply be too small. However, that cannot be said for the āchāri cast, one of the larger caste groups in the Four Gravets: they paid a rather high price per square meter for their grounds, even though they did not buy extremely large or small pieces of land. When we take a look at the evolution of the number of transactions per caste group (Graph II.17), an increase emerges for every group but the ämbättoya. Long-term information is available for the goyigama caste, being the largest buying group until 1757-1761. At that point, the number of āchāri-buyers increases sharply, overtaking the goyigama. A similar, though less extreme, increase takes place for the karāva (fishers). The size of the plots declines in the late 1750s and early 1760s. Only the āchāri did not follow that trend (Graph AII.2, Appendix II). This may be a feature of a process Dewasiri described earlier, in which certain people within castes profited from the opportunities provided by the Dutch, gained in social and economic status, and as a result started bargaining for a higher ritual status of their (still low-ranking) caste. He mentioned the āchāri as one of the castes able to benefit from colonial opportunities, due to a high demand for the labour they

45 For some people of the Tamil social group, caste information was provided as well. They have been included in the analysis. A couple of castes that were only recorded once or twice and have been grouped under the heading ‘Other’. For a full overview of the descriptions included in each caste group, see Appendix II, Table AII.2. 52

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars provided (Dewasiri 150-154). It is not unlikely that their better socio-economic situation resulted in an increase of land acquisitions by this group.

Number of transactions per 5-year period 14 12 10 8 6 4 2

Number Number transactions of 0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766 5-year period

Number of Owners (Ämbättayo/Barbers) Number of Owners (Goyigama/Bellale) Number of Owners (Karāva/Fisher) Number of Owners (Āchāri/Smiths) Number of Owners (Radā/Washers) Number of Owners (Other)

Graph II.17: The number of transactions per five-year period per caste group (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

2.1.6 Manumitted slaves and ‘others’ as PLHs This section discusses the group of manumitted slaves and the category I labelled as ‘others’. The ‘other’ group consists of people from various small social groups and did not form a social category in its entirety.46 The price per square meter paid by the group is exceptionally high compared to the other social groups (Graph II.4). Certainly when discussing OTLs, this group consists almost entirely of Javanese landowners. Three of the gardens in this entire group were bought for prices that were classed as outliers in the previous chapter. One could argue that this is a distortion of the data presented here, but it also indicates that these families, all headed by a female PLH,47 were willing to and capable of paying such prices. Considering the discussion on colonial categories, one can wonder if the group of manumitted slaves should be seen as a unified social group. Even the terminology used in the

46 This group consists of people for whom the thombo mentions a social group, but these groups on their own are too small to provide a useful comparison. It includes people (with relatives) from Javanese, Malay, Eastern and Chinese descent. It also includes a Toepas and the banished king from “Koepang” (Timur). The thombos also record a mixties; however, as this person was also indicated as vrijman, he was classed among the manumitted slaves group. The same goes for a Javanese vrijman (SLNA 1/3802). 47 One PLH is the wife of a ‘Javaanse vaandrig’, the other of a ‘luitenant van de Mayleise compagnie’, and another the widow of a Javanese man. In the first case it is not specified who bought the land. The land of the second female PLH was bought by her husband. In the case of the widow it seems to be bought by her son to provide for his ‘onmondige dochter’ (infant daughter) (SLNA 1/3802, Javaanse Straat 28, 29 and 149). 53

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars thombos is ambiguous. Raben points out that the term vrijman relates to manumitted slaves in Batavia, but would not be used as such in Sri Lanka, where the terms vrije jongen, vrijling, and libertijn would be used (Batavia, 277).48 In the Four Gravets thombo, I did not find the last two terms, although female variants of vrijman and vrije jongen were present,49 as were Dutch terms for manumitted or emancipated. I did include the ‘vrijmannen’ in the category of manumitted slaves.50 Surprisingly, this does not lead to an overestimation of their number as OTLs. Without these ‘vrijmannen’, the numbers for manumitted slaves would be 8 OTLs amongst 13 PLHs, but with their inclusion this changes to 9 out of 23 PLHs instead (Graph II.9).51 These people, whether rightfully considered as a social group or not, are remarkable. If they were indeed manumitted slaves, then they had somehow managed to gain a social position that enabled them to buy lands themselves, which required money. Out of nine OTLs, five bought the lands themselves! In three other cases, the son or wife of the PLH was the buyer. Only in one case were the lands bequeathed by their previous owner. Moreover, the majority of these lands were located in Kochchikada, one of the more expensive of Colombo’s suburbs.52

2.1.7 Concluding remarks on social groups This section has shown that various groups were active on the land market of the Four Gravets, some of which might be fairly unexpected, such as manumitted slaves. Numerically the Sinhalese formed the largest group of OTLs, followed close by the Chetties. Within these groups large differences could exist, however, as was shown with the differences between castes. Considering the participation of several groups, the questions arises as to why people decided to buy land. From a Western perspective buying land is a sign of wealth and status, but can the same be said for colonial Sri Lanka, and especially the Four Gravets? Buying land

48 These Dutch terms translate as ‘free man’ (vrijman), free boy (vrije jongen), freeling (vrijling) and libertine (libertijn). 49 i.e. vrije vrouw and vrije meid. These terms translate as free woman (vrije vrouw) and free girl/maid (vrije meid). 50 According to Raben vrijman in Colombo indicates “Asian Christians without a European lineage, who belonged to the legal class of citizens – that is, with guard duties (and, in Colombo, without uliyam obligations). In Batavia, this class is more often covered by the term inlands burger (indigenous citizen)” (Raben, Batavia, 277). I did, however, encounter people described as inlandse burger in the thombos. The ‘vrijmannen’ indeed have Portuguese names, or names partly Portuguese and partly Dutch (as mentioned by Raben (Batavia, 277)), but I also found fully Dutch names (e.g. SLNA 1/3802, Kochchikada 228). 51 If we leave out the ‘vrije vrouwen’ as well, then the ratio becomes six OTLs in eight PLHs (Source: SLNA 1/3802). 52 See Chapter 1 for the discussion on the prices per village. The thombo entries involved are: SLNA 1/3802, Maradana 5, Kochchikada 4, 46, 78, 79, 89, 105, 118, 200. 54

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars was not the only means of gaining access to land in Sri Lanka, because of the service system in which lands were granted in return for services. The previous section show that almost 90 percent of the Dutch, who did not fit into this system, were owners of (once) transacted lands. Also, among the āchāri, who were part of the service system, many buyers could be found. However, they might have been unable to enhance their ritual status via that system, and instead expressed their growing wealth and influence through land buying. Seen from this perspective, the land market may have functioned as a secondary, and not necessarily preferred, way of gaining access to land, albeit only for people who were willing and capable to pay for it. Apart from the social group someone belonged to, there are many other factors that may have influenced someone’s capability to buy land. On some of these, the thombos contain further information: gender and civic state, age and place of residence. Beginning with gender and civic state, the next sections will deal with those.

55

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

2.2 Gender and Civic state

OTLs vs. ONTLs per gender 100% 90% 80% 78 70% 284 60% 50% 40%

PERCENTAGE 30% 122 20% 242 10% 0% f m GENDER

Percentage ONTLs Percentage OTLs

Graph II.18: The percentages of OTLs and ONTLs per gender. The percentage is based on the gender (female and male, separately). The black number in the bars of the graph indicate the number of PLHs that are part of this group, e.g. 78 OTLs and 122 ONTLs among the female PLHs, 200 PLHs then makes 100% (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

According to both Dutch and Sinhalese (inheritance) practices at the time, women were entitled to a share of the inheritance. A fundamental difference between the two traditions consisted of the alienable share that Sinhalese women held. Once they married and left the family property, they lost their claims on their share of their parents’ property, in exchange for a dowry. If they returned to their parental home, however, they could reclaim the forfeited share. Another key difference related to the conjugal funds of marriage partners. Whereas the Dutch were used to pool their resources upon marriage in one fund (under the man’s authority), Sinhalese marriage partners did not pool their resources and the spouses held on to their own property rights (Bulten et al. 55-59). Thus, women in colonial Sri Lanka were able to hold lands, although the exact conditions of ownership might have changed due to Dutch intervention. Legally, women could also make a stand in court. Nadeera Rupesinghe has shown that women could bring cases to the Landraad, could prevent others (men and women) from inheriting/claiming lands and they could decide over their own (and their late husband’s) property (Negotiating, 159-170). It is probable that the social position of the women involved played a role in the cases Rupesinghe mentions, as a case concerning monetary inheritance described by Lyna shows that not all women were capable of successfully claiming a (rightful?) share. Nonetheless, the woman involved in this case did challenge her (late husband’s) relations via legal ways, up to filing a complaint at the Governor (Lyna).

56

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

When studying gender and civic state in the land thombos, the first thing to draw attention is that about 27 percent of all PLHs was female. Most of them (25% of all PLHs) were widows.53 This in itself is a remarkable feature that might be overshadowed by the less surprising find that women were less likely than men to be an OTL, as becomes clear from Graph II.18. The high number of female PLHs is not an anomaly of the source used, or even a feature of the century it was composed in, and neither can the high amount of widows be easily ascribed to the consequences of the war with Kandy, as Knaap notices similar shares of female heads of households at the end of the seventeenth century, in the Fort and the Town of Colombo (excluding the Four Gravets). 25% of all households in Colombo-Town were headed by a woman,54 while in Colombo Fort this share was somewhat lower reaching ‘only’ 14.9%.55 Unfortunately, Knaap does not provide an in-depth analysis of this group of family heads (Knaap 88-90).56 Still, we can assume that this high number of female PLHs was not an anomaly, but a rather common feature for this area in the Dutch period.

Number of transactions per 5-year period 140 120 100 80 60 40

20 Number Number transactions of 0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766 5-year period

Female Male

Graph II.19: The number of transactions per gender per five-year period (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

53 The thombos provide information on the civic state of women, but apart from the widows, these groups are too small to draw any definitive conclusions. The (un)married women seemed to have had a higher chance of owning once transacted lands than their widowed counterparts, see Graph AII.3 and Table AII.3. 54 63 out of 248 households. 55 24 out of 161 households. 56 The only exemption is when he is dealing with slave ownership by female heads of household: Knaap 94-95. 57

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Average surface area (m2) per transaction 18000

16000 )

2 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000

Surface Surface area (m 4000 2000 0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766 5-year period

Female Male

Graph II.20: The average surface area (m2) per transaction per five-year period, per gender (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

After the 1740s, the number of transactions of (later) male OTLs increased sharply (Graph II.19). The number of female OTLs also increases, albeit not at the same rate. A possible explanation might be that women did not necessarily buy the lands themselves, but inherited them from their husbands or other male relatives. One might therefore expect to see an influence of the Dutch-Kandy War, but instead, a higher number of transactions is recorded for both female and male OTLs. The average acreage in female possession (in 1767) was higher than those to be in male ownership. When looking at the development through time, this trend becomes most clear from the late 1740s onwards. However, before this period the sample size was fairly small, which might explain the earlier absence of a clear pattern (Graph II.20). The most striking feature of this graph is the decline in the average size of the surface per transaction, which, as suggested in Chapter 1, might be explained by a decreasing ‘stock’ of land in the Four Gravets. The group of female OTLs is smaller than the group of male OTLs, which explains that the total surface owned and the total price paid are lower than those of their male counterparts (Graphs II.21-II.26). If we calculate the average price per square meter, it turns out that their lands tended to be cheaper than those of their male counterparts. There are two ways to look at this. It could indicate that their position on the land market was worse, which would be the case if they were forced to accept plots of lesser quality. Female landowners also tended to have lands that were larger than those of male owners (on average per transaction). This could be seen as a sign that these lands were of a lesser quality, as one would need more lands to gain the same yields as others with better grounds. In this case, one would expect these to be located in the lower priced villages of the Four Gravets and this indeed seems to

58

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars be the case. The villages with a higher than average level of female PLHs are among those in the lower price ranges. These lands, however, are not necessarily located very far from Colombo and Hultsdorf, as some were located in the Zilversmidstraten and Keselwata.57 It thus remains the question whether these lands were of a lesser quality and therefore cheaper, or that these female PLHs were in some way capable of securing more profitable deals (or, in the case of inheritances, lands). If that were the case, the high number of female PLHs would explain the lower prices, instead of the other way around. This is, it seems, a bit of a chicken- and-egg issue. One way of shedding more light on this question, is diving deeper into the land thombos and look at the actual buyers of the lands that female OTLs held.

57 Table AII.4 shows for each village the percentage of female and male PLHs per village, both including and excluding the ONTLs. 59

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

he

paid per gender; (26) T

rijksdaalder

The The number of OTLs per gender; (22) The price per square meter per gender; (23) The average surface area in square

II.26: (21)

-

meters meters per OTL; (24) The total surface area in square meters bought per gender; (25) The total price in 1/3802). SLNA (Source: per gender averageperOTL paid price Graphs II.21

60

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Graph II.27 shows who bought the lands (later) held by female OTLs. Unsurprisingly, late husbands account for the majority of lands, owned by their then widowed spouses at the time of the thombo compilation. Other male relatives (living husbands, fathers, sons and uncles) also bought land of which women were the PLH.58 A small, but remarkable group, consists of two men buying lands for their ‘onmondige dogter[s]’ (infant daughters) (SLNA 1/3802, Javaanse Straat 29 and 149). The thombos do not state why these men bought these lands for their daughters, but perhaps it was some means of providing for them in the future.59

Buyers of lands of female OTLs

Family (f) Family (m) Herself Herself (and other) Husband Late husband Male buyer for other woman Relation of husband Unclear/Unspecified/Other

Graph II.27: The buyers of lands owned by female PLHs in 1766/67. ‘Late husband’ refers to husbands who bought land when still alive, but who had passed away before the thombo registration (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Apart from these male buyers, there is a substantial group of female PLHs buying land themselves,60 sometimes together with another buyer, as well as female relatives of female

58 There is a puzzling and interesting aspect to some of these entries in the thombos. Some married women were registered as PLH, instead of their (living) husband, whereas in general married women were registered under their husband (with him as PLH/family head). I do not know for certain why these women were registered as PLH, instead of their husband. Most of them were living in the Javaanse Straat and in Kochchikada, with two exemptions in S. Sebastian. For example: SLNA 1/3802, Javaanse Straat 28, Kochchikada 32, S. Sebastian 19. The woman registered as PLH of S. Sebastian 19 was a ONTL. 59 Something similar might have been going on in the case of a four-year old girl called Dona Isabel. She is registered as PLH and in the possession of two lands that were bought by her father. However, these were bought years before she was born (SLNA 1/3802, Zilversmidstraten 6). The thombos do not state explicitly that her father died, but since Isabel herself is registered as PLH and not her father, it could be a ‘simple’ case of inheritance instead of planned provision for this girl. 60 I also encountered a couple of somewhat puzzling cases of women selling land. The puzzling part of these records is that these women seem to have sold land(s), but that these are still recorded with them as PLHs. In some cases, these were bought by people who were clearly family members, but in other cases no family connection is mentioned (SLNA 1/3802, Keselwata 6, Javaanse Straat 17). 61

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

PLHs buying property. On some of these women we have additional information:61 among them were six women who were (previously) married to Chetties, one mother of a Chetty’s widow, two manumitted slaves, one described as a Sinhalese woman and furthermore we find the widows of a goyigama, a gold smith, a sergeant, a corporal and a kangān.62 That we find so many women related to Chetties might be explained by their social background. Although a diverse group by the eighteenth century, Chetties were originally a group of South-Indian traders, many of whom kept contacts with India while living in Sri Lanka (Raben, Batavia, 249). Possibly, these women were taking care of affairs in Sri Lanka while their husbands were away on business and after their husbands deceased. In that case, they would have found themselves in a similar situation as Dutch traders’ and sailors’ wives. Manon van der Heijden et al have shown that these Dutch women held more legal rights. In their husbands’ absence, they could, among other things, buy and sell real estate property (38). Considering the chicken-and-egg question of female PLHs and low land prices, it seems too easy to attribute the low prices in certain villages to the high amount of female PLHs and their supposed worse position on the land market. As shown above, women were capable of owning and buying land. Many other studies have also shown that women were a force to be reckoned with in these early modern colonial settings. Barbara Andaya has argued that the lack of female involvement in pepper plantations in Sumatra led to plantations failing. The colonial government did not notice the role women had in market production and focused on dealing with their husbands instead, which resulted in disappointing yields (Andaya 165-190). Furthermore, while Lyna refers to a Sri Lankan court case in which a woman does not succeed (Lyna), the court cases mentioned by Rupesinghe show that women did not necessarily have a low legal status (Negotiating, 159-170). Combining these cases, we may state that much depended on the strategies and connection of the women involved in such cases. On the basis of the aforementioned, the analysis above hints at Chetty and (high-ranking) Sinhalese women having successful (business/legal) strategies and good (business/legal) connections. My analysis does not provide a final answer to the debate on the position of colonial Sri Lankan women, but shows at the very least that they are a group worthy of further research.

61 The women buying land themselves were: SLNA 1/3802, Weg naar Goudenstein 9, 19 and 30, Zilversmidstraten 3, Kochchikada 19, 31, 32, 33, 46, 50, 113, 131, 145, 185, 200, 234, 25, Hultsdorf 25. Other female buyers can be found in: SLNA 1/3802, Kochchikada 42, 190. 62 A kangān is an overseer (Rupesinghe, Negotiating, xiv). 62

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

2.3 Age63

One would expect to see the percentage of OTLs rise alongside their age, as the older PLHs would have had more time to buy and inherit transacted land, but quite the opposite is true (Graph II.28). Instead, the share of ONTLs rises when the age of the PLHs becomes higher. The difference between those younger than 25 and those of 65 and older is nearly 20 percent. Their numbers rise from the middle of the 1750s onwards, as does the group of 25-34. Possibly, this has to do with these people coming of age, and hence being in the position to buy lands. On the other hand, all the age categories include more OTLs towards the end of the period studied. The group of owners from 65 and older is the smallest of the six, but pays the lowest price per square meter. That the older OTLs paid lower prices, is probably caused by them having been able to buy land before the prices started to rise. That people below 25 did not pay the highest price, might be explained by their parents having bought the land instead of the current OTLs themselves (Graphs II.29-32, and Graph 33).

OTLs vs. ONTLs per age category 100% 90% 80% 41 32 55 70 70% 31 61 76 60% 50% 40% 30% 46 PERCENTAGE 58 54 67 20% 21 49 70 10% 0% <25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 ≥65 Unknown AGE CATEGORY

Percentage ONTLs Percentage OTLs

Graph II.28: The percentages of OTLs and ONTLs per age category. The percentage is based on the age categories separately. The black number in the bars of the graph indicate the number of PLHs that are part of this group, e.g. 61 OTLs and 49 ONTLs among the group of PLHs aged 25-34, 110 PLHs then makes 100%. The categories of this graph are composed in such a way that all categories consist of a more or less equal number of people and take logical intervals (10 years). The categories younger than 25 and 65 and older are a bit of an exception to this, but they still contain sufficient samples to take part in the comparison (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

63 Ages may seem a very straightforward category, but Fabian Drixler and Jan Kok have shown that “age heaping among adults was very pronounced in the thombos” (97). This means that ages tended to end on a 0 or a 5. The ages of children appear to have been more precisely recorded, with the exception of children below the age of one (Drixler and Kok 97). Although I have not tested for it, my impression is that there is indeed a majority of people with ages ending on 0 or 5 in the land thombos. The youngest PLH I encountered was aged four (SLNA 1/3802). I did not correct for the distortion in the ages of adults, but they were classed in groups spanning ten years. 63

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Regarding the Sri Lankan land market, Dewasiri argued that it was largely instituted by the Dutch (Dewasiri 97). As such, the findings above might indicate that younger people were more inclined to participate in this new market. On the other hand, some form of land market already existed in the Portuguese period (Serrão 192).64

Graph II.29-II.32: (29) The number of OTLs per age category; (30) The price per square meter per age category; (31) The average surface area in square meters per OTL; (32) The average price paid per OTL per age category (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

64 Dewasiri also makes mention of land transactions occurring in the Portuguese period (85), but apparently, he does not consider this as a land market. 64

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Number of transactions per 5-year period per age group 45 40 35 30 25 20 15

10 Number Number transactions of 5 0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766 5-year period

<25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 ≥65

Graph II.33: The number of transactions per age category per five-year period (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

2.4 Place of residence of the PLH

The thombo registers also mention the place of residence of the PLH. If someone resided in the village where (s)he possessed lands, no other place is mentioned. If the PLH lived somewhere else, the thombo records their place of residence. Dewasiri calls these landowners ‘absentee PLH’ (82), a term I will use here as well. I do not, however, follow his distinction between different types of absentee PLHs. Dewasiri distinguishes three types of absentee PLHs: (1) the PLH lived close to his/her property and could visit it on a daily basis; (2) PLHs who had inherited the land from ancestral grounds; (3) PLHs who lived far away and who, also based on their status, were certainly not the cultivators of the lands (Dewasiri 82-83). Instead, I have divided the places of residence in six categories: Village (these are non- absentee, or resident PLHs); Four Gravets (those who lived in another villages in the Four Gravets of Colombo, roughly comparable with Dewasiri’s first category); Fort, Old Town or Slave Island (arguably, these also fit within category one of Dewasiri’s classification); Colombo dissavany65; Sri Lanka (excluding the Colombo-region); and, Outside of Sri Lanka.66 Previous studies have shown that absentee PLHs are a rather common phenomenon that is most present in regions with a high population density. Rupesinghe showed that in the Galle region the percentage of resident PLHs was higher in areas located further from the colonial centre (“Defining”, 149-150). Furthermore, Dewasiri sees a combination of high population density and a high degree of absent landowners as an indication for a high demand for the lands in that regions (26, 82). In the thombos of the Four Gravets, absentee PLHs are certainly mentioned. On the total of 727 PLHs mentioned,67 a little over 14 percent were absentee PLHs. The percentages varied per village, ranging from no absentee PLHs in the Zilversmidstraten to 50 percent in Ketawalamulla. A spatial pattern in the distribution of the absentee PLHs can be found, as shown in Map II.1: villages located further from Colombo had a higher percentage of absentee PLHs. This might have something to do with the higher amount of space available, further from the city. That Rupesinghe’s findings do not match with mine is probably due to the difference in the scale of the area, as Rupesinghe’s Galle region includes rural areas (“Defining”, 149-150).

65 The dissavany was the largest administrative unit in Dutch (and Portuguese) Sri Lanka; a province (Hovy, 1: lxxxiv; Belt et al. 484). 66 For the place names from the thombos that were included in each category, see Table AII.5. 67 This number is excluding PLHs whose place of residence was unsure. Furthermore, some common grounds without specified owners were excluded as well. 66

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Map II.1: Absentee PLHs in the Four Gravets of Colombo. Villages with a higher than average percentage of absentee PLHs are indicated with red triangles, those with a lower than average percentage with green triangles (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

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The behaviour of these PLHs on the land market has barely been studied before. One would expect that the percentage of OTLs would increase with the distance between their place of residence and the Four Gravets, as they would, for instance, need to travel to perform services; however, as the Graph II.34 shows, this is not the case. Unfortunately, the number of landholders in the ‘Sri Lanka’ and ‘Outside Sri Lanka’ groups is very low, which makes it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions. Nevertheless, these groups do not consist of only OTLs. The largest group of OTLs can be found with those residing in the Fort, the Old Town or Slave Island. Even in absolute numbers this group of OTLs is larger than the number of absentee OTLs residing in the Four Gravets, a group of a similar size. One would expect the group residing in the Fort, the Old Town or Slave Island68 to be dominated by Company personnel, but surprisingly, non-European OTLs form a significant part as well. 13 or 14 of the PLHs were Europeans, whereas 7 or 9 were not.69 The majority of PLHs, however, did not belong to the group of absentee PLHs at all and resided in the village where they owned lands.

OTLs vs. ONTLs (place of residence) 100 90 80 1 311 15 3 70 24 9 60 50 40 30 2 314 19 3 PERCENTAGE 20 13 7 10 0 Village Four Gravets Fort, Old Colombo Sri lanka Outside Sri Town or dissavany Lanka Slave Island PLACE OF RESIDENCE

Percentage ONTLs Percentage OTLs

Graph II.34: The percentages of OTLs and ONTLs per place of residence. The percentage is based on each place of residence-group separately. The black number in the bars of the graph indicate the number of PLHs that are part of this group, e.g. 9 OTLs and 7 ONTLs from Colombo dissavany, 16 PLHs then makes 100% (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Although the group of resident PLHs is the largest of the six categories, they do not represent the most ‘active’ group on the market. Their numbers ensure the highest total surface and price; however, once we calculate the average surface and price per buyer, they are no

68 SLNA 1/3802, S. Sebastian 22, 27, 30, 32, Maradana 61, 64, 68, Dematagoda, 22, Weg naar Goudenstein 56, Javaanse Straat 120, 122, 123, 141, 143, 144, 148, 160, 161, 164, Kotahena 11, Kochchikada 156, 166, 215, 220. 69 Based on the info in the thombos, three people could not be placed in one of the groups for certain, with even their name giving (slight) reasons for doubt and no other info available. 68

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars longer the most prominent group. The PLHs in the Fort-category turn out to be spending most per person, and are second only to the Four Gravets-group when it comes to the surface bought per person. Presented like this, it might seem that these groups spent a remarkable high amount of money on the lands they bought. When we turn to the average price spent per square meter, the Fort- and Four Gravets-category do not pay the highest price anymore. This doubtful honour is left to the ‘Sri Lanka’ and ‘Outside Sri Lanka’ groups (see Graph II.35-II.40]). This might suggest that people who lived at a greater distance from the lands they bought were less capable of negotiating favourable deals. One needs to be careful with such assumptions, however, as the total amount of buyers within this group is only four, a very small sample size. Three of them (two men, one woman70) were Chetties, who lived in Galle (south Sri Lanka), Mannar (north Sri Lanka71) and Nagapattinam (India), and for one man no further information is available except for his name and place of residence, Jaffna (SLNA 1/3802, Kochchikada 66, 144, 145, 214). Looking at the number of transactions per five-year-period, as shown in Graphs AII.5& AII.6, it turns out that only after 1742-1746 the number of gardens (later to be in possession of) absentee OTLs increased. This is also apparent when studying Graph AII.7. Once (the predecessors of) absentee PLHs start buying land, they feature clearly in this image. ‘The Fort’ group and the absentee OTLs in the Colombo dissavany purchased increasingly more land per transaction. The village group is much larger than any of the others, which might in part explain their lower average. Another, very likely, reason is that people who bought lands further from their place of residence were wealthier than people who bought lands closer to home. If we assume that people who could just afford to buy land, preferred to have lands closer to home, then we can also assume that people who could spent more on land (and arguably, travel costs), would also start looking further for (better or more) property, that was not (necessarily) meant for subsistence usage. This may suggest that these lands were more meant as an investment, which would fit into Dewasiri’s statement that especially these absentee PLHs became increasingly important as large, non-cultivating landowners (83, 128, 129).

70 The thombo describes this woman as the wife of a Chetty, assuming that wives belonged to the same social group as their husbands, she would be a Chetty as well. Furthermore, according to the record this woman bought the grounds herself (and not her husband, which we often see when widows are OTL), which makes her all the more remarkable (SLNA 1/3802, Kochchikada 145). 71 This could also refer to Mannar in India, but the thombos mention that this PLH had been an official in Sri Lanka in the past, which made me take Manner, Sri Lanka, as place of residence for this PLH (SLNA 1/3802, Kochchikada 214). 69

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

rijksdaalder

7) 7) The average

) The total price in price total The )

9

e of residence group; (3 residence of e

once transacted lands, but the actual size of the property property the of size actual the but lands, transacted once

(Source: SLNA 1/3802). SLNA (Source:

owned

could not be made could

40

II.

-

5

) The total surface area in square meters bought per plac boughtper meters square inarea surface total The )

8

) The average price paid per OTL per place of residence group. The number of OTLs included in the ‘Fort’ group is 23 23 is group ‘Fort’ the in included OTLs of number The group. residence of place per OTL per paid price average The )

. For one PLH in this group the thombo records that he that records thombo the group this in PLH one For .

4

40

per OTL; (3 OTL; per

II.40: II.40: (35) number The of OTLsper place of group; residence (36) price The per meter square per place of residence group; (3

-

surface area in square meters square inarea surface ( group; residence of place per paid II.3 Graph in noted 24 the of instead Graphs described is II.3 for vaguely, which themeant rather calculations Graphs II.35 70

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Concluding remarks Chapter 2 This chapter discussed several factors that might influence someone’s position on the land market: social group, gender and civic state, age and place of residence. It seems that there was not one single determining factor, but these factors enabled showing differences between several categories and highlighted some interesting OTL groups. It was shown that some Moors found ways to evade the VOC ban on Moorish landownership and that the role of women as landowners should not be underestimated. Almost all Dutch/European PLHs were OTLs, which might be explained by them not fitting into the Sri Lankan caste system. The ‘Fort’ group consisted for a significant part of Dutch(wo)men, which is probably part of the explanation of the ‘Fort’ groups favourable position. The radā had low chances of owning transacted land. They not only had low chances of being OTLs, but if they did, they paid high prices per square meter to obtain land. The āchāri also paid high prices, but in their case buying land seems to have been an expression of their increasing socio-economic status. Last but not least, it turned out that young people had a higher chance to be OTLs than their older fellow PLHs. The analyses in this chapter raise the question what it meant to buy land. From a Western perspective, owning your own land is a sign of wealth. However, the existence of the service system in Sri Lanka provided another way to gain access to land. It might very well be possible that the land market in the Four Gravets was a type of secondary, and not necessarily preferred, market to get access to land for people who were, for some reason, incapable of gaining those services that came with profitable awards in land. Participating in this land market would still require a good amount of cash and would not be possible for everyone. Although the thombos do not state the reason people decided to purchase land, they do provide information on the way they used their lands, which might in turn give some information on why people bought land. Therefore, the next chapter will look at land use, with specific attention to market oriented and (below-)subsistence agriculture.

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Chapter III: Living off the land? Subsistence agriculture and market-oriented agriculture in the Four Gravets

Introduction

Here are also, of Indian Fruits, Coker-nuts; Plantins also and Banana’s of divers and sundry sorts, which are distinguished by the tast as well as by the names; rare sweet Oranges and sower ones, Limes but no Lemons, such as ours are; Pautaurings, in tast all one with a Lemon, but much bigger than a mans two fists, right Citrons, and a small sort of sweet Oranges. Here are several other sorts of Lemons, and Oranges, Mangoes of several sorts, and some very good and sweet to eat. In this sort of Fruit the King much delights, and hath them brought to him from all Parts of the Island. Pine-Apples also grow there, Sugar Canes, Water-Melons, Pomegranates, Grapes both black and white, Mirablins, Codjeu’s, and several other (Knox 14).

In the 1680s, Robert Knox, ex-prisoner of the kingdom of Kandy, described the various corns, fruits and vegetables consumed in the kingdom in no less than three chapters. Discussing the eighteenth-century agriculture, Dewasiri mentions “coconut, jak, areca-nut, banana, mango, lemon and many others” (Dewasiri 18). It is also known that the VOC tried to instigate coffee and pepper plantations in Sri Lanka, and was attracted to the island in the first place because of its natural supply of cinnamon (Kotelawele 6, 8-12). Notwithstanding this enormous array of cultivated crops, the thombos ‘only’ record three types of trees: coconut, areca nut and jak- fruit. The VOC recorded these trees because they had a vested interest in these crops, for trade, taxation purposes or for both. Clearly, the exclusion of other trees in the VOC registers does not mean that people did not cultivate anything else. Although environmental factors may have influenced the types of fruits grown in the area, there is no reason to assume that the inhabitants of the Four Gravets would have restricted themselves solely to the production of the crops mentioned in the thombos. Even though the thombos do not provide a full account of the gardens’ produce, the information in the registers remains valuable. As it happens, the crops that the VOC took interest in were also vital for household consumption in colonial Sri Lanka, especially coconut and jak-fruit. Areca nuts had traditionally been a market crop and would remain so in the Dutch period. Jak-fruit was cultivated in gardens, but could also be found growing in the wild and was used as a substitute for rice. Coconuts were essential to people’s livelihood, as they were not only eaten, but also used for oil to cook food and to light the house. At the same time, coconuts also became a popular market crop in the Dutch colonial period (Dewasiri 127). That

72

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars fits in with a feature much mentioned in literature on British-Sri Lanka, but rarely elaborately discussed: the earliest phase of the rise of plantation agriculture.72 This chapter will be looking into both subsistence (i.e. household consumption) production and substantial market production of coconut. These might seem, and in a way were, worlds apart, but both subsistence production and plantation agriculture were ways in which people used the lands at their disposal in this area. As we shall see, both residents struggling for subsistence and others operating plantation sized gardens could be found in the same village. The group of people who were neither struggling for subsistence, nor participating in substantial market production, is much more difficult to describe and study, as it is hard to determine which part of their production was meant for family consumption and which part went to the market. As will become clear below, they were also a rather small group. Therefore, this chapter will focus on subsistence production, and substantial market production of plantation. This chapter also asks the question which groups were taking on plantation agriculture and which were struggling to survive. The geographical setting of the Four Gravets, as a transition zone between city and countryside, adds another dynamic to these questions, namely the proximity of a colonial urban centre. The Four Gravets’ location just outside the city gates meant that there was probably more land available than in Colombo itself, but as was seen in the previous chapters, this ‘stock’ diminished from the 1750s onwards. At the same time, Colombo’s market must have provided opportunities to sell produce, and to buy food, as well as offer a demand for labour. As such, the Four Gravets can be seen as a peri-urban, transitional zone,73 offering opportunities in agrarian and urban economic pursuits.

72 For example, see the articles of Kooiman; and, Wickramaratne et al. 73 For the explanation of this term, see Introduction. 73

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

3.1 Subsistence

According to the land thombos, the number of all coconut, jak-fruit and areca nut trees in the Four Gravets combined amounted up to about 45,600. This may seem an impressive number to any modern (Western) city-dweller, but the thombos also show us that significant differences existed between the villages and individuals in the Four Gravets. The Zilversmidstraten counted zero areca nut trees, whereas the entire amount of coconut trees only in the Javaanse Straat added up to 8,980. Similarly, in almost every village one or several inhabitants were registered as having no trees at all, whereas the thombos also record two people owning over 2000 trees (SLNA 1/3802).74 It is estimated that the average family needed about two full-grown jak-fruit trees, in addition to four coconut trees per person to subsist (Dewasiri 50). This section uses these numbers to calculate if PLHs could provide for their family based on the resources in their gardens. In order to establish the family-size, I used the information available in the head thombos (D-SLNA 1/3758). These head thombos were complementary to the land thombos; in fact, in the Galle region they were one and the same document. The land thombos provide information on a PLH and the landed possession of a group of relatives. The head thombos, on the other hand, provide a detailed description of the PLH and his/her extended family. The people mentioned in a head thombo entry all had some kind of right to (shares of) the lands mentioned in the land thombo. As such, the thombos were legal documents, as people could use thombo extracts in court to proof their claims on gardens. Apparently, extracts from these eighteenth-century registers are still used in court cases every now and then (Rupesinghe, Negotiating, 50, 122). For instance, if we take the first page of the head thombo of S. Sebastian (Figure 3), we encounter a widow named Isabella d’Zilva and her family. She lived with her niece, her niece’s husband and their three children (one son and two daughters).75 The thombo provides their names, caste, ages and, in the man’s case his service. Figures 1 and 2 in the introduction show the land thombo entry for this family. This time, only Isabella d’Zilva is mentioned, as she was considered the family head, or PLH. In this land thombo entry, we read a description of this family’s landed property, consisting of three gardens and three sowing fields (SLNA 1/3802 and SLNA 1/3758, S. Sebastian 1).

74 For the number of trees per village, see Table AIII.1. Examples of people having no trees: SLNA 1/3802, S. Sebastian 6; Maradana 7; Dematagoda 4; Ketawalamulla 2; Keselwata 3; Weg naar Goudenstein, 2.5; Javaanse Straat 37; Kotahena 18; Kochchikada 1; Hultsdorf 21. Examples of people owning over 2000 trees: SLNA 1/3802, Dematagoda 7; Javaanse Straat 122 75 The thombo description of the niece is ‘zusters dogter’ (daughter of the sister of the family head). It is very unlikely that she was the biological mother of all three children. She herself was 20 years according to the entry, while the eldest daughter was already 14 years of age. The youngest daughter was aged 9, which is also somewhat unlikely with a 20-year old mother (SLNA 1/3758, S. Sebastian 1). 74

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

The family groups mentioned in the head thombos are termed “PLH group” by Dewasiri and “Land Holding Group (LHG)” by Rupesinghe (Dewasiri 82; Rupesinghe, “Defining”, 147). Dewasiri defines the PLH group as “[…] all those who shared an estate or resided on lands that belonged to the said estate […]” (82). Rupesinghe uses LGH to refer to those who had individual or joint property rights to the lands mentioned, and notes that the Dutch wanted to know this for tax and inheritance issues (Rupesinghe, “Defining”, 147). For the following analysis, I decided to include all family members mentioned in the thombo, even if they were living in another village than the family head.76 Most of these absent family member seem to have resided elsewhere in the Four Gravets (D-SLNA 1/3758), and even absent members could make claims on the family lands and its produce (Belt et al. 486-487; Dewasiri 20). In the Four Gravets about 50% of the population lived below subsistence levels for jak-fruit, whereas an astounding 73.3% did not manage to meet subsistence levels for coconut based on their gardens. The maps (III.1 & III.2) below show the percentage of families in a village living below subsistence level regarding jak-fruit and coconut. It is remarkable, and somewhat worrying, that those villages with high shares of their inhabitant living below subsistence level with regard to jak-fruit, are also worst off when looking at coconut resources. The villages closest to Colombo seem to have struggled most; only Kotahena was doing relatively well.

[Figure 3 has been removed]

Figure 3: The first page of the head thombo of S. Sebastian (Source: 1/3758, f.1v).

76 If information on family size was not available, this was substituted by the average family size of the village. 75

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Map III.1: The percentage of families living below subsistence level for jak-fruit per village (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758; NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

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Map III.2: The percentage of families living below subsistence level for coconut per village (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758; NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

When viewing the Four Gravets as the suburbs of Colombo, the question rises if this is a consequence of an urbanisation process in which the population of these villages grew, pressure on land increased for residential needs (Qadeer 8), and the inhabitants became more dependent on the urban (food) market.77 Maps (III.3 & III.4) depict the percentages of families living below subsistence levels for both jak-fruit and coconut, but also show the population size of the village. The population size seems to be an explanation for the low subsistence levels in some villages, such as Kochchikada and the Javaanse Straat (with regard to coconut). Keselwata, Hultsdorf, S. Sebastian and Zilversmidstraten, on the other hand, have small populations and do not meet subsistence levels. While S. Sebastian and the Zilversmidstraten only lack in coconut resources, Keselwata and Hultsdorf seem to be below subsistence on both counts. Thus, yet another factor is needed to explain why so many inhabitants in the Four Gravets did not meet subsistence levels. Looking at the map it appears that not only the population size is of influence here, but also the available space. This would explain why these four villages are not meeting subsistence level. Their individual population sizes are not that big, but the four villages were located in a relatively small space. This also explains why Kotahena is doing better than the other villages, as it is among the smallest villages of the Four Gravets and had plenty of surrounding space available for agriculture, being located far from Colombo. The much larger village Weg naar Goudenstein apparently is capable of sustaining its population in jak-fruit (for which only two trees per family are needed), but fails to do so in case of coconut (possibly because this requires four trees per person and hence more space to plant them). This further explains the dire situation in the Kochchikada, which, according to the map (NL-HaNA 4.VEL953), largely consisted of buildings, instead of gardens. At first, Maradana seems not to fit into this pattern, as it has a large population but seems to be located in an area with plenty of space available for agriculture. However, Sri Lanka’s largest cinnamon plantation in this area was located in the Maradana (Wickramasinghe 18), which probably meant that less land was at the disposal of the villagers to provide for their own livelihood, thus explaining the low number of people meeting subsistence levels. That leaves us with two villages that do not fit the explanation: Dematagoda and Ketawalamulla. Neither have a large population size and plenty of space appears to be available. Still, they do not easily meet subsistence levels. As we will see in the next section,

77 Unfortunately, no data are available on population density in the area for this period. Therefore, I used population size as a proxy of urbanisation levels. I calculated a minimum population size. I took the average family size per family and multiplied this by the number of families living in the village. Absent PLHs and their families were thus not included in the calculation. Furthermore, for Maradana information was available via the head thombos on some family members living elsewhere, they were excluded as well. As Rupesinghe noted, however, the use of the land thombos for a population count is likely to result in an overestimation of the population size as some people might be part of several PLH groups. (Rupesinghe, Negotiating, 125-126). See also: Introduction. 78

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars two large coconut plantations may have limited the space available for other types of agriculture.

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Map III.3: The percentage of families living below subsistence level for jak-fruit per villages as opposed to the population size per village (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758; NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

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Map III.4: The percentage of families living below subsistence level for coconut per village as opposed to the population size of the village (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758; NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

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With almost 75% of the Four Gravets’ population not meeting subsistence levels, it is near impossible to give a description of a typical person living below subsistence levels. Nevertheless, there are some differences between the various social groups. As Graph AIII.2 in Appendix III show, the Dutch/European group is the only group with more than half of the members reaching subsistence for coconut based on their garden(s), whereas Chetties, Moors and manumitted slaves had lower chances than the other groups to meet this level. Moors, and especially the Chetties, were traders and would probably not depend upon their garden for their livelihood. Sinhalese and Tamil PLHs formed a middle group, but still had very low chances to provide for themselves and their families simply based on their garden(s). Although it can be said that PLHs of lower castes and of a younger age had somewhat lower chances at reaching subsistence levels than their high-ranking and/or older counterparts, these variables and gender do not show major differences between the various categories (Graphs AIII.3- AIII.5). The picture painted above is a bleak one. It seems that the question should not be who were living below subsistence, but how did the 75% of the population manage to gain a livelihood. Although the information provided by the thombos on this subject is limited, some exploratory remarks can be made based on thombos information combined with secondary literature. I approach the question from two angles: the land market and the suburban context of the Four Gravets. In light of the discussion in the previous chapters and the hypothesis that the land market functioned as a secondary market of acquiring land, one wonders if subsistence is something that could be bought. Or, rather, if OTLs were more likely to meet subsistence levels than ONTLs. Both groups are of an equal size and therefore easy to compare (see Graphs III.1 and III.2). In the case of jak-fruit, the OTLs definitely had higher chances of meeting subsistence levels than the ONTLs. A majority of the OTLs had two or more trees per family. Although OTLs still had higher chances of reaching subsistence level for coconut than their OTL counterparts, a majority of them failed to do so. From discussing the chances of ONTLs, it is a small step to looking into resident and absentee PLHs.78 The picture provided in Graph III.3 is clear: only about 20% of the resident landholders met subsistence level for coconut, whereas more than half of the absentee PLHs did so.

78 For the definition of resident and absentee PLHs, see Chapter I. 82

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O(N)TLs and subsistence O(N)TLs and subsistence (coconut) (jak-fruit) 600 400 500 300 400 300 200 200 100 100

0 0 NUMBER OF PLHS NUMBER OF NUMBER OF PLHS NUMBER OF ONTLs OTLs Total ONTLs OTLs Total OTL OR ONTL OTL OR ONTL

Below subsistence Subsistence Below subsistence Subsistence

Graphs III.1 and III.2: Number of PLHs (not) meeting subsistence on basis of their garden(s) for (1) coconut, and (2) jak-fruit (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758).

Subsistence and resident and absentee PLHs (coconut) 100% 131 80% 62 60%

40% 493

PERCENTAGE 20% 40

0% Resident Absent RESIDENT OR ABSENT PLHS

Percentage Below Percentage On/Above

Graph III.3: Subsistence and resident and absentee PLHs. The percentages are calculated on basis on the group (not the entire database). The numbers in the bar of the graph indicate the number of people making up each section. For example: 62 absentee PLHs living on/above subsistence level for coconut, and 40 PLHs not meeting subsistence level, 102 PLHs then makes 100% (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758).

So, although OTLs had higher chances to meet subsistence levels, owning transacted land was no guarantee for meeting subsistence levels. With over 500 people, of which over 200 OTLs, not meeting subsistence level, it cannot be said that buying land was a general ‘survival strategy’ or a common way to ensure one’s livelihood. It merely confirms that, if the land market indeed functioned as a secondary way of acquiring land, it was only for those of larger means. It does not exclude the option that some gained subsistence via purchasing gardens, but it was not a solution that was open to the multitude. With Colombo at a small distance from the villages in the Four Gravets, the influence of the city cannot be left unmentioned. As early as 1659 the Company issued a plakkaat

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars regulating the location and market dues of markets in Colombo mentioning “betel en toeback” and “het sout, d’rijs, oyle, etc.” as market goods (Hovy 1: 36).79 The city thus provided a market, at which people could buy the products they did not produce themselves. In order to buy products at the market, one would need money to pay for it and therefore the possibility to perform wage labour. It seems that there was a demand for (wage) labour. Although Arasaratnam mentions that the VOC policies hampered the development of a paid labour market and Knaap notes the use of slave labour by artisans and shopkeepers in seventeenth- century Colombo (Arasaratnam 48-9; Knaap 96), the demand for labour was undeniably there (Asaratnam 48). There are signs that a labour market existed in and around Colombo. Dewasiri, for instance, points out that certain castes drew towards the colonial centre, because there was a high demand for their services (72). The plakkaaten do not feature many ordinances relating to wage labour, but some can be found relating the payment of smiths (Hovy 2: 688), and the proposed education of the children of the poor so the boys would be able to pick up an “ambacht”80 or a position in the military or sailing and so the girls would be able to support their family with “nuttig en nodig huyswerk”81 (Hovy 2: 648-49). Jan Lucassen also points to people from Sri Lanka working as seamen or soldiers for the VOC (Lucassen 19-23). Although the VOC complained about the costs of hiring Asian employees in general (Lucassen 19-21), Pim de Zwart has shown that living standards in Dutch colonial Sri Lanka were low, due to a combination of low wages and very high prices (Zwart, esp. 374). Using the subsistence basket-method, he does not deal extensively with the fact that most people had access to a garden in which they could produce some products of their own. As a result, they would not need to buy these homegrown crops from their meagre wages. Although the thombos do not allow for any definitive conclusion on this topic, it is possible that people combined wage labour with private gardening to provide for themselves. Especially in the Four Gravets, close to the colonial centre Colombo, the opportunity to add to the family ‘income’ with wage labour would have existed, as would the possibility to spend wages on the market buying nourishments. The first would also be in line with Dewasiri’s remark that certain caste groups tended to draw towards the colonial centre because there was a high demand for their skills and services (Dewasiri 72). It would also fit in with an urbanisation process in which town-dwellers would become less and less self-sufficient and instead relied on food supply sold at the urban market. Since 75% of the Four Gravets could not reach subsistence levels for coconut, the basic food product at the time, these families must have had other means to provide for

79 The products mention are betel, tobacco, salt, rice and oil. 80 Translation: craft. 81 Translation: useful and needed work at home. 84

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars themselves. If not, there would have been sources on a 1766-1767 famine in the area, and these do not seem to exist. Even though little information on wage labour is available, this would have been an additional or alternative way to make a living, besides private gardening. The exact ways in which people combined these sources of income and the developments that took place in this division are topics that merit further research, especially with regards to the quick urbanisation in the Four Gravets (which would lead one to expect a larger dependence on wage labour). The combination of private gardening with wage labour for so many could only be possible when others produced a surplus of crops for the market, so that people could buy products from their wages. The next section will deal with market-oriented gardening in plantation-sized gardens in the Four Gravets, focussing on the production of coconut.

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3.2 Plantations

The research available on plantations in colonial Sri Lanka tends to focus on the developments in the British period, and coffee production specifically (but not exclusively). It is often acknowledged that types of plantation agriculture existed in the Dutch and even Portuguese, colonial period, but these developments are rarely dealt with in any depth. Often little more than a sentence, at best a paragraph, is devoted to these earlier plantations (e.g. Kooiman; Wickramaratne et al.;). Studies regarding plantations in other parts of Asia tend to focus on the developments from the nineteenth century onwards (e.g. Pelzer; Lees), with the exception of coffee and sugar production near Batavia already discussed in the Introduction and Chapter I.82 The West-Indies have also attracted a good deal of attention (e.g. Zanden; Smith). As a result, little is known on plantation agriculture in Sri Lanka before the British colonial period. The most comprehensive research has been done by Dewasiri, who worked on rural regions. He states that a trend towards market production of coconut can be seen in the mid-eighteenth century, which was spearheaded by indigenous chiefs who possessed the large and medium-sized plantations (Dewasiri 51, 54, 60). In this section, I will draw on Dewasiri’s classification of plantations. He argues that the sheer number of trees is not enough to define a garden with market orientation, but that access to a market is crucial as well. As all villages in the Four Gravets were located relatively close to Colombo, access to a market will not have prevented the development of market production in the area. Furthermore, Dewasiri distinguishes between function, size and labour relations. This thesis will focus on the size of plantations more than the labour relations or function, as the thombos do not provide information about whether labour was separated from ownership or which crops were grown on the land apart from the three crops registered in the thombos. Furthermore, producing one or two crops in large quantities and cultivating another on the side, does not exclude the possibility of marketing those crops produced on larger scale. Dewasiri’s definition of the size of coconut plants is useful nonetheless. He distinguishes small (200 to 500 trees), medium (500 to 1000 trees), large (1000 to 5000) and mega (5000 or more trees) plantations (Dewasiri 52, 54, 55). Dewasiri uses this scale to indicate different sizes of plantations in a rural region. Although one may expect smaller or larger plantations to exist in the Four Gravets (as a result of limited space available, or the proximity of the market), it turns out that all plantations sizes Dewasiri distinguishes can be found, except for the mega plantation of more than 5000 trees. Furthermore, using the same scale facilitates the comparison of my own findings for Colombo’s suburbs with Dewasiri’s results for the rural region of Colombo.

82 Apart from the studies mentioned in Chapter I, see also: Bosma, The Sugar Plantation. 86

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The plantations were not evenly distributed across the Four Gravets (Map III.5). In Hultsdorf, the Zilversmidstraten, and Keselwata, no one owned enough coconut trees83 to qualify as a plantation holder. As was seen in the previous section, these villages did not have an exceptionally large population, but were located very close to one and other, resulting in little space available for any type of agriculture. The group of plantation holders in the Four Gravets is quite small, and was in all villages outnumbered by people who owned smaller coconut gardens or no coconut trees at all. The villages with the largest shares of plantation holders were those furthest from Colombo, which might have been a matter of available space. Although land prices (Chapter I) might have played a role in this pattern as well, explaining the higher shares in Dematagoda, Ketawalamulla and Maradana, it does not seem as if this had a decisive impact. In the 1760s, S. Sebastian ranked among the more expensive villages, but it still had a relatively high share of plantation holders in its population. The rising land prices of S. Sebastian were possibly influenced by the diminishing amount of land available due to this relatively large number of plantations. Apart from these four villages, the Javaanse Straat also had some plantations, and smaller shares of plantation holders could be found in the remaining settlements.

83 The classification is assigned based on the total number of trees a PLHs kept in his/her garden(s). In some cases, these could all be found in one garden, in others they were distributed over several gardens. It happens that several gardens combined make a plantation, but not the separate gardens in their own right. 87

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars

Map III.5: The shares of families holding plantation-sized gardens and smaller gardens in the Four Gravets. The map indicates plantation sized coconut gardens, gardens below plantation size for coconut and gardens without coconut trees (Source: SLNA 1/3802; NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

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This distribution pattern of plantations shows a remarkable similarity with the distribution pattern of absent landholders; the villages with the largest shares of coconut planters were also amongst the settlements with a higher than average number of absentee PLHs (see Chapter II). This would suggest a relationship between absent landholders and (coconut) plantations. Compared to their resident counterparts, absentee PLHs indeed had a higher chance of owning a plantation sized garden and were less likely to have no coconut trees at all (see Graphs III.4 and III.5). However, when we turn to the shares of absent and resident PLHs among the plantation holding group (Graph III.6), it turns out that a majority of the planters were resident landholders. So, a higher number of absentee PLHs could influence the number of plantations in a village, as these PLHs were more likely to hold plantations than their resident counterparts, but the majority of planters were still living in the village. Furthermore, most of the absent PLHs were living relatively close-by, in the Fort, Old Town or Slave Island, or in another village in the Four Gravets. According to Dewasiri, these absentee PLHs, who do not cultivate their own soil (which is probably the case here, as will become clear later on), had an important part in changing social relations between landowners and people labouring on the land (Dewasiri 83, 128-29).

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Resident PLHs Absentee PLHs

No coconut trees No coconut trees Below plantation size Below plantation size Plantations Plantations

Planters

Resident Absent

Graphs III.4-6: (4) The shares of resident PLHs and (5) absentee PLHs holding plantations, below plantation sized gardens or no coconut trees at all. (6) The shares of resident and absent PLHs among the planters (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Yet another pattern is visible: the villages that had the highest shares of coconut planters are also the villages with a lower than average percentage of OTLs (see Chapter 1). That co-occurrence would suggest a negative relation between plantations and land buying. However, when looking into the group plantation owners, another picture emerges (Graph III.7): OTLs outnumbered ONTLs in all categories of coconut gardens. Nonetheless, owning transacted land was apparently not a prerequisite for having a coconut plantation, as ONTLs can be found in every category as well, even among the owners of the largest plantation (one owner in four).

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O(N)TLs and coconut garden size 250

200

150

100

50 NUMBER OF PLHS NUMBER OF

0 No coconut Below Small plantation Medium Large plantation trees plantation size plantation GARDEN SIZE

ONTLs OTLs

Graph III.7: Garden sizes and the number of ONTLs and OTLs that hold such gardens (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Then, who were these planters? Tables AIII.2-4 in Appendix III show lists of the small, medium and large plantation holders. The large plantations were most often located in Dematagoda. The medium-sized plantations could be found in the Javaanse Straat and S. Sebastian. The smaller ones were most often located in Maradana, with the Javaanse Straat and S. Sebastian ranking second. The group of large and medium planters is dominated by PLHs with European roots,84 whereas the Moors and indigenous chiefs (and other goyigama) dominated the group of small planters. Tables AIII.5-7 (Appendix III) show the names of the people I included in the groups and which are discussed in more detail in Tables III.1-3. Comparing the three groups, a difference occurs in family size. The ‘Dutch’ planters had very small families, on average consisting of three persons. Many of these plantations were kept by PLH groups consisting of only the PLH him/herself.85 At the same time the family groups of the Moorish planters turn out rather large. Partly, this is explained by two rather large PLH groups (consisting of 60 and 33 members).86 On average, the goyigama and Moorish planters are of the same age and about 15 years older than their ‘Dutch’ counterparts. Still, the planters are in general of a more advanced age (40+), which might be partly explained by the need to acquire financial capital to buy a plantation. As Kanumoyoso pointed out for Batavia, buying land for agricultural endeavours

84 The large group also features one Chetty and the widow of a Chetty. It seems safe to say, based on the size of their garden, that these Chetty families must have belonged to the traders/entrepreneurs among the more diverse Chetty group. Judging from her name (Josanna Coen), the widow, had Dutch roots as well (Source: SLNA 1/3802, Dematagoda 7, and Dematagoda 22. 85 The average of three persons is calculated including a large PLH group with 18 members (SLNA 1/3802 & D-SLNA 1/3758, Dematagoda 7). 86 Namely, Maradana 17 (this family is not meeting subsistence level on the basis of their small-sized plantation garden) and Maradana 18 (SLNA 1/3802 & D-SLNA 1/3758). 91

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars demanded money, which is why in the Ommelanden many entrepreneurs turned to renting land (95, 107). As we will see below, the careers of the Sri Lankan planters would have provided them with the necessary capital. Although more male than female PLHs are registered as having a plantation, female planters could hold all sizes of plantations. Among the large plantations holders, an equal number of female and male planters is counted (see Table AIII.2, Appendix III). Even if these women had not started these plantations themselves, or bought their own grounds, they had become head of the family87 and perhaps continued the business. Furthermore, women who were not registered as PLH, and are therefore not mentioned in Tables in this chapter, could still have had an important impact on the family work. Andaya has shown that women played a crucial part in the British and Dutch failure to institute a pepper plantation economy in Sumatra, although, or rather: because of, their important role within the family units was disregarded by the (male) colonial rulers (Andaya). Many planters were living in The Old Town, Colombo Fort or Hultsdorf. Another prominent place of residence was Maradana. The many planters living in colonial and administrative centres Colombo and Hultsdorf reminds one of the theory mentioned by May, on the capitalistic (in this case also colonial) influence that radiates from the city centre outwards: “The capitalist forces that form the city are not limited to the city, but spread outside its borders. These forces are the highest in the city centre, and the lowest in the rural, meaning that the suburban is located in the middle spectrum” (May 3). Although this seems to be the case here as well, this Western model cannot be copied this easily. When we consider the average purchase dates of the grounds, it turns out that the ‘Dutch’ and most often city-based group were not the first to buy their plantation lands. It is rather the opposite: the goyigama bought their lands on average in 1744, with the Moors following suit in 1749. The Dutch group ‘drags behind’, buying on average in 1753. The thombos seldom tell us the reason people had for acquiring their lands and thus cannot tell us why the goyigama planters bought their lands and much less why they started cultivating coconut on plantation scale. Nevertheless, it may very well be that they saw a business opportunity that in a way evaded the VOC. As Dewasiri points out, coconut could become a popular market crop, because it was not monopolised by the VOC (Dewasiri, 127). If we follow this line of reasoning a little further, it might be that the Dutch picked up coconut plantation agriculture as a reaction on this trend set by the goyigama (and later Moor) planters. One may wonder why the Dutch planters choose to start their own plantations. Dutch attempts to tax coconut in 1730s had been abandoned for the discontent it caused and as late as 1757 the Company had complained about (and acted against)

87 Most of the female PLHs were widows, but some married and unmarried women can be found as PLH as well. Why they were registered as family head instead of one of their male relatives is unclear. See also, chapter II, section 2.2. 92

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars the high prices it had had to pay for coconut oil (Kotelawele 14, 26). It may be that the Dutch planter simply saw a profitable business opportunity, but the frustrated attempts at levying taxes and the Company’s discontent about the high coconut oil prices, make one wonder what part the VOC government played in the instigation of these Dutch plantations. As we will see below, many of these Dutch planters were government officials, and therefore it may be difficult to separate government actions from private initiatives. Are we witnessing a governmental attempt to gain control over coconut production after all, or are we seeing Dutch planters and officials evading VOC policies according to an example set by goyigama and Moorish entrepreneurs? Apart from the Dutch motivations for market-oriented coconut production, it would also be interesting to find out how goyigama and Moorish planters reacted to this Dutch competition. At least, the participation of local entrepreneurs in Sri Lankan plantation agriculture in general would continue into the nineteenth century, as was pointed out by Dick Kooiman (53-62, 73-76). The goyigama had the largest gardens in square meters (not in the number of trees, which caused their gardens to be classified as ‘small’ plantations above) and paid the lowest price per square meter. The Moors had the smallest plantations in square meters, which fits the pattern that although they were a large landholding group (Raben, Batavia, 190) they did not possess the largest plots as was shown in Chapter II. Regarding plantation surface size, the Dutch formed a middle group, however, they paid the highest price per OTL and the highest price per square meter. The price they paid for one square meter was a factor 100 higher than those paid by goyigama planters. Graph I.1 shows that prices rose between 1744 and 1753, but they did not rise that sharply.88 For some reason, the Dutch planters were willing to pay such prices for their grounds and/or were persuaded to pay much higher prices than others. There is one thing the Dutch and goyigama planters had in common: they were often high-ranking officials in the colonial government.89 Among the Dutch we find three boekhouders and three onderkoopmannen90, two koopmannen and one opperkoopman.91 These functions were sometimes combined with other posts, a position in the Landraad, being secretary of the Council of Justice (the highest court in colonial Sri Lanka) or being Secretary of ‘politie’ (the Council of Colombo, the central government of colonial Sri Lanka), and

88 In the period 1740-1744 median land prices were 0,01 rd per square meter. This price rose to 0,07 rd/m2 in the period 1750-1754, see also Chapter I. 89 Little is known on the Moors in this case, the thombo only mentions that several of them did not perform services and that one of them had been ‘hoofd der’ (head of), but his exact function is unreadable due to damage (SLNA 1/3802, Kotahena 15). 90 Among those three, I counted the widow of a onderkoopman. 91 Translations of these Dutch terms: boekhouder: bookkeeper; onderkoopman: junior merchant/under- merchant; koopman: merchant; opperkoopman: senior merchant/upper-merchant. These were (very) high-ranking positions within the VOC government. 93

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars pakhuismeester.92 These positions made them belong to the top of the colonial government in Sri Lanka (Jurriaanse 20-21, 23-26, 28-29; Hovy 1: lxxxviii-xci, xciii-xciv). This is best illustrated by the example of ‘Den Edelen Heer Joan Gerrard van Angelbeek’ (SLNA 1/3802, S. Sebastian 36), holder of a small-sized plantation. At the time of registration, he was opperkoopman and secretary to the Council of Colombo. Opperkoopman was already one of the highest post available in Sri Lanka’s government at the time, but Van Angelbeek eventually became Governor of Ceylon (1794-1796) (Regt 42). We also encounter several men with military titles to their names, such a lieutenant who had first served in the governmental function of hoofd of ‘Caliture’, Kalutara. Similarly, high-ranking indigenous officials can be found among the goyigama planters. The thombos note people who were (related to), or had been, mahamudaliyar, mudaliyar van de attepattoe, a mudaliyar, a mohottimohandiram van de portha, a hoofd van de attepattoe and a man who claimed to have been saffermadoe van de attepattoe. A mahamudaliyar was a chief of the highest level, followed by the mudaliyar and the mohandiram (Rupesinghe, Negotiating, xiv-xv). The predominance of high-ranking officials (whether indigenous or not) is not exceptional. Dewasiri has noted the role of indigenous officials in rural plantation agriculture before. In rural regions they formed the largest group of medium and large plantation owners, followed by burghers and lower chiefs (Dewasiri 60). That these indigenous officials did not own any medium or large plantations in the Four Gravets can probably be best explained by the distance to Colombo. It is probable that Dutch planters preferred to be situated closely to colonial centre Colombo, and it is not unlikely that goyigama chiefs preferred to be located further from the colonial centre. As Dewasiri has pointed out, they tended to use service labour to staff their plantations. This went against the wishes of the VOC, but there was little the Company could do and it was tolerated as long as it did not harm VOC interests (Dewasiri 126-27). Still, such practices could have more easily gone unnoticed in rural regions, than in the vicinity to the largest VOC centre on the island. The predominance of Dutch government officials in the Four Gravets is reminiscent of several studies on early British plantation agriculture on Sri Lanka that showed that planters in this early stage were often government officials and people very closely related to them. This put them in a position to influence government decision making in ways that suited their interests, while indigenous planters did not have that opportunity, which made it much more difficult for them to successfully pursue their businesses (Meyer 350-351; Bandarage 4-5; Kooiman 58). Given that many of the Dutch planters held high positions in the colonial government, they will have been in a similar position to influence law-making to their own

92 Translation: warehouse master (a government position concerned with the distribution of goods from the warehouses, see: Jurriaanse 26). 94

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars profit. M.W. Jurriaanse argued that the Batavian government became more corrupt towards the end of VOC rule (Jurriaanse 18-19). Hovy hints at similar conflicts of interest in the VOC’s government(s) (Hovy 1: lxxx). It seems safe to assume that at least some of the Dutch (and goyigama) planters did further their own goals by drawing on their involvement in the colonial government and their relation with other administrators.

Planters: VOC officials & Other Dutch(wo)men N Number PLHs 21 21 Average family 3 14 size Average age 43.8 5 Gender Male (17); Female (4) 21 Place of The Old Town (6); Colombo Fort (3); S. Sebastian (3); 21 residence Kochchikada (2); Javaanse Straat (2); Weg naar Goudenstein (2); Dematagoda (1); Jaffanapatnam (1); Maradana (1) Location of Javaanse Straat (9); S. Sebastian (5); Kochchikada (3); Weg 21 plantation naar Goudenstein (2); Dematagoda (1); Maradana (1) Amount of 36,179.67 m2 16 surface per OTL Price per OTL 1,089 rd 16 Price/m2 0.0301 rd/m2 Average year of 1753.5 20 purchase Table III.1: Planters: VOC officials and other Dutch(wo)men. The column ‘N’ indicates the sample size for that row in the Table. In total 21 Dutch PLHs were ‘planters’, however, the thombos do not provide information on all 21 with regard to (for example) age (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758).

Planters: Moors N Number PLHs 13 13 Average family 26.57143 7 size Average age 61.57143 7 Gender Male (9); Female (4) 13 Place of Maradana (7); Wolvendaal - unspecified (2); De Moorse 13 residence straat (1); S. Sebastian (1) Location of Maradana (7); S. Sebastian (3); Ketawalamulla (1); 13 plantation Kotahena (1); Javaanse Straat (1) Amount of 30,426.28 m2 12 surface per OTL Price per OTL 153.9167 rd 12 Price/m2 0.005059 rd/m2 Average year of 1749.95 20 purchase Table III.2: Planters: Moors. The column ‘N’ indicates the sample size for that row in the table. In total 13 Moorish PLHs were ‘planters’, however, the thombos do not provide information on all 13 with regard to (for example) age (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758).

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Planters: High ranking indigenous officials & other goyigama N Number PLHs 11 11 Average family 13.75 4 size Average age 61.4 5 Gender Male (7); Female (2); Unspecified (2) 11 Place of Dematagoda (3); Maradana (2); S. Sebastian (2); The Old 11 residence Town (1); Hultsdorf (1); Wellewatte [Salpitticorle] (1); Wellikadde (1) Location of Maradana (4); S. Sebastian (4); Dematagoda (3) 11 plantation Amount of 44,6948.6 m2 10 surface per OTL Price per OTL 287.7 rd 10 Price/m2 0.000644 rd/m2 Average year of 1744 10 purchase Table III.3: Planters: High-ranking indigenous officials and other goyigama. The column ‘N’ indicates the sample size for that row in the table. In total 11 high-ranking officials and other goyigama PLHs were ‘planters’. However, the thombos do not provide information on all 11 with regard to (for example) age (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758).

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3.3 Plantations & Subsistence It has been argued that land grabbing by colonial elites and the rise of large-scale production units in the nineteenth-century deprived others from their lands, and therefore their livelihood (Bandarage 5; see also the historiography in: Meyer 322-323 and Kooiman 58). Considering the low number of people reaching subsistence in the Four Gravets, one wonders if the presence of plantations had any influence on people’s chances to meet these levels. A lower than average number of people meeting subsistence could be found in two of the three villages with a higher than average number of plantations (Table III.4). Out of three villages with a higher than average percentage of plantations, ‘only’ one of them had also a higher than average percentage of people living below subsistence level. Due to the overall high percentage of people not meeting subsistence with their gardens (nearly 75%), it is difficult to draw any definitive conclusion on the relation between the presence of plantations and the chances of not meeting subsistence. The absence of plantations, however, did not secure villages from (extremely) high shares of people living below subsistence, as can be seen in the case of Keselwata, and to some extent Kochchikada and the Zilversmidstraten.

Village Percentage On/Above Percentage Plantation Percentage Below Zilversmidstraten 38,46153846 0 61,53846154 Kochchikada 8,823529412 1,680672269 89,49579832 Dematagoda 13,88888889 19,44444444 66,66666667 Hultsdorf 54,54545455 0 45,45454545 Keselwata 6,666666667 0 93,33333333 Ketawalamulla 40 6,666666667 53,33333333 Kotahena 66,66666667 5,555555556 27,77777778 Maradana 29,62962963 19,75308642 50,61728395 S. Sebastian 14,63414634 29,26829268 56,09756098 Javaanse Straat 15,24390244 7,926829268 76,82926829 Weg naar Goudenstein 22,95081967 4,918032787 72,13114754 FOUR GRAVETS 18,90410959 7,808219178 73,28767123 Table III.4: The percentage of PLHs on/above or below subsistence and holding plantations (Source: SLNA 1/3802; D-SLNA 1/3758).

Another way in which plantations may have influenced developments surrounding subsistence is as provider of food supplies. The plantations, both in the Four Gravets and in Colombo’s countryside, may have provided food for a local, urban market. With the sources used in this paper, it is not possible to determine for certain for which market the plantation produce was meant. Certain products, such as coffee and cinnamon, were planted through VOC insistence and were probably meant for overseas markets (Kotalewele 6-14). Coconut, however, did not fall under a VOC-monopoly (Dewasiri 127), and might therefore have been produced for a more local market. This market production of the plantations would then have

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars given people the opportunity to buy the products they did not produce themselves, assuming that they had the money to pay for it. Although it might be possible that plantations also functioned as a source of employment for those needing wage labour to add to their gardens’ resources, most of the available evidence points the other way. In the course of this study, I found very little references to wage labour on plantations. One reference mentioned paid labour by convicts on plantations in the Dutch East-Indies (Ravensbergen 344). Kanumoyoso noted wage labour in Batavia’s sugar mills (163) and Dewasiri saw the possibility of a ‘contract system’ for labour on plantations in Colombo’s rural regions, but also mentioned that coconut plantation needed only a small labour supply (71-72, 127). More often, secondary literature on plantations outside Sri Lanka strongly emphasizes the use of slave labour.93 Slavery and other types of bonded labour were no foreign elements to Sri Lanka, even before the Dutch came to the island. The Dutch imported slaves from regions throughout the VOC’s trade empire (Schrikker and Ekama 180). 94 These were an important labour force, as Alicia Schrikker and Kate Ekama point out: [i]n administrative centres of the VOC, such as Batavia or Colombo, imported slaves were one of the most important sources of labour for the Company and for private individuals. Along with convict labour, and in some cases service labour, the enslaved were used for construction work on the fortifications, roads, rural exploitation and in the households of private individuals. It was not uncommon for wealthy families to own up to twenty slaves, or even more (Schrikker and Ekama 181).

Considering that an important part of the planters had European roots and were probably of considerable wealth, as high functionaries of the VOC, it is very likely that their plantations were worked by enslaved people, rather than free men and women. Other groups of planters, such as Chetties, Moors, and indigenous chiefs, are also known to have had slaves (Schrikker and Ekama 187). If the planters indeed relied on slaves to work their plantations, there would be a smaller, if any, demand for wage labourers from the plantations. However, Kanumoyoso has pointed out that sugar-mill owners in Batavia “preferred to use hired labourers. Free labour was much cheaper than slaves” (163), as the price of one male slave equalled the wages of an entire hired work force (Kanumoyoso 163). Perhaps that planters combined both sources of labour to staff their plantations. As such, plantations would at least have provided some opportunities for wage labourers, but much more research is needed to establish if these

93 For instance, Zanden; Smith. 94 On slavery in Sri Lanka, see also: Wickramasinghe and Schrikker. For a short overview of VOC- wide slave trade, see: Lucassen 24-26. 98

Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars plantations demanded a significant share of wage labour, or that wage labour on these plantations was only a marginal phenomenon.

Concluding remarks Chapter III This final chapter dealt with subsistence and plantation agriculture in the Four Gravets. It has shown that only a quarter of the inhabitants of Colombo’s suburbs met subsistence level on the basis of their garden(s). Most people must therefore have had some other way to provide for themselves and their families, whether this was cultivating other crops than mentioned in the thombos, wage labour or a combination of both. With the Four Gravets in the direct vicinity of Colombo, residents would have had the possibility to buy the food they did not produce themselves on the market in the city. It is also very likely that those who needed wage labour to provide for themselves would have found it in or near the city. Although such high percentages of people living below subsistence level make it difficult to draw any definitive conclusions about the decisive factor in people’s chances to meet these levels, it turned out that people of a younger age, and those belonging to a lower caste or the Moorish or Chetty communities, or to the group of manumitted slaves, were amongst those in the least favourable position. Among the quarter of people living on/above subsistence level were the plantation holders of the Four Gravets. The group of large plantation holders was dominated by Europeans who partook in the colonial government. The smaller sized plantation were kept by Moors and goyigama officials with high functions. Their plantations appear to have been older than those of their European counterparts. Although plantations did exist in Colombo’s suburbs, they were relatively small when compared to the ones Dewasiri encountered in the rural regions outside Colombo. Mega-plantations of 5000 trees or more were absent in the Four Gravets and only four people held gardens that could qualify as large plantations with 1000 to 5000 trees, which might very well have been a matter of available space. Furthermore, the dominance of European planters in this area might partly be explained by the small distance to colonial centre, as Dewasiri found a majority of goyigama planters in Colombo’s rural regions (60).

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Conclusions

Summary and concluding remarks This thesis has looked into the development of the land market and land use in the suburbs of colonial Colombo. As such, this study can be seen as a case study into colonial suburbs in general. In three chapters, I looked into the VOC land policies, the development of prizes on the land market, the OTLs and ONTLs, and market-oriented and subsistence agriculture. The source analysis showed a rising price coinciding with a decrease in garden size. The price of a garden appears to have been defined by a combination of its location in relation to Colombo, the population size (as a proxy for population density and hence demand) and the buyers involved. The various social groups in the Four Gravets differed in their chances of being OTL and in the prices they paid for property. Nevertheless, no single factor seems to have had a deciding influence. Within the various communities differences existed as well, as could be seen from the analysis of various caste groups and the analysis of factors such as gender and age. Furthermore, it was shown that almost 75 percent of the families in the Four Gravets lived below subsistence level if they depended on their gardens only. It is therefore very likely that they were (becoming) dependent on the vicinity of the city, which provided a market for food products and might offer opportunities for wage labour. Market-oriented production (on plantations) could also be found in this area, possibly providing (partly) for the urban food market. These plantations were owned by Dutch, Moors or (high-ranking) goyigama PLHs. Although the Dutch owned the largest gardens, it seems that the trend towards this type of agriculture was set by the goyigama, followed by the Moors, while the Dutch picked it up about a decade later. Although the debate on the development of social groups was not the most central to this thesis, it has shown that there were many differences both within social groups as well as between different social groups. This emphasizes the need for critical engagement with aggregating terms used in (colonial) sources, as pointed out by Guha, Bulten and Lyna, and Raben (Guha, Beyond; Bulten and Lyna; Raben, “Ethnic”). There was no such thing as the Sinhalese, the Moors and the Dutch, as within these categories significant differences could and did exist. Furthermore, my thesis does not invalidate the pattern Dewasiri noted in the rise of certain caste groups in the rural region of Colombo, but it shows that a geographical nuance can be added. Although the social groups Dewasiri signalled were active as planters in the Four Gravets, the scale of their activities was different. Before this study, little was known about the colonial land market in Sri Lanka. Research into the VOC land policies, however, was available. As of yet, the effect of these policies is difficult to link directly to the developments in prizes on the land market. A possible effect of the monopolies of the VOC may have been that the goyigama and Moors were the

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars first to pick up market-oriented agriculture of coconut to evade VOC monopolies. This would be in line with Dewasiri’s statement that coconut in general became a popular market crop because it was not monopolised by the VOC (127). Furthermore, I proposed that the land market may have functioned as a secondary, and not necessarily preferred, way of gaining access to landed property for those who could not acquire such through the service system and inheritances, with the cautionary note that this option would only have been open to those who could spare the money to buy land. Last but not least, there was the issue of early modern and colonial suburbs gaining little attention in urban-historical research. This thesis has shown that the suburbs of a colonial city in the early modern period form a dynamic environment which deserves further attention. Although urban influences could be noted, it cannot easily be stated, as in the relational definition used by May for nineteenth- and twentieth-century Antwerp, that capitalistic forces radiated outwards from the city (3). Although large scale plantation agriculture in the Four Gravets was dominated by Dutch officials, the beginning of this trends seems to have been in the hands of indigenous notables. On the other hand, May’s remarks with regard to the availability of land and land prizes (3) seem to hold for the Four Gravets as well. The 1760s may have been when sub-urbanisation took off and land became scarcer and land prices higher. The term ‘peri-urban’, presenting ‘suburbs’ as a zone of transition, also appears to hold for Colombo’s fringes. The need for other ways of providing subsistence than agriculture point towards an urbanisation process, while the plantations might seem more like a rural feature than an urban one.

Further research There are many subjects related to the developments discussed in this thesis that deserve further attention. Much has already been said on the opportunities provided by the head thombos (Belt et al.), but the land thombos are equally worthy of further study. After ten months of working with these documents, they still contain surprises. Open the register, and there are still unexpected twists, details and variants in the information and the way it was recorded. For any further research to take place, the next step would be the compilation of a detailed database, including as much as possible of these twists, details and variants. Important steps have already been taken by Albert van den Belt (Codeboek), but the challenge will be to keep this database user-friendly as well. Notwithstanding their complicated nature, the thombos provide a wonderful source for more research into landownership and land use, enabling comparisons between regions and in some cases even across time. Combining land thombo information with the data from the head thombos will give the chance to research the land ownership and land use within families. Who were the people in a family that bought land,

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Research Master Thesis Afra de Mars that held service paravēnis or that owned plantations, and who had only limited access to landed property? Three other subjects addressed in this thesis stand out for further research. First, there is the question of subsistence in eighteenth-century Sri Lanka. This thesis showed that people probably combined wage labour with private gardening, at least when living close to the colonial centre. The exact way in which people did this raises questions. What type of labour did they take up? Which family members were involved? Did this combination provide them with a proper livelihood, or did they still struggle to make ends meet? Second, there is the market-orientated agriculture. The largest plantations in the vicinity of Colombo were owned by people with Dutch/European roots, while Moors and (high-ranking) goyigama owned the smaller market-oriented gardens. What did happen to the ‘Dutch’ plantations when the British took control of Sri Lanka? Did the planters stay or were their gardens taken over by British owners? Or did Moors and goyigama take over instead? Similarly, one can question what happened with these gardens when the (sub-)urbanisation of the area progressed. When, and under what circumstances, did the gardens make way for buildings? How did the owners deal with such changes? Did they move their enterprises to other areas? What happened to the people working on the plantations? Last, but not least, there is the ongoing debate into the position of women in colonial Sri Lanka. This thesis showed that (certain groups of) women were capable of buying land on their own account. My impression is that the thombos can provide more information still, as some of these female buyers were probably registered under a male PLH and have therefore gone unnoticed in this study. Why did these women buy land? How did they use these gardens? How did they pay for it? What did their families, and the colonial government, think of their activities? All in all, there is much more to be discovered!

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BIBLIOGRAHPY

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Smith, S.D. “Sugar’s poor relation: Coffee planting in the British West Indies, 1720-1833.” Slavery and Abolition, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 68-89, doi: 10.1080/01440399808575256. Accessed 14 July 2020. Walle, Tinneke Van de. Van twee wallen eten? De stadsrand als overgangszone tussen stad en platteland in de late 15de en 16de eeuw. Casus Oudenaarde. 2019. University of Anterwerp, PhD dissertation. Washbrook, David. “South India 1770-1840: The Colonial Transition.” Modern Asian Studies, vol. 38, no. 3, 2004, pp. 479-516. Wickramaratne, Siri Nimal, Susumu Hayashi, and Jayatissa Kumara Herath. “Plantation Forestry of Sri Lanka – Its Development History and the Present State –.” Journal of Forest Planning, vol. 2, no. 2, 1996, pp. 107-114, https://doi.org/10.20659/jfp.2.2_107. Accessed 29 June 2020. Wickramasinghe, Nira. Sri Lanka in the Modern Age: A History. Oxford University Press, 2014. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uunl/detail.action?docID=1911185. Accessed 10 June 2020. Wickramasinghe, Nira, and Alicia Schrikker. “The Ambivalence of Freedom: Slaves in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.” The Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 78, no. 3, 2019, pp. 497-519, doi: 10.1017/S0021911819000159. Accessed 14 July 2020. Zanden, J.L. van. Arbeid Tijdens Het Handelskapitalisme: Opkomst En Neergang Van De Hollandse Economie, 1350-1850. Octavo, 1991. Zwart, Pim, de. “Population, labour and living standards in early modern Ceylon: An empirical contribution to the divergence debate.” The Indian Economic and Social History Review, vol. 49, no. 3, 2012, pp. 365-98, doi: 10.1177/0019464612455272. Accessed 13 March 2020.

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Sources and Source publications

Belt, Albert van den. Database: Sri Lanka National Archive. Colombo. Records of the Dutch Administration, 1/3860-3861. “The Officers of the General Government - The dissave - The Tombos - The tombo-series of 1766-1771 - “Tombohouder” Series – Land tombos – Siyane Korale – Meda pattuwa. In 2 divisions.” & Sri Lanka National Archive. Colombo. Records of the Dutch Administration, 1/3776. “The Officers of the General Government - The dissave - The Tombos - The tombo-series of 1766-1771 - “Landraad” Series – Land tombos – Siyane Korale – Meda pattuwa.). Hovy, L. Ceylonees plakkaatboek. Plakkaten en andere wetten uitgevaardigd door het Nederlandse bestuur op Ceylon, 1638-1796. 1991. 2 Vols. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, PhD dissertation. Nationaal Archief. Den Haag. Verzameling Buitenlandse Kaarten Leupe, number entry 4.VEL, number inventory 950, http://proxy.handle.net/10648/f60b185f-c24f-09b3- e0c1-a0b929555d26. Accessed 4 May 2020. Nationaal Archief. Den Haag. Verzameling Buitenlandse Kaarten Leupe, number entry 4.VEL, number inventory 953, http://proxy.handle.net/10648/0f496dcf-84cd-56ae- 24a6-42d8e3f2f7c2. Accessed 4 May 2020. Nationaal Archief. Den Haag. Verzameling Buitenlandse Kaarten Leupe, number entry 4.VEL, number inventory 954, http://proxy.handle.net/10648/8f0519ea-681e-a2a6- ff55-08cc07d7c279 . Accessed 4 March 2020. Knox, Robert. An Historical Relation Of The Island Ceylon In The East Indies Together With An Account Of The Detaining In Captivity The Author And Divers Other Englishmen Now Living There, And Of The Author’s Miraculous Escape. London 1681. E-Book, Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14346/14346-h/14346- h.htm#d0e4261. Accessed 9 August 2020. Raaijmakers, Wouter, and Imre Piek. Colonialism Inside Out-project, Database: Sri Lanka National Archive. Colombo. Records of the Dutch Administration, 1/3758. “The Officers of the General Government - The dissave - The Tombos - The tombo-series of 1766-1771 - “Landraad” Series – “Hoofd” tombos – Colombo Four Gravets.” Sri Lanka National Archive. Colombo. Records of the Dutch Administration, 1/3758. “The Officers of the General Government - The dissave - The Tombos - The tombo-series of 1766-1771 - “Landraad” Series – “Hoofd” tombos – Colombo Four Gravets.” Sri Lanka National Archives. Colombo. Records of the Dutch Administration, 1/3802. “The Officers of the General Government - The dissave - The Tombos - The tombo-series of 1766-1771 - “Landraad” Series – Land tombos – Colombo Four Gravets.”

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APPENDICES

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Appendix I: Appendix to Chapter I

Graph AI.1: The median price per square meter land in the Four Gravets and the number of transactions per five-year period, including the outliers. (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Median price/m2 per 5 years (with outliers) 0,2 180 0,18 160 0,16 140 0,14 120 0,12 100 0,1 0,08 80 0,06 60 0,04 40 0,02 20

Median price/m2 in rd 0 0 N[umber N[umber transactions] of

5-year period

Median Price/m2 N

Table AI.1: The number of outliers in Graph AI.1 per year.

Year Number of Outliers 1729 1 1738 1 1743 1 1744 1 1747 1 1750 1 1753 2 1754 1 1756 3

1757 1 1758 1 1762 2 1764 2 1765 8

1766 5

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Graph AI.2: The Average and median surface bought per 5-year period in square meters. (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Average and median surface bought per 5 year 25000

20000

15000

10000 Surface Surface (m2)

5000

0

5-year period

Average surface (m2) Median Surface (m2)

Table AI.2: The number of transactions per five-year period included in Graph I.2 and Graph AI.2.

5-year period Number of transactions Before 1702 2 1702-1706 3 1707-1711 8 1712-1716 5 1717-1721 5 1722-1726 8 1727-1731 7 1732-1736 6 1737-1741 9 1742-1746 14 1747-1751 36 1752-1756 61 1757-1761 88 1762-1766 152

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Map AI.1: The average price per square meter (in rd), 1740s (Source: SLNA 1/3802; NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

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Map AI.2: The average price per square meter (in rd), 1750s (Source: SLNA 1/3802; NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

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Map AI.3: The average price per square meter (in rd), 1760-1766 (Source: SLNA 1/3802; NL- HaNA 4.VEL953).

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Table AI.3: The number of transactions included per decade in Maps I.4, AI.1, AI.2 and AI.3. “nd” means that no data were available for that period (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Village 1732 1760 up to and 1740s 1750s up to and including including 1739 1766 S. Sebastian 1 2 7 6 Maradana 3 6 14 9 Dematagoda nd 3 3 nd Ketawalamulla nd 1 2 nd Keselwata nd nd nd 1 Weg naar nd 2 22 11 Goudenstein

Javaanse Straat 2 7 27 49 Zilversmidstraten nd nd 4 3 Kotahena nd 1 7 9 Kochchikada 4 14 52 72 Hultsdorf nd 1 12 15

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Appendix II: Appendix to Chapter II

Table AII.1: The thombo descriptions included in each of the ‘umbrella terms’ used in the analysis in section 2.2 on the landownership of various social groups. “…” means that various occupations could be filled in there (SLNA 1/3802). I did not translate the Dutch terms to English, but I did modernise the spelling.

Name in graph Includes: Chetty Chetty, weduwe van Chetty, weduwe van ? Chetty, hoofd der, weduwe van heidense Chetty, vrouw van, Chitinne, Chittijaar. Dutch/European burger, weduwe van burger, vrijburger [and those with Dutch names]. Moor hoofd der Moren, Morin, Moor, zoon van overleden hoofd der Moren, zoon van Moor, vrouw van Moor, sergeant onder Moorse comp., weduwe van Moor, Moorse priester, gewezen hoofd der Moren, Sinhalese Inlands proponent, Weduwe van Singalees, inlands soldaat, dochter van inlands “tuindierlidde”, weduwe van inlands burger, Singalees, Singalese vrouw, inlandse timmerman; [And those who were: caste members; (People related to) indigenous officials]. Tamil Mallabaars, weduwe van Mallabaarse …., Mallabaarse …. Manumitted vrijgegeven slavin van …, vrijman, vrijgelaten meid, vrijgegeven slave slaaf, vrije vrouw, vrije jongen, vrije meid, g'emancipeerde slaven van …, Other Javaans, Mixties, Toepas, vrouw van Javaanse vaandrig, vrouw van luitenant van Maleise comp., weduwe van Javaan, Oosterse kapitein, vrouw van Maladiver, weduwe van Chinees, weduwe van Javaan, Javaanse priester, gewezen koning van Koepang [Timur].

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Graph AII.1: The average price paid per transaction by each social group, per five-year-period (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Average price (in rd) per transaction 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766

Chetty (price/transaction) Dutch/European (price/transaction) Manumitted slave (price/transaction) Moors (price/transaction) Other (price/transaction) Sinhalese (price/transaction) Tamil (price/transaction)

Table AII.2: The thombo descriptions of each caste included in each of the caste-groups as shown in the Graphs II1-II.9 in chapter II (SLNA 1/3802). I did not translate the Dutch terms to English, but I did modernise the spelling.

Name in Includes: graph Barber Baardscheerder, weduwe van, vidaan van. Bellale Bellale, Lascorijn. Fisher Visser, visserin, weduwe van, dienst van. Chiando, Paravar, Weduwe van Paravar, Tamblinjero, Weduwe van Other Tamblinjero, Weduwe van Mallabaarse geelgieter, geelgieter, danser. Smid, ijzersmid, goudsmid, zilversmid, weduwe van zilversmid, weduwe van goudsmid, weduwe van smid, weduwe van Mallabaarse zilversmid, Mallabaarse zilversmid, Mallabaarse goudsmid, Chetty Mallabaarse Smiths zilversmid. Mallabaarse wasser, wasser, wasserin, dochter van wasser, weduwe van Washer wasser, (weduwe van?) jonge wasser, Mallabaarse wasserin.

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Graph AII.2: The average surface area in square meter bought per transaction per caste group, per five-year period (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Average surface area (m2) per caste group per 5-year period 18000 16000

) 14000 2 12000 10000 8000 6000

Surface Surface area (m 4000 2000 0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766 5-year period

Ämbättayo (Barbers) Goyigama (Bellales) Karāva (Fishers) Āchāri (Smiths) Radā (Washers) Other

Graph AII.3: The percentages of ONTLs and OTLs per civic state. The black numbers in the bars of the graph indicate the number of PLHs that makes up these categories, e.g. the group of unmarried women consists of four OTLs and 6 ONTLs, 10 PLHs then makes 100% (SLNA 1/3802).

ONTLs vs. OTLs (Civic state) 100% 90% 80% 8 4 63 70% 60% 50% 40% 103 PERCENTAGE 30% 10 6 20% 10% 0% Married woman Unmarried woman Widow CIVIC STATE

Percentage ONTLs Percentage OTLs

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Table AII.3 The thombo descriptions included in each category in Graph AII.3 (Source: SLNA 1/3802). I did not translate the Dutch terms to English, but I did modernise the spelling. (The ‘hertrouwde weduwe’ fitted in two groups and has been included in both.

Name in Includes: graph Married Getrouwd, vrouw van …., hertrouwde weduwe. woman Unmarried Dochter van, dochter, aangenomen dochter, nicht van, jongedochter woman van, jongedochter. Widow Weduwe, weduwe van…, hertrouwde weduwe.

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Table AII.4: The percentages of female and male PLHs per thombo village, both including and excluding ONTLs (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

The percentages of female and male PLHs per thombo village

Excluding ONTLs

Percentage Village Percentage female male Zilversmidstraten 37,5 62,5 Kochchikada 20,30075188 79,6992481 Dematagoda 33,33333333 66,6666667 Hultsdorf 21,42857143 78,5714286 Keselwata 100 0 Ketawalamulla 25 75 Kotahena 16,66666667 83,3333333 Maradana 19,35483871 80,6451613 S. Sebastian 17,64705882 82,3529412 Javaanse Straat 28,91566265 71,0843373 Weg naar Goudenstein 22,58064516 77,4193548 Total 23,05555556 76,9444444

Including ONTLs

Zilversmidstraten 38,46153846 61,5384615 Kochchikada 27,31092437 72,6890756 Dematagoda 29,41176471 70,5882353 Hultsdorf 27,27272727 72,7272727 Keselwata 23,33333333 76,6666667 Ketawalamulla 6,666666667 93,3333333 Kotahena 16,66666667 83,3333333 Maradana 24,3902439 75,6097561 S. Sebastian 35 65 Javaanse Straat 33,12883436 66,8711656 Weg naar Goudenstein 18,33333333 81,6666667 Total 27,41046832 72,5895317

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Table AII.5: The places of residence mentioned in the thombos that are included in each type of absentee PLHs in the graphs and tables of section 2.4 Place of residence of the PLH. Spelling of place names was kept as in thombos (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Name in graph Includes: Outside Sri Tuticorin; Nagapatnam. Lanka Sri Lanka Jaffanapatnam; Galle; Mannar. Colombo Wellewatte (Salpitticorle); Raijgamcorle; Wellikadde; Calitude; Dissavany Matteaappale (Salpitticorle), Ruidelle (Callockcoercorle); Malmane (Hinacorle); Peliegodde; Williganegittige; Panture; Talangamma (Hertagamcorle); Negombo; Ettoelkotte. Fort, Old Town or De Oude Stad; Het Casteel; Slaven Eijlandt. Slave Island Four Loenoepokkoene, De Moorse straat; Maradane; Cotjekaddde; Gravets Demettegodde; Wolvendaal; Keheelwatte; Hulfstdorp.

Graph AII.5 The number of transactions per five year-period, per place of residence (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Number of transactions per place of residence 160 140 120 100 80 60 40

Number Number transactions of 20 0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766 5-year period

Village Four Gravets Fort, Old Town or Slave Island Colombo dissavany Sri Lanka Outside Sri Lanka

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Graph AII.6: The number of transactions per five-year period, per place of residence, excluding the resident OTLs (Village-category) (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Number of transactions per place of residence (excl. village) 10 8 6 4 2 0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766

Number Number transactions of 5-year period

Four Gravets Fort, Old Town or Slave Island Colombo dissavany Sri Lanka Outside Sri Lanka

Graph AII.7: The average surface bought per transactions per period, per place of residence (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Average surface area (m2) per transaction per period 35000

30000 ) 2 25000 20000 15000

10000 Surface Surface area (m 5000 0 1732-1736 1737-1741 1742-1746 1747-1751 1752-1756 1757-1761 1762-1766 5-year period

Village Four Gravets Fort, Old Town or Slave Island Colombo Dissavany Sri Lanka Oustide Sri Lanka

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Appendix III: Appendix to Chapter III

Table AIII.1: The number of trees per villages. N.B. 18, 20 or 38 coconut trees are missing in Maradana (the thombo-entry was inconclusive about the number) (Source: SLNA 1/3802; Missing trees in: SLNA 1/3802, Maradana 11).

Villages Coconut trees Jack trees Areca nut trees S. Sebastian 5534 883 610 Maradana 6935 984 245 Dematagoda 6503 630 420 Ketawalamulla 909 253 72 Keselwata 252 108 29 Weg naar Goudenstein 1896 494 21 Javanese Street 8980 1203 370 Zilversmidstraten 213 154 0 Kotahena 1300 260 54 Kochchikada 4688 418 72 Hultsdorf 700 398 9 FOUR GRAVETS 37910 5785 1902

Graph AIII.2: Subsistence and social group, indicating the percentages of people living below and above/on subsistence level for coconut, per social group. The black numbers in the bars of the graph represent the number of people making up each section. The percentage is based on each social group separately. For example: 23 Chetties above/on subsistence and 127 below subsistence, 150 PLHs then makes 100% (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Subsistence and social group (percentages) 100% 90% 23 27 3 80% 3 4 8 70% 41 60% 50% 40% 127 145 20 30% 7 10 16

PERCENTAGE 20% 26 10% 0%

SOCIAL GROUP

Percentage Below Percentage On/Above

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Graph AIII.3: Subsistence and caste, indicating the percentage of people in each caste that lived below and on/above subsistence for coconut. The numbers in the bars of the graph represent the number of people making up each section. The percentage is based on each caste separately. For example: 21 goyigama PLHs on/above subsistence, and 36 below subsistence, 57 goyigama PLHs in total then makes 100% (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Subsistence and caste (percentages) 100% 3 90% 2 11 80% 21 11 70% 60% 50% 26 40% 8 29 20 PERCENTAGE 30% 36 20% 10% 0% ämbättoya goyigama kārāvar āchāri radā CASTE

Percentage Below Percentage On/Above

Graph AIII.4: Subsistence and age category, indicating the percentage of people in each age group that lived below and on/above subsistence for coconut. The numbers in the bars of the graph indicate the number of people making up each section. The percentage is based on each age category separately. For example, 16 PLHs aged 25-34 living on/above subsistence, and 94 PLHs aged 25-34 living below subsistence, 110 PLHs then makes 100% (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Subsistence and age (percentages) 100% 6 16 20 31 16 19 80%

60%

46 94 40% 89 105 83 59

PERCENTAGE 20%

0% <25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 ≥65 AGE CATEGORY

Percentage Below Percentage On/Above

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Graph AIII.5: Subsistence and gender, indicating the percentage of people in each gender that lived below and on/above subsistence for coconut. The numbers in the bars of the graph indicate the number of people making up each section. The percentage is based on each gender separately. For example, 50 female PLHs living on/above subsistence, and 150 female PLHs living below subsistence level, 200 PLHs then makes 100% (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Subsistence and gender (percentages) 100% 90% 50 141 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 150 384

30% PERCENTAGE 20% 10% 0% Female Male GENDER

Percentage Below Percentage On/Above

Table AIII.2: The holders of large plantation: their names, description in the land thombos, place of residence, location of their plantation, identification number in the thombos and the total number of coconut trees in their possession at the location of the plantation (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Name Description Place of Location Identification Total residence plantation number PLH number of coconut trees Josanna Widow of Dematagoda Dematagoda 7 2493 Coen Chetty

D.E. Boekhouder The Old Javaanse 122 2200 Jacobus and member Town Straat Doebratz. of Landraad (Colombo) Loekresia Widow of The Old Kochchikada 229 1396 Boutie onderkoopman Town (Colombo) Mattiis Chetty The Old Dematagoda 22 1001 Gomis Town (Colombo)

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Table AIII.3: The holders of medium plantation: their names, description in the land thombos, place of residence, location of their plantation, identification number in the thombos and the total number of coconut trees in their possession at the location of the plantation (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Name Descriptio Place of Location Identificat Total n residence plantatio ion numbe n number r of coconu t trees Sr. Hermanus Boekhouder S. S. 35 814 Harmensz. Sebastian Sebastian Heirs of Egoddege (Mudaliyar Dematagod Dematago 18 813 Don Alexander van de a da Wijejesekerreraijeka porta) roena Abejeratne Samerekoon Christina Rodrigo Widow of Dematagod Dematago 8 742 Chetty a da Joan Rudolf Sergeant der Kochchika Kochchik 164 731 Schroder burgerij da ada Johanna Marties Bellale [?], Javaanse Javaanse 17 654 widow [of Straat Straat bellale?] ME. Barent Onderkoopm Colombo S. 34 632 Kriekenbeek an & Fort Sebastian secretary of the Council of Justice Pieter Siebertsz. Trompetter Kochchika Kochchik 133 600 da ada De manhasten heer Captain of Jaffanapatn Javaanse 139 594 Joan Gertum the am Straat honorable militia Den Manhasten Luitenant, S. S. 33 565 Jacob Hendrik de former hoofd Sebastian Sebastian Vries te Caliture D.E. Hendrik van der Koopman Colombo S. 30 560 Hoff Fort Sebastian D.E. Christiaan Onderkoopm Colombo Javaanse 120 545 Drijhaupt an Fort Straat Jan Jansz. Wijnroos Boekhouder, The Old Javaanse 141 505 member of Town Straat the (Colombo) Landraad Magdalena Christina Daughter, Javaanse Javaanse 119 500 Bastiana adopted Straat Straat ('aangenome n') of luitenant and fabricq D.E. Richard Kellens Ex-captain Weg naar Weg naar 46 500 of the Goudenstei Goudenste burghers n in

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Table AIII.4: The holders of small plantation: their names, description in the land thombos, place of residence, location of their plantation, identification number in the thombos and the total number of coconut trees in their possession at the location of the plantation. ‘Bellale’ is the term used for members of the goyigama caste in the thombos (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Name Description Place of Location Identificati Total residence plantation on number numb er of cocon ut trees Wiraperoemege Fisher, no Maradana Maradana 12 465 Matthius Zilva service Aydroes Lebbe Former hoofd De Moorse Kotahena 15 450 der [?] straat (The Moors’ street) Christina Schade Widow of Javaanse Javaanse 153 442 soldier Straat Straat Leka Lebbe Moor, no Maradana Maradana 32 411 Bastamie service Manuelge Andre Bellale, Dematago Dematagod 1 409 Zilve Saffermadoe da a van de attepattoe (without proof) Daniel Harmanus Bellale Hultsdorf S. Sebastian 24 409 Inasia Pitronella Bellale, widow Maradana Maradana 3 392 Koenjekaderemp Moor Wolvendaa S. Sebastian 25 381 oelle Agamadoe l Lebbe (unspecifie d) Maria Sloen Widow of Javaanse Javaanse 109 375 school master Straat Straat Moettoe Heathen The Old Maradana 64 355 Sadeappa mudaliyar Town (Colombo) Issabella d'Zilva Bellale, widow S. S. Sebastian 1 335 of the former Sebastian hoofd van de attepattoe Jeijnaboe Natja Widow of Moor Maradana Javaanse 126 331 (& Kaijsa (& sister of late Straat Natja[?]) husband [?]) Manuel Fisher, no Weg naar Weg naar 38 304 Andradoge service Goudenste Goudenstei Michiel Andrado in n Johannus Burgher The Old Javaanse 164 300 Theunder Town Straat (Colombo)

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Den Edelen Heer Opperkoopman, S. S. Sebastian 36 290 Joan Gerrard Secretary of Sebastian van Angelbeek 'Politie' Hagoedoenpoelle Moor Maradana Maradana 71 286 Oemoer Naijna Pieter de Nek City’s surgeon The Old Javaanse 160 284 Town Straat Moetetambige Moor, chief of Maradana Maradana 18 282 Cader MarCair the masons (‘baas metselaar’) Moestewaak Moor, widow Maradana Maradana 20 277 Maria Fernando Widow of Javaanse Javaanse 121 268 vrijman Straat Straat Audekadie Moor, no Maradana Maradana 28 265 Naijna service Ahamadoe Lebbe Pieter Steijn Sailor Maradana Maradana 67 265 (‘mattrooder’) Sinnemarkair Moor Maradana Ketawalam 13 256 Aijdroes Lebbe ulla D.E. Harmanus Koopman, The Old Javaanse 143 256 Jeronimis van pakhuismeester Town Straat Cleef (Colombo) Philip Fernando Chetty, no Kochchika Kochchikad 194 250 service da a Wattellege Bellale, ex- S. S. Sebastian 4 244 Domingo mudaliyar van Sebastian Desarram de attepattoe Wannigesekerre Ekenayke Johannes Burgher Weg naar Weg naar 10 230 Bertrant Goudenste Goudenstei in n Bellikaddege Don Bellale Dematago Dematagod 3 229 Markoe da a Segoeparidoe Moor, no Maradana Maradana 26 218 Sinne Mamoe service Nainde Children and (ex- Wellewatte S. Sebastian 21 216 Heirs of Philip mahamudaliyar) (Salpitticor Philipsz. & le) Witjejekoon mohottimohandi Panditeratne & ram aan zijn Abraham de edeles porta Sarram Witgegegoenerat ne Abebie Natja Moor, widow Wolvendaa S. Sebastian 28 216 l Kaysabie Moor S. S. Sebastian 10 213 Sebastian Wewege Adriaan Bellale, Maradana Maradana 2 210 Zilva messenger

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Siman Rodrigoe Chetty, oeliaar Maradana Maradana 16 207 Perietambie Oennewatne Moor, no Maradana Maradana 17 207 Naindege service Oedejaar Manuel Dias Chetty Kitanpauw Dematagod 29 201 e a Franciskoe Malabar, Keselwata Maradana 56,5 200 Fernando, alias, Washer Anneaspa Christoffel Chetty The Old Maradana 61 200 Thomas Town (Colombo) Hettige Adriaan Bellale Wellikadd Maradana 63 200 Perera e

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Table AIII.5: VOC officials & other Dutch(wo)men. The names of those included in the analysis of the Dutch/European plantation holders, their names, description in the land thombos, place of residence, location of their plantation, identification number in the thombos and the total number of coconut trees in their possession at the location of the plantation, and the classification of the size of their plantation (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Name Description Place of Location Identificati Numb Classificati residence plantatio on er of on n number cocon plantation ut trees Josanna Widow of Dematagod Dematago 7 2493 Large Coen Chetty a da

D.E. Boekhouder The Old Javaanse 122 2200 Large Jacobus and member Town Straat Doebratz. of Landraad (Colombo) Loekresia Widow of The Old Kochchika 229 1396 Large Boutie onderkoopm Town da an (Colombo) Sr. Boekhouder S. Sebastian S. 35 814 Medium Hermanu Sebastian s Harmensz . Joan Sergeant der Kochchikad Kochchika 164 731 Medium Rudolf burgerij a da Schroder ME. Onderkoopm Colombo S. 34 632 Medium Barent an & Fort Sebastian Kriekenbe secretary of ek the Council of Justice Pieter Trompetter Kochchikad Kochchika 133 600 Medium Siebertsz. a da De Captain of Jaffanapatn Javaanse 139 594 Medium manhaste the am Straat n heer honorable Joan militia Gertum Den Luitenant, S. Sebastian S. 33 565 Medium Manhaste former Sebastian n Jacob hoofd te Hendrik Caliture de Vries D.E. Koopman Colombo S. 30 560 Medium Hendrik Fort Sebastian van der Hoff D.E. Onderkoopm Colombo Javaanse 120 545 Medium Christiaan an Fort Straat Drijhaupt

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Jan Jansz. Boekhouder, The Old Javaanse 141 505 Medium Wijnroos member of Town Straat the (Colombo) Landraad D.E. Ex-captain of Weg naar Weg naar 46 500 Medium Richard the burghers Goudenstei Goudenst Kellens n ein Christina Widow of Javaanse Javaanse 153 442 Small Schade soldier Straat Straat Maria Widow of Javaanse Javaanse 109 375 Small Sloen school Straat Straat master Johannus Burgher The Old Javaanse 164 300 Small Theunder Town Straat (Colombo) Den Opperkoopm S. Sebastian S. 36 290 Small Edelen an, Sebastian Heer Joan Secretary of Gerrard 'Politie' van Angelbee k Pieter de City's The Old Javaanse 160 284 Small Nek surgeon Town Straat (Colombo) Pieter Sailor Maradana Maradana 67 265 Small Steijn (mattrooder) D.E. Koopman, The Old Javaanse 143 256 Small Harmanu pakhuismees Town Straat s ter (Colombo) Jeronimis van Cleef Johannes Burgher Weg naar Weg naar 10 230 Small Bertrant Goudenstei Goudenst n ein

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Table AIII.6: Moors. The names of those included in the analysis of the Moorish plantation holders, their names, description in the land thombos, place of residence, location of their plantation, identification number in the thombos and the total number of coconut trees in their possession at the location of the plantation, and the classification of the size of their plantation (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Name Descripti Place of Location of Locatio Numb Classificat on Residenc plantation n er of ion e plantati cocon plantation on ut trees Aydroes Lebbe former De Kotahena 15 450 Small hoofd Moorse der [?] straat Leka Lebbe Moor, Maradana Maradana 32 411 Small Bastamie no service Koenjekaderemp Moor Wolvenda S. 25 381 Small oelle Agamadoe al Sebastian Lebbe (unspecifi ed) Jeijnaboe Natja Widow Maradana Javaanse 126 331 Small (& Kaijsa of Moor Straat Natja[?]) (& sister of late husband [?]) Hagoedoenpoell Moor Maradana Maradana 71 286 Small e Oemoer Naijna Moetetambige Moor, Maradana Maradana 18 282 Small Cader MarCair chief of the masons (baas metselaa r) Moestewaak Moor, Maradana Maradana 20 277 Small widow Audekadie Moor, Maradana Maradana 28 265 Small Naijna no Ahamadoe Lebbe service Sinnemarkair Moor Maradana Ketawalam 13 256 Small Aijdroes Lebbe ulla Segoeparidoe Moor, Maradana Maradana 26 218 Small Sinne Mamoe no Nainde service Abebie Natja Moor, Wolvenda S. 28 216 Small widow al Sebastian (unspecifi ed)

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Kaysabie Moor S. S. 10 213 Small Sebastian Sebastian Oennewatne Moor, Maradana Maradana 17 207 Small Naindege no Oedejaar service

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Table AIII.7: High ranking indigenous officials & other goyigama. The names of those included in the analysis of the high ranking indigenous officials & other goyigama plantation holders, their names, description in the land thombos, place of residence, location of their plantation, identification number in the thombos and the total number of coconut trees in their possession at the location of the plantation, and the classification of the size of their plantation. ‘Bellale’ is the term used for members of the goyigama caste in the thombos (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Name Description Place of Location Identific Num Classific residenc plantati ation ber ation e on number of plantati coco on nut trees Heirs of Egoddege (Mudaliyar Dematag Demata 18 813 Medium Don Alexander van de porta) oda goda Wijejesekerreraij ekaroena Abejeratne Samerekoon Johanna Marties Bellale [? or] Javaanse Javaans 17 654 Medium widow of Straat e Straat bellale[?] Manuelge Andre Bellale, Dematag Demata 1 409 Small Zilve Saffermadoe oda goda van de attepattoe (without proof) Daniel Harmanus Bellale Hultsdor S. 24 409 Small f Sebastia n Inasia Pitronella Bellale, Maradan Marada 3 392 Small widow a na Moettoe heathen The Old Marada 64 355 Small Sadeappa mudaliyar Town na (Colomb o) Issabella d'Zilva Bellale, S. S. 1 335 Small widow of the Sebastia Sebastia former hoofd n n van de attepattoe Wattellege Bellale, S. S. 4 244 Small Domingo former Sebastia Sebastia Desarram mudaliyar n n Wannigesekerre van de Ekenayke attepattoe Bellikaddege Don Bellale Dematag Demata 3 229 Small Markoe oda goda Children and (ex- Wellewa S. 21 216 Small Heirs of Philip 'mahamudali tte Sebastia Philipsz. yar') & n

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Witjejekoon mohottimoha (Salpittic Panditeratne & ndiram aan orle) Abraham de zijn edeles Sarram porta Witgegegoenerat ne Wewege Adriaan Bellale, Maradan Marada 2 210 Small Zilva messenger a na Hettige Adriaan Bellale Wellikad Marada 63 200 Small Perera de na

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Appendix IV: Mapping the Four Gravets

Although the term ‘Four Gravets’ (or Vier Gravetten in Dutch) can be found on contemporary maps, in ordinances from the VOC and in modern academic literature (For instance: NL- HaNA 4.VEL_953; Hovy 2: 487-489; Dewasiri, 141-142), there is no source that describes the exact delineations of this area. Similarly, I found neither contemporary nor present-day sources that indicate the exact location of the villages mentioned in the thombos. In order to produce the maps in this thesis, I therefore had to make my own decisions on where to locate the villages and the borders of the Four Gravets. This Appendix serves to explain how I positioned these features and my motives for doing so. It should be emphasized that the maps in this thesis serve to give an indication of the topography of the area, not to pinpoint the exact location of the villages or the Four Gravets’ borders.

The boundaries of the Four Gravets The only author to provide a definition of the Four Gravets is Remco Raben. He states that the boundaries streched from the Kelani River, from its mouth at Mutwal up to the bridge at Pas Nagalagam, and from there the boundaries followed the canal to Hulftsdorp up to the Kleine Pas of San Sebastian, along the road of Mariakatte through the Maradana to the public road of Galkissa ‘near the great Tambrijn tree’ (Batavia, 53). He derives these dimensions from definitions given in two late eighteenth-century sources. When looking at a contemporary map, the first part of Raben’s description is easy to follow, up to the point that the border reaches the Kleine Pas of S. Sebastian. From there, the line intended by Raben and his eighteenth-century sources is less clear. The public road to Galkisse runs from the Fort to the bottom of the map presented here. Hence, from the Kleine Pas, in order to end up at this road, the border needs to turn of westwards, through the Maradana. A possible course of the border is indicated by the light-blue dotted line in Map AIV.1. Raben’s definition of the Four Gravets of Colombo, however, did not suffice for this study. A problem occurs when comparing Raben’s description to the material available in the thombos, as not all the villages in the thombos can be placed within the limits mentioned. This study therefore proposes to include a larger area within the boundaries of the Four Gravets, which is signalled by the green line in the picture (Map AIV.1) that first follows the limits as described by Raben, but takes a different route at Pas Naklegam. The line drawn is based on the information available in the thombos, which indicates that ‘Demettegodde’, visible on the background map (NL-HaNA 4.VEL953), needs to be included in the Four Gravets (see also the next section of this Appendix on the location of the villages). Furthermore, the title of this background map reads:

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Plan en Caart van de situatie buyten het Casteel De Voorstad en Gravetten van Colombo, met alle Waateren, Weegen, Hoogtens, Thuijnen en Saaijvelden: seijnde de stranden met Ebbe in de drooge Maanden Februarij en Maart opgenoomen; Alles naauwkeurig gemeeten en geteekent door Carel David Wentzel Lieutenant en Eerstgesw[oren] Landmeeter. (NL-HaNA 4.VEL 953)

Plan and Map of the situation outside the Castle The Suburb and Gravets of Colombo, with all the Waters, Roads, Heights, Gardens and Sowing fields: having measured the beaches with Low tide in the dry Months February and March; All this being accurately measured and drawn by Carel David Wentzel Lieutenant and first sw[orn] Surveyor. (NL-HaNA 4.VEL953; [transl. AdM])

This map seems to vaguely indicate a boundary of the Four Gravets, visible in the detail (or lack of detail) and the way the vegetation is drawn. Combining the information from this map, the thombos and the first part of Raben’s description, I arrived at representation of the boundaries as given on Map I.1 (Chapter I) and Map AIV.4 below.

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Map AIV.1 The boundaries of the Four Gravets, possible delineations (Sources: SLNA 1/3802; Raben, Batavia, 53; NL-HaNA 4.VEL.953).

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The location of the villages The location of these former villages was traced by using the information available on the background map, comparing it with other historical maps (Background map: NL-HaNA 4.VEL953; Other Maps: NL-HaNA 4.VEL95095; NL-HaNA 4.VEL95496), and using present- day names for streets and neighbourhoods in the area. The descriptions in the thombos were also useful, as the register sometimes mentioned if the town was an ‘annex’ of another village. In some cases, most notably Maradana, this information was contradictory or inconclusive. The next paragraph mentions first the name of the village used in this paper, then the exact name given in the thombos, and a translation of that Dutch name. Then a short justification follows for the location chosen on the map. In cases of doubt, I sometimes refer to elevations indicated in the background map. I choose these locations, assuming that people preferred settling on higher ground as opposed to the lower (more easily flooded) grounds. The ‘background map’ referred to is the contemporary map shown in all the maps in this thesis (NL-HaNA 4.VEL953).

S. Sebastian, in thombo: ‘T Dorp S. Sebastiaan (SLNA 1/3802, f.1v) (The Village S. Sebastian): Location based on the indication of Pas Sint Sebastiaan (also Kleine Pas) in combination with an elevation indicated on the background map. Maradana, in thombo: ‘T Dorp Marendane, annex van St Sebastiaan (SLNA 1/3802, f. 13v) (The Village Marendane, annex of S. Sebastian): Based on the location of ‘the’ Maradana on the background map. Slight problem caused by the location of the present-day neighbourhood named Maradana (which is located further north). Location chosen because several routes indicated on the map meet at that point. Dematagoda, in thombo: ‘T Dorp Demettegodde (SLNA 1/3802, f. 32v) (The Village Demettegodde) Based on the location of the name ‘Demettegodde’ on the background map in combination with the present-day neighbourhood Dematagoda (the location chosen is on the border of this neighbourhood). Ketawalamulla, in thombo: ‘T Dorp Kettewellemoelle, Annex van Demettegodde (SLNA 1/3802, f.43v) (The Village Kettewellemoelle, annex of Demettegodde): A combination of a location close to Dematagoda (‘annex’), the location of two modern streets called ‘Ketawalamulla lane’ and ‘Ketawalamulla place’, and the indicated elevation on the background map.

95 Full reference: Nationaal Archief. Den Haag. Verzameling Buitenlandse Kaarten Leupe, number entry 4.VEL, number inventory 950. 96 Full reference: Nationaal Archief. Den Haag. Verzameling Buitenlandse Kaarten Leupe, number entry 4.VEL, number inventory 954. 141

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Keselwata, in thombo: ‘T Dorp Keheelwatte (SLNA 1/3802, f. 45v) (The Village Keheelwatte): A combination of the location of the modern neighbourhood called Keselwata and an elevation indicated on the background map. Weg naar Goudenstein, in thombo: ’T Dorp Wolvendaal, De Weg naar Goudenstein (SLNA 1/3802, f.58v) (The Village Wolvendaal, The Road to Goudenstein): Location chosen as this is the central road towards Goudenstein in the village Wolvendaal on the background map. Javaanse Straat, in thombo: De Javaanse Straat, gehoorende onder Wolvendaal (SLNA 1/3802, f.91v) (The Javanese Street, part of Wolvendaal). In the vicinity of the Wolvendaalse kerk (church of Wolvendaal), in the Moorish quarter (and according to the thombos many Moors lived in the Javaanse Straat) and an elevation indicated on the background map. Zilversmidstraten, in thombo: ‘Agter Hulftsdorp in De Zelversmits straaten’ (SLNA 1/3802 f. 280v) (Behind Hulftsdorp in the Silversmith’s street). The location of present-day Silversmith Lane in combination with these streets being indicated on the contemporary background map. Kotahena, in thombo: ’T Dorp Kottanchena’ (SLNA 1/3802, f. 288v) (The Village Kottanchena). The location of the present-day neighbourhood Kotahena, the location on a contemporary map (NL-HaNA 4.VEL950), and an elevation and the vicinity of water indicated on the background map. Kochchikada [and Chekku street], in thombo: De Kojiecade en Chekoes Straten gehooren onder Wolvendaal (SLNA 1/3802, f. 168v) (The Kojiecade and Chekoes Streets, part of Wolvendaal). Location of the modern neighbourhood Kochchikada, and Chekku street, a location near the Chetties quarter in the vicinity of Wolvendaal. Hultsdorf, in thombo: ‘Hulftsdorp’ (SLNA 1/3802, f.268r): Location of the building of the Landraad (indicated on background map) in combination with the data from another contemporary map NL_HaNA 4.VEL954.

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Appendix V: Units (Surface areas & Prices)

Surface areas The surface areas described in the land thombos are given in morgens, vierkante roeden, vierkante voeten and in exceptional cases vierkante duimen. As these standards of measurement are virtually meaningless to a twenty-first-century reader, these have been converted into square metres. This was done using a conversion table published in 1812 at the introduction of the metric system (Commissie 51, 57, 73, 80), which enabled the conversion calculations. One of the entries of the register of S. Sebastian indicates that the garden had been measured in Rijnlandse roeden (e.g. SLNA 1/3802 S. Sebastian 8). I assumed that this was applicable to all the thombo entries. Based on the conversion table, the following could be established:

1 morgen = 600 square Rijnlandse roeden 1 square Rijnlandse roede = 144 square Rijnlandse voeten 1 square Rijnlandse voet = 144 square Rijnlandse duimen.

And in order to convert these historical measurements to a modern unit:

1 square Rijnlandse roeden = 14,19 square metres (Commissie, 51, 57, 73, 80).

Prices

The prices paid for the land mentioned in the thombos are given in rijksdaalders. I did not attempt to convert this to a modern equivalent (like the Euro). Sometimes the records indicate how many stuivers went into a rijksdaalder (e.g. SLNA 1/3802 - Weg naar Goudenstein 51; Dematagoda 35). This could be either 48 Hollandse stuivers or 60 lichte stuivers. As all the prices are given in rijksdaalders only, this different value of the two types of stuivers did not present a difficulty, as either 48 or 60 of them made a rijksdaalder (ING, “Stuiver”; ING, “Rijksdaalder”). Only one case could not be used, since the record noted an addition of 1.5 stuiver, but did not mention which type of stuiver this had been (SLNA 1/3802 – Weg naar Goudenstein 49).

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Appendix VI: Folio numbers in the land thombos

In this thesis, I used a land register known as the land thombos (SLNA 1/3802). The easiest way to navigate these documents is through a combination of the name of the village and the identification number of the family group. Whenever I refer to specific people, I use this combination as reference rather than the folio number. In many cases, this reference is more precise, as several people can be registered on the same page. This appendix is included for readers who prefer folio numbers. This Appendix lists the first and the last folio number for each village in Table AVI.1. Occasionally, I referred to specific people in the head thombos ((D-)SLNA 1/3758). Then, I used the same system. As I used a database produced by others to access the head thombos, I cannot provide a similar list of folio numbers for the head thombos. For the database, see Raaijmakers and Piek/D-SLNA 1/3758.

Table AVI.5: First and last folio number of each village in the land thombos (Source: SLNA 1/3802).

Villages in the land First PLH Last mention on Additional thombos mentioned on remarks S. Sebastian f. 1v f. 12r

Maradana f. 13v f. 32r Dematagoda f. 32v f. 43r Ketawalamulla f. 43v f. 47v Excluding f. 46 (pages mixed up) Keselwata f. 45v f. 58r Excluding f. 74r (pages mixed up) Weg naar Goudenstein f. 58v f. 89r

Javaanse Straat f. 91v f. 163r

Zilversmidstraten f. 280v f. 286r

Kotahena f. 288v f. 296v Last page missing Kochchikada (and f. 168v f. 267v Last page Chekku street) missing Hultsdorf f. 268v f. 279r

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