CHAPTER
THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF BORELLA IN THE CONTEXT
OF THE EXPANSION AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY OF
COLOMBO.
THE ORIGINS OF COLOMBO
Colombo, the present capital of Sri Lanka, is situated on the West coast of the island. It was built on a
Low-lying marsh that was subject to frequent floods.
Its city limits are formed by natural boundaries. In the
North, the Kelani river; in the South, the Dehiwela and Kiitllaporme canal, in the East a stretch of marshy land, and in the West, the Indian Ocean,
The importance of Colombo goes way back into history.
It was a popular port of Sri Lanka for the Muslim and
Arab traders even as early as in the 13th century,
"It was a small sea-port used by Arabic, Persian and
Chinese sailing vessels", (l)
THE PORTUGUESE PERIOD'( 1505 AD - l655 AD)
Colombo gained importance in the 15th century as the
closest port to the national capital of the time-Kotte,
(now to be called Sri Jayawardanapura),
(l) Hulugalla H.A.J. Centenary Volume of the Colombo
Municipal Council. P 2. 9
In 1505, the first Portuguese frigate, under Don
Lourence De Almaida, was forced by chance to put in at
Colombo harbour, seeking shelter from a storm.
It was already a thriving port crowded with ships and with men who were their commercial rivals whose trade monopoly the Portuguese were determined to destroy.
Intending to stay in Colombo for good, the Portuguese soon built a factory on the headland projecting into the sea from Galbokka (Galle Buck, presently known as Galle
Face.) By its side was built a small chapel.
Then followed an endless number of conflicts between the Muslims and the Portuguese, each jealous of the other. The Muslims, already having a firm footing in
Colombo, and the support of the Sinhalese and their King at Kotte, (Wira Parakrama Bahu) did their best to antagonise the population against the visitors.
In 1507 the disheartended Portuguese were forced to dismantle their factory and leave the island. But they came back in force in 1518 and razed the Muslim quarter of the town and built themselves a small fort with mud and stone near the South-West breakwater of the Colombo harbour. (illustration II) 10
ILLUSTRATION H 11
This they fortified with naval artillery* When reprisals by the Muslims partly destroyed the fort, in 1520 the Portuguese built a stronger one, which later suffered the same fate.
While the Portuguese on the one hand, and the
Sinhala King and Muslims on the other, engaged in intermittent warfare, Colombo, began to -assume the shape and character of a Portuguese'settlement. In
1551» the Portuguese built yet another new fort on the old (site. In addition, that part of Colombo which is now the area between Galle Face and York
Street and between the Harbour and Canal iiow was walled in.
In the later half of the l6th century, the Portu guese extended their influence outside Colombo and went as far as the capital of Kotte but were driven out. Not long after that, Kotte was abandoned .as the King's capital and for the first time, Colombo was declared a Portuguese city.
The Portuguese, gradually gaining a strong foothold in Colombo, brought in more settlers from Portugal.
Churches and schools which sprang up within the city led to the growth of suburbs outside it, the earliest of these suburbs being Mutuwal and San
Sebastian. 12
During this period the city of Colombo had three
gateways. ( see illustration III) The main one was
St.John's Gate, after which the present St.John's
Street is named. This led in the direction of
Negombo. The second gate leading towards Galle,
was then called 'Gate of Mapana' and is now
represented by Galle Face. The third gate was called
•Queens Gate' and passed through San Sebastian and
thence to Kotte. The present Cotta Road originated
from this gravel road of which Borella was the
connecting junction.
THE DUTCH PERIOD - ( 1655 AD - 1782 AD')
The Portuguese had been in occupation of Colombo
for a hundred years, before the Dutch cast their
eyes on Ceylon and sought trade opportunities from
its Sinhala King The King in turn, sought the
help of the Dutch to drive away the Portuguese.
The Dutch promised to help.
In September l655» a Dutch fleet of 20 ships con
veying a large force under Gerard Hulft arrived,
but was defeated by the Portuguese. Incidentally,
Hulftsdorf, the present site of the courts of law
was named after this Dutchman. The Dutch promised
King Rajasinghe that they would raze the fort of
Colombo to the ground after its capture. 13
ONI Of THE GATES Of THE DUTCH CITADEL OP COLOMBO DEMOLISHED IN 1870 BY THE BRITISH AUTHORITIES WHEN THE FORTIFICATIONS IVEKE DISMANTLED TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE EXPANSION OF THE CITY".
ILLUSTRATION 1 Ik
In 1656, after subsequent, incessant battles they finally ousted the Portuguese and took over the city of Colombo. The Dutch did not keep their promise. Instead, as they wanted to have Colombo in their hands, they reduced the size of the fort, leaving out the residential part, which they, there-upon, called "Pettah", from the Tamil word
Pettai, which means "an extramural suburb of a forti fied city". The Sinhala term is 'Pitakotuwa1
(Outer Fort).
The Dutch, during their rule, made many changes and improvements to the city. Although the Dutch did not have as much trouble as the Portuguese in the
administration of Colombo, they were never sure of their position.
THE BRITISH PERIOD ( 1782 AD - 19^8 AD )
The first British Fleet arrived in Ceylon in 1782
and an attack on Colombo was contemplated. It did
not materialise then, but the attack took place in
1785 when the British invasions began. After mild
resistance, the Dutch surrendered, and in February
1796 Colombo passed into the possession of the
English. Illustration IV shows a map of Colombo
during this time. 15
>
PLAN OF COLOMFTO WHEN THB BRITISH ARRIVED • IT SHOWS THC FORT AND P&TTAM . TH6 BEIRA LAKE . CINNAMON GARDENS AND THC KBLANI RIV6R Kcpro ILLUSTRATION H 16 The British way of life began to inainfest itself in diverse ways. Colombo took the form of a colonial city* The British did many things to stabilise their administration and power. They set about vigorously to establish a stable government. They also made Colombo the capital and it was from here that they extended their influence throughout the whole island until it became a typical British colony. During one and a half centuries of British rule, Colombo became not only the chief part of Ceylon, but also one of the most famous ports in the world. The city itself underwent a complete metamorphosis. Most of the remains of the Portuguese fort and Dutch bastions and moats have disappeared and, except for the narrow streets which remain in the Fort, Pettah and certain parts of Colombo North, few traces remain of the sites where the Portuguese and the Dutch fought in and around Colombo for supremacy in trade. Some important events which took place during the British occupation were the installation of a pipeborne water system from Labugama (illustration V), the Mansergh Scheme for sewage disposal, and the Lake Development Scheme. ILLUSTRATION ¥ 18 Unlike the Portuguese and the Dutch periods,during which the tendency was for the city to extend north wards, during the British occupation it spread south and eastwards. It was during this period that comparatively densely populated areas, such as Borella, Bambalapitiya and Wellawatte on the outskirts of the city began to take the form of urban settlements. In I865 the Colombo Municipal Council was formed. Colombo Fort was no more a place of power but only an adminis trative centre. During this period the opportunities in the city attracted many people who started settling down in the surburbs around Colombo. As buildings sprang up, the natural landscape of the suburbs gradually faded. Congestion and confusion were some of the results. The trend of the population movement into the city was a continuous one. Areas of settlement were conditioned by the availability of land, by problems of congestion, and by high land values. For these reasons the new trend of the population movement into the city was more towards the outskirts and city limits. The southern wards like Bambalapitiya and Wellawatte, due to a better physical setup (sea frontage and relatively high land) were more attractive than the other wards. The era of motor transport brought about more signi ficant changes in the city. It created a revolution in road improvements. The red sand-gravel"roads were widened and later macadamised. Motor vehicles plying the city roads increased rapidly. Messrs Boustead Brothers who were the first to introduce a private bus service in the city, later started a tram car service, known as the "Colombo Electric Tramways". The first route of these tram cars was from Fort to Grandpass. Gas street-lighting introduced within the city in the early 20th century was a milestone in the history of the city. The earliest municipal bus stand was situated at Gas Works Street in 1928. With the improvement in the transport and communi cation systems, commercial activities began to develop not only in the centre of the city but also in the suburbs. More and more roads were constructed and the gas street-lighting of the early period was replaced by mercury electric bulbs. The density of population in the city increased from 16 persons per -acre in 1920 to k$ per acre in 1950. Today in 1982 it is 65 persons per acre. 37608 20 IN THE PRESENT CONTEXT The development of the city of Colombo has been due primarily to the excellent harbour and the centrali sation of trade and commerce in the capital. The port of Colombo, which is the focal point of eastern shipping and a distribution centre of trade in east ern seas, ranks as the tenth largest port in the world. The growth of commerce and trade during this century led to the inflow of a large number of people into the city. The availability of schools, universities, hospitals, cultural and recreational services and the centralisation of the Parliament, Senate, Supreme Court and Courts of Appeal, the Head Offices of almost all the Government Departments, State Corporations, commercial companies and business organisations, certain services such as Exchange Control, Immigration, financial and monetary transactions, specialist consultations, such as with doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects and brokers and better transport facilities, among various other economic, social and environmental factors, have all 'contributed in no small measure to the centripetal tendencies which the city of Colombo now mainfests. 21 Today Colombo is a fully commercialised city*with most of its commercial developments concentrated in the Fort.and Pettah. The other highly commer cialised areas are the sub-centres of the city such as Maradana, Borella, Kollupitiya and Bampalapitiya. BORELLA AND ITS HISTORICAL BACKGROUND _ There is no recorded history of Borella as a settlement. This may be because there was no .significant change in this area. However I have tried to trace the history of Borella by refering to other recorded matters relating to Borella, In regard to the history of Borella, early residents of the area were consulted. Much was gathered from stories relating to this area, told by people. The name Borella means 'Gravelly Earth', In the 15th century there was a cart-track from the port of Colombo to Kotte, the national capital of that time. Borella was a village settlement on this cart-track. There is evidence that Borella was known as 'Boralu- goda Handiya' at a point where a foot-path coming from a place called "Dombakele" joined the cart-track. This "Dombakele" may have been the present Wellawatte area. 22 It is said that- burnt limestone was transported by boat from places such as Ambalangoda and Hikkaduwa to Colombo and was taken to Kotte along this cart- track, This lime was used in the construction of the fort in Kotte. During the Portuguese and Dutch eras no significant changes took place in Borella. However, it is thought that during the Dutch period two underground tunnels were built from Colombo to Kotte, and uhat one of them started in Borella. The entrance of the other tunnel is in existence even today in the Jawatte Muslim cemetery. It was in the latter part of the British Colonial period that Borella came into prominence. The British, unlike the Dutch and Portuguese, began to develop the outskirts of Colombo. They widened the Kotte Road and in 1885 the Kelani - Valley railway line (passing near Borella) was constructed.The present Baseline Road was also widened during this period and was connected through Victoria Bridge to Negombo. With such improvement to the transport and communi cation network, Borella came into prominence. The expansion of the residential area in Cinnamon Gardens added more importance to Borella. In 1910, the Borella municipal market was built. To the people of Borella this was a great boon and to others an attraction. 23 A VIEW OF THE FOOT Of COLOMBO IN 1909 Horn ' A iiacn^oo ofr cfc^low" R*« Cw ILLUSTRATION 21 THE 6ALLE FACE PROMENADE AT 5UNDOWN IN 1980 A p^t t-ro- "6<«r>«i of- Ceylon" by Vrr«fcer /* i-Uw.it-o,. and s*«rt»rt M F»**»o. ILLUSTRATION SI 25 Soon, the street lighting facilities of Cinnamon Gardens were extended to Borella. This was in 1924. Another great amenity, the water service, came to Borella in 1925. In 1926 Cotta Road and Baseline Road were macadamised. The Borella area was greatly improved when sewer- lines and rain -water drains were laid in 1928. During this period buildings sprang up in Borella at a rapid rate. The area was considered important as one of the leading schools of that time. (Wesley College) was established here. With time, the population in Borella grew. Realising the necessity to supply the needs of these people, traders moved in. The prison, the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, the Government Press and many other public buildings and services added to the development of Borella.