Alicia Schrikker

Winner Dissertation Prize 2007

Dissertation
Dutch and British colonial intervention in Sri Lanka, 1780-1815: Expansion and Reform

Supervisors: Prof. dr L. Blussé, Dr L. Wagenaar
Nomination: University Leiden, Faculty of Arts

Report by the selection committee

This study is about Sri Lanka (Ceylon) at the end of the eighteenth century at the time that the British gained the power over the coastal areas of the island from the VOC. The author describes the local reforms in the VOC administration on the island and analyses the different ways in which the British administration handled the Dutch heritage after the take-over. She takes into account the revolutions in Europe, the changes in the exploitation on the island and the role of the local rulers.