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THESIS ON THE HISTORY OF CEYLON

TEA MONTE HOLSINGER (2002)

History of Ceylon Tea is delighted to present an essay on the history of Ceylon tea

written by former tea planter Monte Holsinger as a thesis for his Bachelor’s Degree in

Management in 2002. This well-researched document comprehensively captures the

history of the plantation industry while also touching on the country’s colonial past.

HOCT is indeed grateful to Mr Holsinger for making it available to us and our

readership.

PART ONE

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OUTLINE OF RECENT HISTORY

The Island of Sri Lanka has a heritage rich in culture and rife with conflict. The

aborigines of the country bear no relevance in this study and are of more interest to

anthropologists and paleontologists, who have postulated that Homo sapiens possibly first

set foot on the isle about 500,000 years ago.

The more recent history, which is pertinent to this paper, is unfortunately, a combination

of myth, legend, folklore, epigraphics and historical records. The historical records do

not necessarily embody an unbiased or objective narration of historical events, and may

well reflect the historian’s perception, or even be a valediction of the kings and rulers of a

given period. Much research has however been done by the students of history in their

assiduous search for the truth, and we are the beneficiaries of their diligence. We can

now safely assume that these scholarly dissertations have unraveled the past with

reasonable accuracy, and we can now rely on this historical perspective on which to

predicate this thesis.

Sri Lanka, known as Seilan or Ceylon in the days gone by, occupies an enviable

geographic location. Like a tear drop shed by India, Sri Lanka lies below the southern tip

of the mainland, about 8 degrees above the equator. This is directly in the path of the

ancient trade routes and therefore the country has been a haven for seafarers and mariners

from time immemorial. Although the island is now separated from the mainland by the

Palk Straits, (a distance of only 40 kilometres), it was undoubtedly connected with

mainland India at some point in prehistory. These factors have rendered the island, so

rich in natural resources and bio diversity, vulnerable to invaders on the one hand and

inviting to travelers, on the other. Sri Lanka was truly a tropical Paradise, ripe for the

picking, beckoning to be exploited, and small wonder that nations all over the world vied

for this prize.

The history of man in Sri Lanka, in recent times as can be gathered from that

indispensable record, the ‘Mahawamsa’ begins with the arrival of Vijaya, the legendary

founding father of the Sinhalese (Sinhala). According to legend, Vijaya was banished for

misconduct by his father, Sinhabahu, the ruler of the North Indian kingdom of Sinhapura.

Vijaya and his disorderly group of cohorts numbering about 700 in all reached the

Northwestern shores of Sri Lanka, near Puttalam and gained foothold in the country.

The ‘Mahawamsa’ and its sequel, the Culawamsa were literary works of buddhistic

chroniclers and quite naturally, liberally interspersed with miracles, supernatural

interventions and fanciful inventions, all evincing a strong religious bias. While the

cursory reader may go along with the story and its contrivances, the true historian will

view this against the backdrop of world history, in piecing together the puzzle of the past.

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Suffice it to say that the advent of Vijaya to the island as per the Mahawamsa coincides

with the colonisation of Sri Lanka, by Indo-Aryan tribes from Northern India. A Later

immigration from Bengal and Orissa is also strongly indicated.

Although the sub continent exerted a great pressure in the shaping of Sri Lanka, its

strategic location athwart the main sea routes, led inevitably to other equally important

influences being brought to bear in this metamorphosis.

Whilst the archeologists continue their scholarly research into the cradle of human

civilisation, we are here mainly concerned in establishing with reasonable accuracy, a

historical basis for the ethnic diversity in the demography of Sri Lanka.

Anthropological postulations place the arrival of ‘Home Sapiens’ on the island, to around

500,000 thousand years, but there is very little evidence to go on about subsequent

cultures in Paleolithic terms.

Comparatively recent stone cultures show up around 10,000 BC and probably lasted up to

around 1000 BC or less, when the metal ages surfaced.

Traces of Mesolithic man have been found and these continue into proto-historic periods,

via the ‘Balangoda Man” and ‘Balangoda Cultures’ which were submerged by the

pressures exerted by the early Indo-Aryan colonisers, probably in the period 500 BC to

the Christian era. The aboriginal of Sri Lanka has now disappeared. The Veddah tribes

found today in the jungles of the Vanni are the descendants of the Balangoda Man

intermixed with the Sinhalese and the Tamils. However, even this questionable ethnic

integrity has been highly diluted and it is now not very long before the remnants of the

Veddah ‘race’ will cease to exist being totally assimilated into the predominant ethnic

groups.

The early settlers were romantically portrayed as warrior nobility building new empires

by conquest. However, more realistically, seafarers and traders of both West and East

Asia found the country and its wealth of natural resources incentive enough to found their

own settlements, in the Maritime Provinces.

The Indo Aryan immigrants settled in various provinces of the island especially along the

west coast and the banks of the Malwatu Oya River. Some settled on the East and moved

inland along the Mahaweli River. Still later, a new wave of immigration settled in the

Ruhunu Province along the Walawe River. These settlers were of various clans, the

foremost among them being the Sinhalas, and the settlements were in the dry zone. By

now the metal age had revolutionized archetypal existence.

By the end of the Pre Christian era, Buddhism had gained ascendancy over other forms of

religion and was under the patronage of the rulers. An agrarian economy was well

established and self-sufficient and self-governing villages (settlements) began to flourish.

The picture of this proto historical period is completed by the Dravidian incursions to the

island. There was already a strong Dravidian Civilisation in South India, which relied

substantially on international trading. Quite naturally therefore, Dravidians entered Sri

Lanka either for trading by peaceful means or through more bellicose invasions. All

historical evidence would tend to support the hypothesis that the Dravidians entry to Sri

Lanka was preceded by the Indo Aryans. However, by the beginning of the Christian era,

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they were firmly established in the country, in several settlements in the North and the

East.

Evidence also suggests that Sri Lanka, a multi ethnic society, lived in tolerance and racial

harmony when under a unified polity, rather than a pluralistic one where ethnic tensions

are a prime feature.

The truth as to the actual conditions obtaining under a single polity is rather obscure.

Myth and legend portray all their kings since the (mythical) Vijaya as rulers of the entire

island, but this was not so. There were several kingdoms in the island during this period,

with the strongest among them having hegemonic notions over the others. Even during

the reigns of the few powerful kings who held sway over the entire island, there was no

highly centralised autocratic power structure in the heyday of the Sinhala era, but one

where the “Balance of political forces incorporated a tolerance of particularism,

charactistic of most feudal polities”. (K M de Silva). This was mainly due to practical

difficulties in administering far-flung lesser “kingdoms”.

Although centripetally may have been the aspiration of several of the Sinhala kings, very

few achieved it. The Anuradhapura period (250 BC –1050 AD) and Polonnaruwa period

(1050 AD – 1250 AD) are fraught with accounts of invasion from India. By the turn of

the 11thcentury Cola invaders from India overthrew the Sinhala regime and a Cola king

was installed. The Sinhalese then retreated to Polonnaruwa from where a protracted war

was waged upon the usurping Colas, the country liberated and the Sinhala monarchy

restored.

Although there are two periods of unified rule during the Polonnaruwa period, very often

stability in the country deteriorated into bloody squabbles among motley congeries.

Moreover, relentless invasions mounted by the Colas and Pandyans always accompanied

by an orgy of destruction and desecration and led to the fragmentation of power and

polity.

Other factors, which precipitated the downfall of the Polonnaruwa kingdom, were firstly

the highly centralised governance of the era, which proved unable to maintain, much less

develop the mainstay of the economy – agriculture. Secondly the malaria epidemic,

which gripped the country, ravaged the population. The malaria epidemic could well be a

direct consequence of the latter day centralised authority’s failure in agriculture. The

extensive and intricate network of reservoirs and channels fell into disuse and offered

excellent breeding grounds for the dreaded Anopheles mosquito.

The Sinhala kings and kingdoms continued their retreat Southward to Dambulla,

Kurunegala, Gampola, Dedigama, Kotte and Sitawaka.

A parallel kingdom was established in Kandy, in the mid 15th century and shortly, the

kingdom of Jaffna was also established by the Tamils in the North.

The fragmentation of the country was complete with the Sitawaka Kingdom making its

appearance around 1520 AD.

Thus, when the Portuguese first set foot in Sri Lanka, the country was governed by at

least 4 kingdoms, whilst in the thickly forested and almost impenetrable Vanni Province

there may have been several chieftains or Vanniars holding sway over smaller tracts of

the province.

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The Portuguese, whose first entry to the country was in 1505/6, was by accident returned

12 years later, with the intention of opening up a trading post.

The Sinhalese and, more importantly, the Moors who had long established themselves as

the major trading community in the country regarded this new development with great

suspicion and hostility.

The Portuguese era in Sri Lanka is studded with fierce fighting throughout their 135 year

colonization of Sri Lanka. Their primary aim was to set up trading posts in the maritime

regions of the country, but frequent outbreaks of hostility from the natives, fanned by the

Moors, apprehensive of their position as the prime trading community, resulted in their

several unsuccessful forays into the Kandyan stronghold.

The status quo of the country’s social structure at this point of time is of vital importance

in this study. The basic elements in the demographic make up were Sinhalese, Tamils,

Moors and Veddahs, in that order. However due to the continual invasions mounted by

the Colas and Pandyans and other South Indian interlopers, the ethnic purity of the Indo

Aryan Sinhala must have surely been adulterated considerably. It is also worthy of note

that even in times of peace with the mainland, whenever succession of the monarchy was

in question (a lack of an heir apparent) the Kandyans resorted to a Tamil pretender to the

throne, or more often, a Tamil queen.

The culture of the inhabitants had evolved to a high degree but was concentrated in the

hands of the hierarchy. Literacy was developing rapidly and literature began to blossom.

Architecture had evolved from its Indian origins and assumed a discrete identity though it

retained the original influences.

A system of barter prevailed, but monetisation was making headway in commerce and

commercial transactions. International trade flourished and Spices, Gems, Areca,

Cinnamon, and even elephants, were traded for Cloth, Salt and luxuries.

Craftsmanship in metals and wood reached new heights. More sophisticated armament

and weaponry developed with the acquisition of these skills.

The social structure of the two main ethnic groups had by now stratified in rigid caste

systems.

The great Sinhala hydraulic society suffered under the continual Cola and Pandyan

onslaughts, the centralisation of authority in latter times of peace and the ravages of

malaria. At the time of Portuguese occupation a feudal system went hand in hand with

the religio-political governance that prevailed in the Sinhala kingdom. In the North, in

Jaffna too, feudalism and the caste system buttressed a religion biased monarchical

administration.

Feudalism imposed fairly heavy taxes on tenants and peasantry alike. Private owner ship

of land was mainly through privilege. The Monasteries received great patronage from the

rulers of the day and these soon became the largest holders of private land. Taxes for use

of land and water (water was all held solely by the kings) were either by labour or

produce or both.

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There was also a tenurial system whereby those who worked temple lands were given a

share of the produce, unless of course they were slaves. Slavery is however, unimportant

to the central theme of this paper and also drew no significant interest from the historians.

Therefore, it can be safely assumed that the country was at this time undergoing

fragmentation with the decline of the Sinhala Empire. The various Monarchies governed

their territories in a religio-political system with strong feudal underpinnings. A cast

system was firmly established and a system of compulsory service (Rajakariya) was in

force.

The upper strata of society, namely the Royal Family members, the Aristocracy and State

and Army officials enjoyed a comfortable, if not luxurious life style. They were the

beneficiaries of the rich culture of the times. The peasant masses lived in much different

circumstances. Condemned to live in mud and wattle houses and subjugated by to the

upper classes, they were fettered by the deep-seated caste system.

The Portuguese occupation of Sri Lanka is punctuated by a continual warfare with both

the low country and Kandyan kingdoms. Never at any time did they have complete

control over the land. Their main objectives were trade and proselytism and so they did

not interfere much with the native administrative machinery of the time. The Sinhala in

the Hill Country never actually capitulated to the Portuguese and entered into treaties

only when expedient. The low country kingdoms on the contrary, being more vulnerable,

were more often than not subservient to the Portuguese.

The Portuguese were bent on religious conversion apart from exploiting the resources of

the country and they gradually established monopolies in trading especially in Cinnamon.

They used the caste system to further their ends with clever innovations, which stopped

just short of altering its basic structure.

Local produce was purchased compulsorily, at prices which did not reflect market

conditions, to the detriment of peasant farmers. Areca nut was the primary commodity

purchased and this was bartered for rice in India. Gradually, commercial activity and

monetisation gained momentum and the economy began to prosper, through this

prosperity did not percolate down to all levels.

The greatest contribution made by the Portuguese during their occupation of Sri Lanka

was the introduction of Roman Catholicism. The administration and the missionaries

pursued the conversion of the natives with furious zeal. Temples, both Buddhist and

Hindu were ruthlessly destroyed and temple lands handed over to Roman Catholic clergy.

Proselytisation went all the way up to the monarchy and Roman Catholicism acquired an

inquisitorial tinge. Where enticement failed coercion prevailed. The Tamils in the North

and other littoral areas suffered more than the Sinhalese, whose clergy found refuge in

Kandy.

Religious persecution was not a new phenomenon in Sri Lanka, but by the 16th century

religious tolerance was an ensconced Buddhist precept.

Nevertheless, the influence of Roman Catholicism wasn’t all bad. The concepts of

monogamy and the sanctity of wedlock went a long way towards eradicating polygamy

and polyandry in the littoral.

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The Portuguese also influenced the construction of permanent dwelling houses, in

contrast to the mud and wattle shelters of the masses. Portuguese language and attire too

found acceptance among the people of the Maritime Provinces.

The Dutch finally ousted the Portuguese from Sri Lanka. The Kandyan King Rajasingha

II, after a prolonged negotiation with the Dutch formed an alliance for the purpose of

overthrowing the Portuguese. The Dutch defeated the Portuguese and captured the

important sea ports of Trincomalee, Galle and Negombo

The VOC or Vereenidge Oost-Indische Campagnie that was formed in 1602 grew into

what was to become the greatest commercial company in the world. The Dutch

colonisation of the Asian subcontinent was coordinated by the VOC who set up head

quarters in Batavia (now Djakarta) in 1610. Batavia became the capital of the Dutch East

Indies and their superiority in the region made things very difficult for the Portuguese,

who had no recourse but to withdraw entirely from the island.

In 1639, the port of Trincomalee was handed back to the Sinhalese, but not Galle and

Negombo. In 1640, these were retained under Dutch control on contrived grounds, in

violation of the treaty.

In the meanwhile, European politics also took a dramatic turn vis a vis its impact on Sri

Lanka’s future, which led to a cessation of hostilities between the Dutch and Portuguese

and rendered the succession of the Dutch, as the new rulers of the island, much easier.

The V.O.C., like the Portuguese before them, adapted the indigenous administrative

system to suit their needs and left it much as found.

With the abdication of the Portuguese, the local administrative power lay in the hands of

Sinhala Christians in the south and Tamil Christians in the north. These officials were not

retrenched provided they proved their loyalty to the V.O.C. and eschewed Catholicism in

favour of Calvinism.

The Dutch, by necessity had to place much trust in these officials who proved corrupt in

general, and deprived the VOC of much revenue. These indigenous officials acquired

power and wealth over the years from blatant maladministration and abuse of authority

over their own countrymen.

The cast system was refined and used to the advantage of the company, and village chiefs

(headmen) were appointed on a caste basis i.e., a single Head-Man for single-caste

villages, and several for multi-caste villages.

These Headmen, and higher officials too exploited the dependence the Dutch had on

them to further their own ends and amass wealth.

The Dutch, on the other hand, in their efforts to ensure receipt of their rightful revenue,

adapted a Portuguese method of Cadastral Survey for this purpose.

This project was long drawn out and rendered extremely difficult and frustrating by the

non- cooperation of the Sinhala headmen. However, in 1770 this arduous task was

completed and owed much to the victory of the Dutch against the Kandyan kingdom

in1766 and their recognition of Dutch sovereignty.

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Sri Lanka (Ceylon) under early Dutch rule suffered from corruption and

maladministration, and even misrule. This untenable situation reached a peak in 1732

when Governor Petrus Van Vuyst was tried and found guilty of excesses and executed in

Batavia.

Thereafter, the reforms introduced by Van Imhoff restored responsible administration that

prevailed until the latter years of the 18th century.

An important aspect of Dutch governance was their discrimination against Muslims.

Muslims were debarred from renting lands – an early manifestation of anti

fundamentalism perhaps.

The most durable residue of Dutch rule was their introduction of Roman-Dutch law in the

land. Roman Dutch law was designed to upgrade and complement indigenous laws.

Where these were unclear or unreasonable, Roman Dutch law supplemented justice and

fair play. It also consolidated the Portuguese introduced concepts of monogamy and

sanctity of marriage and gave legitimacy to land holdings and land transactions – the

greatest beneficiaries of which were the local chiefs or headmen.

When it came to religious persecution the Dutch were not second to the Portuguese and

they proscribed Roman Catholic worship under severe penalty. Although this engendered

many conversions, a large proportion of the converts embraced Calvinism merely for

convenience or other venal reasons. The harried Roman Catholic clergy and faithful

disciples found a safe haven in which to profess their faith in the Kandyan kingdom.

However, the Dutch were more tolerant of the indigenous religions than the Portuguese.

The link between conversion and education forged by the Portuguese was maintained. By

the end of the 18th century a practice of sending a few of the brighter students for higher

studies in the Netherlands had commenced.

Living standards in the littoral improved marginally except in the upper classes who

began acquiring Dutch traits in dress, housing and even food and drink. In the Kandyan

Kingdom though, this influence was much less felt, due to the resistance of the Kandans

to foreign occupation. The Kandyans kept up regular incursions into the lowlands causing

unrest and even rebellion among their low country counterparts. This led to frequent

interruptions in the commercial activity of harvesting and exporting Cinnamon abroad

and extracting tenurial toll from tenant farmers.

The latter day Dutch Governors, notably Van Gollonese, preferred the use of flattery

bribery and cajolery, to force or coercion, but their ever-increasing cupidity exerted

enormous pressure on the Sinhalese to meet stiff quotas and arbitrary taxation.

Unfortunately for the Dutch, the struggle against their trade monopoly intensified with

the increasing number of Indian settlers who arrived at a time which coincided with the

establishment of a lucrative smuggling trade through the Kandyan ports, courtesy of the

Kandyan King, Kirthie Sri Rajasingham, and his Indian “Nayakkar” connexion. This led

to renewed intrusion of the Kandyans into Dutch controlled territories and these

hostilities culminated in open warfare again, after a cessation of over a century.

Thus the political scenario when the British made their appearance in these waters, in

1762 was one of great ferment. The English East India Co. sent their first diplomatic

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mission under John Pybus. Their intentions were merely reconnaissance and intelligence

related.

The Kandyans on the other hand were desperate to form an alliance with which to drive

away the Dutch, and vigorously pressed their proposals. The English were not prepared to

antagonize the Dutch who were neutral in the SEVEN YEARS WAR and were merely

testing the waters.

The discovery that the Pybus Mission was conducting negotiations in Kandy greatly

surprised the Dutch, who were at war with the Kandyans and served to strengthen their

resolve to conquer Kandy and reverse their earlier policy of bilateral relations.

After an initial setback, they finally captured Kandy and extracted a harsh treaty from the

Kandyans in 1766.The Dutch were finally the paramount power over the island and the

Kandyan Kingdom reduced to a land locked dependency.

The hard reality of enforcing the treaty was soon evident to the Dutch. The recalcitrant

kandyans began flouting the terms of the treaty often with impunity. In their desperation

to avenge their defeat at the hands of the Dutch, they sought the assistance of the French

against the VOC. These were times of great turmoil in the world. In America there began

a colonial revolt against the British, which led to the declaration of independence of July

1766. The French role in this episode is possibly a part of a master plan to displace the

British Empire from the lucrative Asian region.

Trincomalee was no longer available to the British as in the past, and the possibility of

France upstaging them in the waters of the Indian Oceans was not lost upon them. The

British therefore seized the port from the Dutch in 1781 but subsequently lost it to the

French in 1782. This was a great blow to British prestige in the war that lasted until 1793.

A consequence of the French Revolution was the defection of the Dutch Stadholder to

Britain. The French occupation of Dutch Territory resulted in the famous “Kew Letter” in

which the Dutch Stadholder agreed to cede all forts under their command to the British –

until Dutch independence was regained from the French.

When the French were finally defeated by the British in the waters of the Indian Ocean,

the British then sought enactment of the terms of the “Kew Letter” by the use of force if

necessary. However, the Dutch showed only token resistance. The kandyans were once

again inveigled into accepting a treaty with the British, precipitated by their own desire

and policy, of seeking foreign assistance to oust an already established power.

Nonetheless, the position now was that their new ally was much more powerful and

potentially more dangerous to them than either the Portuguese or the Dutch.

EARLY BRITISH OCCUPATION

The coastal provinces of Sri Lanka that fell into the hands of the English were proclaimed

English territory in 1796. The administration of the colony was jointly with the English

East India Company, who took over the cinnamon trade by a payment of Sterling Pounds

60,000 to the Crown.

The English East India Company began its administration following their usual practice

of allowing the laws, customs and institutions to continue in the former Dutch colony.

Except for officials who held very high positions, the services of others of the VOC who

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chose to remain were all retained by the EEIC, in this period of uncertainty as regards the

restoration of Dutch rule in Ceylon. There was also disagreement on policy matters with

the Company Presidency in Madras, which eventually led to the vesting of Sri Lanka

(Ceylon) as a British crown colony in 1802.

The policy of the English in the brief interim of uncertainty was to woo the native

population and ingratiate themselves with them. They did so by rescinding Dutch taboos

on Roman Catholic worship and restrictions on Muslims in matters of trade.

The full extent of the reforms of 1796 introduced by Andrews unfortunately resulted in

wide spread opposition and rebellion, which was quelled finally by a withdrawal of the

reforms. Thereby, ‘Rajakariya’ and ‘Uliyam’ were reintroduced. The caste system was

craftily maintained and manipulated to their advantage. Nevertheless under this system

the highest posts were restricted to persons of the highest caste – in this case, the

Goigama (Sinhalese) and Vellala (Tamil) castes. The many administrative ‘faux pas’

made by the East India Company and the frequent disagreements between the Presidency

in Madras and the Governor in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) also caused unnecessary unrest in the

country, all which alarmed Whitehall.

When the former Dutch possessions in Sri Lanka were formally ceded to the British at the

‘Peace of Amens’ in March 1802, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) had already been declared a crown

colony (Jan 1802) with Hon. Frederick North as its first Governor. The English East India

Company were relieved of their political power by Whitehall, but they were allowed to

retain their monopoly on trade and they wielded a strong influence in shaping the

colony’s economy.

In the early years succeeding the formal British acquisition of the Sri Lanka littoral the

East India Company actually determined the economic policy and production. They were

in total control. Cinnamon was the king of commodities and revenue from this source was

the mainstay of colonial finances. The vast profit made by the English East India

Company was no secret and led, finally, to cinnamon export coming directly under

government control.

In 1815, the English finally captured Kandy through a conspiracy with Kandyan chiefs

disenchanted with the king, notable among whom was Ehelapola whose family was

executed by the king, a ruthless despot. Kandy was formally ceded to the British with the

signing of the Kandyan Convention on March 2, 1815. This by no means gave the British

total command. It was only after the Great Rebellion of 1817 – 18 was broken that they

finally became masters of the whole of Sri Lanka. In these early stages of British

occupation they ran two separate administrative systems, one for the littoral and another

for the Kandyan high lands in acknowledgement of the fractious and volatile nature of the

Kandyans as compared with the lowland Sinhalese who seemed more complaisant.

Although the British ousted the Dutch in 1796, the areas of the country under the Dutch

were ceded to them only 1802. Kandy was still an independent kingdom and finally

captured by the British in 1815. A brief lull in hostilities preceded several uprisings and

revolts of the natives against their new rulers, which went on till 1848. However, except

for the revolt of 1817 – 18, the others were of lesser magnitude and did not disrupt the

steady formulation and implementation of British governance and policy.

The British also showed greater perspicacity and sagacity than either the Dutch or

Portuguese and acknowledged the fundamental importance of developing infra-structure.

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Very quickly all possible energies and resources were deployed into construction of

roadways to link all cities, towns and villages. Military mobility was thus greatly

enhanced and travel and communication gave an added impetus to commerce.

THE BEGINNING OF THE PLANTATION ENTERPRISE

The glorious days of Cinnamon were drawing to a close. There was also less interest in

other spices and commodities such as chanks, pepper, cardamom, arecanut etc. Cinnamon

prices plummeted from a high of 9 s. 9 d to 1s. 3d. Foreigners sold out to locals who

rescued the trade, but it did not regain its premier status.

A new glamour crop had emerged. It was coffee. Coffee, which was introduced into the

island by the Arabs in early medieval times, survived as a garden crop, proliferated and

grew wild over most of the human inhabitations in the country. The renewed interest in

the crop led to more methodical cultivation of it and ere long, coffee displaced cinnamon

as the primary export. Not since the 1730s was there such a boom in coffee as in the

1830’s. Of course, in the eighteenth century, large-scale plantations were rare and the

production of coffee was more or less a cottage industry.

The pretty, white, heavily scented flower of the coffee tree was extensively used in

religious offerings and ceremonies, and temple lands usually had an abundance of coffee

growing wild in their extensive premises. Even though George Bird is generally

acknowledged as the father of the ‘plantation enterprise’ in Ceylon, the success of large-

scale coffee growing was largely due to the energetic, even aggressive initiative of Sir

Edward Barnes. He was a most picturesque character himself, who was obsessed with the

commercial exploitation of the crop. He granted George Bird, (brother of Col. H.C.

Byrde) 400 acres and a tax-free loan of 4000 Rix dollars with which to commence work

on the coffee project. Bird experimented in various locations and finally settled on the

slopes of the Sinhapitiya hill at Gampola. Here he, in his meticulous way evolved a

technique for jungle clearing and planting operations, and a style of management of

seasonal immigrant labour from South India, all of which was adopted later, as standard

procedure, by the Planting Community.

The British fell with a will to planting up virgin jungle land with coffee. Successful

coffee plantations were in operation by 1825 in the midlands of the country, especially

Kandy and the surrounding regions.

So successful was the coffee industry in Sri Lanka that by 1860, it had become the

world’s largest producer of coffee, but this happy situation was not to last for very long.

In 1868, coffee export reached its zenith, but the euphoria of the coffee planting fraternity

was effectively destroyed by the arrival of Haemelia Vastatrix in 1869. Haemelia

Vastatrix, or coffee rust, as the fungus is commonly known, proved to be so deadly that in

two short decades, it had wiped out almost 250,000 acres of coffee.

The land area under coffee cultivation was about 334,686 acres according to British

governmental statistics of 1878. Crops had already exceeded 1,000,000 cwt and prices

had risen as high as 109s per cwt. However, the ravages of “Coffee Rust” proved lethal

and the decline of the industry was exacerbated by sharply falling prices in the wake of

global overproduction. By the year 1900, the statistics recorded only 11,392 acres under

coffee cultivation.

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During the reign of coffee as the supreme crop, tea cultivation was insignificant, and it

was grown as an experimental or home garden crop, from 1839 onwards. It was also

found in the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens in Kandy.

In India, however, tea was by now, a thriving industry.

The beverage of tea was a gift to the world from China, several hundred years ago. Its

cultivation and processing was a well-guarded secret. If legend were to be given credence

here, tea was consumed in China as a beverage as far back as 2737 BC, during the reign

of Emperor Chen Nung. This is about parallel to the time that Noah was casting off in his

Ark of Biblical fame.

The British later discovered that tea grew in the wild, at elevations ranging from 2500 to

6000 feet, in the Northern Districts of India, running from Nepal, eastward along the lofty

escarpments bordering India and onward through Assam into the Chinese provinces of

Sechuan and Yunan where the best China tea was cultivated. The similarity of climate in

the Chinese and Indian districts where this tea grew, was quite striking.

Although this discovery was made as early as 1788, nothing much was done about it for

nearly half a century. When the East India Company’s monopoly of the tea trade was

abolished by parliament in 1833, the company turned its attention to India as a possible

tea producer to rival China. So it was in 1834 that Lord Bentinck set up a committee to

investigate the viability of commercial scale manufacture of tea in India.

Later, during the same year, G.J. Gordon, on the instructions of the committee proceeded

to China on a mission to purvey as much tea seed as possible and also purloin the closely

guarded secrets of tea manufacture (or processing). The wily Britisher was successful in

both and returned with a large quantity of China tea seed. However, it was

simultaneously found that the indigenous Assamese variety was superior in many ways to

the Chinese tea, but by then it was too late to halt the planting out of this Chinese seed.

Nevertheless Gordon’s trip to China was a resounding success in terms of the expertise

he returned with, in the form of tea cultivators and tea makers recruited from China. Tea

seeds of both Chinese and Assamese variety reached Sri Lanka in the succeeding years

but its commercial exploitation did not commence until 1867.

The first commercial plot of tea was planted in 1867, on Loolcondera estate, in the

Hewaheta mountain range, South of Kandy, by James Taylor. The writer has had the

good fortune to see this tea field himself about 20 years ago. From all accounts these tea

bushes are still alive and are regularly cultivated and harvested. This is immutable

testimony to the indestructibility of this exceedingly hardy perennial.

POLITICAL CHANGES

In order to better appreciate and understand the situation in the country vis-à-vis its

economy and political structure and governmental policy a brief look back to the early

days of colonisation and the activities of English East India Company is essential.

Although the political mandate of the English East India Company was withdrawn in

1802, they still retained a monopoly on trade that lasted over two decades. Their activities

ranged over the whole field of the island’s external commerce as Sri Lanka lay within the

area in which the company enjoyed charter privileges.

13

The free trade aspect of the country was slow to develop, being hampered by the lack of

capital and the English East India Company’s monopoly. It was only after Sir Edward

Barnes (Governor) withdrew government involvement in importation that free trade

slowly established itself.

In those early days the favoured position of the English East India Company resulted in

the continual agitation of the emerging business community in Sri Lanka, against it.

However, the influence of the English East India Company prevailed and it was only the

aspect of trade with the south East Asian Countries that were unaffected by the interests

of the English East India Company.

The British government was, at the time, far from being the proponent of liberalised trade

it pretended to be. It resisted both this indigenous and European spirit of individualism

and enterprise that was blossoming in the country in every venture save the export of

coffee.

There was also, in Whitehall, about this time, the thinking that Sri Lanka (Ceylon) should

not be modelled on the West Indian ‘plantation’ prototype. Europeans were prohibited

from owning lands outside the vicinity of the cities. Early governors adopted the view

that this new British outpost was a military station containing a commercial economy.

This created much ill feeling with the European residents in Sri Lanka who applied

sufficient pressure to have this law rescinded. Nevertheless, during this period, more

virgin land was acquired, by British military personnel, especially those who were posted

in the outstations, and paid scant regard to this edict.

During the stewardship of Thomas Maitland, governor, (1805 – 1811), the embargo on

ownership of land was withdrawn. This however did not signal the end of the

governments’ ambivalence in its economic policies.

Sri Lanka became an attractive proposition for investment and for settlement by

Europeans. Cinnamon was still the prized commodity but the English East India

Company had government-sponsored monopoly on this trade, and new investors turned

their attention to other crops. In a relatively short period, coffee emerged as the crop of

great promise.

As from 1812, ownership of land by Europeans was permitted and British subjects could

purchase or receive grants of land of up to 4000 acres in extent. Land auctions and sales

were regularly conducted and the going price of an acre of virgin jungle was only five

shillings! The succession of Sir Edward Barnes as governor in 1824 saw a surge of

activity in plantation enterprise. New government policy espoused the cause of the coffee

plantation entrepreneur. Investors in coffee were favoured with loans, waste land grants

and tax exemptions. Even the duty on coffee exports was abolished. The govt. itself

opened an experimental coffee plantation in Peradeniya (Kandy) adjacent to the botanical

garden. It is worthy of mention the Military, Clergy and Civil Service and in many an

instance, Governors themselves acquired large tracts of land for themselves by “Special

Preference”, most of it in the highlands of Kandy.

By and by, the success of coffee engendered more success and, as mentioned earlier, Sri

Lanka rose to the position of the world’s largest producer of coffee in the 1860’s.

Approximately 250,000 acres of land had come under coffee cultivation by this time,

excluding the existing “Garden Coffee” and indigenous small-holdings.

14

Earlier it was mentioned, that shortly after the coffee industry reached such supreme

heights in the 1860s, over production led to a fall in prices and ‘Coffee Rust’ proved far

too lethal, and snuffed out the life of a thriving industry in short order.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHANGES

The British unified the administration of the entire island in 1832, before which the two

tier system, one for the littoral and another for the Kandyan provinces, prevailed, since

the unification of rule in 1815. The Colebrook - Cameron reforms of 1832 provided the

framework for the unification of the island’s governance. The reforms provided

legislative and administrative framework including that of the judicial as well. The

success of the plantation agriculture provided a bulwark for the consolidation of this

unification.

These reforms were in many ways a radical departure from the existing administration.

They introduced a true “Laissez-faire” element, which was hitherto conspicuous by its

absence. The Cinnamon monopoly was abolished and private enterprise, encouraged. The

‘Rajakariya system’ of compulsory labour was also abolished. Education was given a

much-needed fillip.

Opportunity for economic advancement and education sparked social change in the 19th

century, but those who profited most were the upper castes, the social and administrative

hierarchy – the headmen belonging to the Goigama (farmer) caste. They also had

accumulated fortunes by manipulation of the compulsory labour system. In this new

environment of opportunity and enterprise, these headmen and their families were able to

consolidate their position in society.

The liberal attitude of the British towards Religion was a boon to Buddhism, which had

suffered under previous colonisations. Roman Catholicism also benefited from the

religious freedom and gradually, after the catholic emancipation act in Britain, recovered

from the near desperation in the Dutch era.

Be that as it may, the British Protestant missions were possessed of much greater vigour

than other Christian religions. The Protestant Missionary was therefore a very important

factor in the changing nature of the colony and was indeed an agent of change through

the impulsive evangelism of their ministers.

The Dutch, as well as the British Christian missions used the mission school system as a

tool for evangelism. The legacy of the Dutch in this regard was not allowed to deteriorate.

Governor North, Rev. James Cordinor and later governor Maitland were instrumental in

pressurizing the powers at White Hall into recognizing the necessity of the survival of the

parish schools, whose existence owed much to the missionary societies and also to Sir

Alexander Johnson, chief Justice of Ceylon at the time.

Succeeding Governors showed a disinclination to persevere with the parish schools

(governors Brownrigg and Barnes) but missionary zeal prevailed, and from their

experience emerged a system of denominational schools, which lasted for over a century.

The 1831 Colebrooke - Cameron reforms ensured that state intervention in education

gradually entered the islands administration

15

The Judicial Charter of 1801 established the Supreme Court and the English language

was the medium of law giving. This Anglicisation of the judicial process set in motion

two centuries ago, persists to this day!!

There were of course skirmishes of the governors with the judiciary and they were

resentful of the independence of the Supreme Court.

An important aspect of the British administrative policy was the europeanisation of the

higher echelons. This resulted in a heavy increase in administrative costs, which in turn

caused recurrent budget deficits. The upshot of all this was the creation of the Ceylon

Civil Service, an elite corps of highly paid covenanted officers. The next rungs of

bureaucracy were also manned by a host of British immigrants. The clerical services

went to Burghers and Eurasians, who embraced it as their traditional occupation.

Local village headmen lost their judicial powers and were paid a salary instead of

accomodessans (land grants)

The administrative process was continually refined and powers and functions crystallized.

The administration of the British was manifest at local level by the Collector. Each

province had a Collector who collected revenue through the village headmen. The

Collector held all administrative, revenue and fiscal powers of the provincial

administration. With the passage of time the British developed quite a comprehensive

administration of the colony of Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

1 A Commissioner of Revenue (installed by Governor Maitland) supervised the

Provincial Collectors.

2. A Cinnamon Department was created modelled on the “Mahabadda,” of old.

3. A Registrar General’s department looked to births, baptisms, marriages and

deaths.

4. There was also a Surveyor General’s Department combined with a Civil

Engineers Department.

5. A Registrar of Lands was also put in place.

6. The separate Kandyan administration was in 1932 finally abrogated except where

inheritance, caste marriage, land tenure, and personal services were concerned.

In contrast, the Portuguese and Dutch had occupied only the maritime provinces of Sri

Lanka. Their administration did not greatly affect the Kandyan regions that were still

under the Kandyan Monarchy. The Portuguese were bent on proselytism and the Dutch,

on commerce. The Dutch, who used the cinnamon Peeler caste or ‘Salagama’ for this

purpose, exploited the Cinnamon trade. Barter was the main instrument of trade and

compulsory service. (Rajakariya) was used to liquidate other debts, such as land tenure.

The Sinhalese were traditionally farmers, and trade was in the hands of the moors, other

itinerant traders, and some of the Ceylon Tamils.

The Urbanisation was concentrated in and around the Dutch Forts in Colombo, Galle,

Jaffna, Matara etc.

16

The Dutch administration had extracted taxes in the form of Rajakariya and had revived

the Portuguese ‘Thombo’ or registration of individual dues to the state.

The Dutch had introduced private ownership of land via the Roman Dutch law, which

persists in the present day.

Roman Catholicism was banned and so also was Hinduism and Islam in the cities.

Muslims were debarred from the lucrative appointments as renters of land.

Dutch preoccupation with Cinnamon extraction made heavy demands on the cinnamon

peeler caste (Salagama) and later led to their favoured status during their regime, which

in turn provoked rivalry with the higher castes.

To cap it all, the VOC’s administration was inefficient and expensive due to the high

degree of corruption in its officials, which eventually led to the strengthening of the local

Headmen’s influence and the increasing of their wealth.

The Dutch legacy was, in addition to the Mission School System, their Roman Dutch

Law, Dutch Architecture, Dutch Forts and the famous Dutch transport canals in the West

of the Island

It was The British administration of the colony of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) that made a truly

lasting impression.

01. In 1801 a supreme court of Judicature and a court of appeal were set up by the

Special Judicial Charter.

02. A nascent legislative authority could be perceived in the advisory council of 1802.

03 The use of English in the courts was also established.

04. Europeanisation of the Higher Bureaucracy was a conspicuous feature of their

administration – leading to elitism – viz; The Ceylon Civil Service - the highest

paid officers in the British Empire outside of India.

05. Although prohibited, they engaged in plantation and other commerce.

06. In 1815 with the capture of Kandy, the British unified rule in the country for the

first time since the time of King Parakramabahu VI in the 15th century AD.

07. They introduced the Provincial collector, begun with revenue in mind, but

evolving into a decentralized administration over all departments (except the

military) and responsible to the commissioner of revenue under the Governor.

08. Religious tolerance permitted freedom of worship.

09. A comprehensive administration, on the lines of the Indian Model was set in

place.

10. Roads and Railways proliferated

11. The Colebrooke-Cameron reforms of 1832 took on substance.

17

a. The new legislative council was formed

b. Provincial boundaries were redrawn and 5 new provinces were created.

c. The separate Kandyan administration was abrogated.

d. An Education Policy was implemented

This new administration and new economy not only caused the dichotomy of society in

the plantation districts, but also led to the polarization of the peoples in the other areas.

The new occupation also influenced the emerging social order. The high caste Goigama

had consolidated their position at the top of the social pyramid with the Karawes coming

in next.

The English Language created a further rift in the indigenous peoples, especially the rural

population who had no access to the missionary schools

18

PART TWO

19

THE BIRTH OF THE TEA ENTERPRISE

The first signs of the coffee rust were observed in 1869, by which time James Taylor’s

first commercial plot of tea was already in existence. James Taylor is acknowledged as

the father of the Tea Industry in Ceylon (Sri Lanka now) and it is only fitting that he is

given due recognition in this study.

He was born in 1835 in a cottage, “Moss Park” in Monboddo Estate near Laurence Kirk

in Kincardineshire in Scotland. He came to Ceylon in 1852 along with the Blacklaws and

was initially cared for by the Mackwood Family, who were already firmly established in

this colonial outpost. Plantation colossus, R. B. Tytler, who maintained a close liaison

with the Laurence Kirk Parish in Scotland, was instrumental in bringing Young Taylor to

Ceylon, as well scores of other Scottish immigrants of “good stock” who were

traditionally in the farming business.

Taylor worked as a planter, first on Naranghena Estate and very shortly moved to Waloya

Division of Loolecondera estate, Hewaheta, a new coffee estate owned by J.J. McKenzie.

Although ownership of the estate changed hands, (Anglo Ceylon and General Estates Co)

he remained on it until his death in 1892.

He was reclusive by nature and rough hewn, gauche and uncomfortable in the company

of the opposite sex and died a bachelor. Nevertheless his contribution to the development

of the Tea Industry is almost without parallel. A workaholic with an enquiring scientific

mind he wrote and published results of his work and experiments in the journals of those

pioneer days. Legend also has it that he was the biggest and strongest man in the land at

the time and one whose brain was not second to his brawn. It took a dozen men two days

to carry his body down to the Kandy (Maiyawa) cemetery for burial.

Although Taylor is credited as the father of the tea industry, it is a little known fact that it

was H. K. Thwaites, the curator of the Kandy (Peradeniya) Botanical Gardens, who gave

him the first tea seeds of the Assam variety and encouraged him to plant them.

Unfortunately his place in the sun has been overshadowed by succeeding events.

In 1872 the first break of Ceylon tea was exported. It consisted of 2 small packs

containing 23 lbs of tea from Loolecondera estate and was sold for Rs. 58.00 (valued at

3.s. 9.d., per lb)

New coffee plantations continued to develop even in the 1880’s in certain districts, but

the inexorable advance of the coffee rust sent alarm bells ringing in the minds of the more

perspicacious planters who then turned to tea as a replacement crop.

With typical vigour these planters soon had tea plantations going where the coffee had

been. Although there was an initial lack of expertise in this new crop, the vast experience

gained by their Indian counterparts was freely given to the Ceylon tea planters, who

proved apt students.

The results achieved by these first tea estates did not pass unnoticed, and the

transformation of coffee plantations into tea gained momentum.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEA INDUSTRY & ATTENDANT SOCIO-

ECONOMIC CHANGES

20

In the 1880’s and 1890’s more land came under tea than any period thereafter. The

tremendous increase in crop production placed a great burden on the processing facilities,

which were struggling to cope with the high intakes of green leaf. It was clearly evident

that the present largely manual manufacturing process was most inadequate, and that an

efficient mechanised process was necessary.

The first Tea House or factory was built in 1873 by James Taylor, bolstered by the

success of his initial experimentation with converting green leaf in to black tea. It was of

wattle and daub and had hessian lofts in which to wither the leaf. He invented a tea leaf

roller, which was he powered by a 20ft. water wheel, as he realized that manual rolling

was not only inefficient, but also expensive.

The demand for mechanisation created by the burgeoning tea production was a golden

opportunity for enterprising inventors and engineers. In a relatively short time clever

machines that mimicked manual operations, albeit at much higher speed and efficiency

were invented and became mandatory in a tea factory.

Thus a new ancillary industry, for producing tea-processing machinery, was born.

The first successful tea-rolling machine was invented by the Walker brothers in 1880, and

manufactured by their firm, John Walker & Co.

In 1884, John Walker helped build the first central tea factory in Fairyland estate (Mount

Pedro). The factory belonged to J. A. Rossiter who opened up tea estates in the foothills

of mount Pedro.

In 1893, the first tea auction in Sri Lanka was held by Somerville and Co, when the

annual production had reached 2,000,000. lbs.

1894 also saw the formation of the Colombo Tea Traders Association

Around the same time, Wharran Megginson of Carolina Plantation, in the Watawala area,

also commissioned Walker to build what was to become the proptotype factory of the

time. It was 100 feet long and 42 feet high and had 3 floors. It cost Rs. 35,000, a

substantial amount in those days. Power was by steam generated by firewood. The

design stood the test of time and was little changed over the next half century

John Brown was another canny British inventor and entrepreneur whose Triple Action

Roller eclipsed the Walker Economic Roller. Brown went on to found The Colombo

Commercial Co. that has survived to the present day.

This new ancillary engineering industry however, was concentrated in the hands of

British firms and helped further consolidate British influence in this colonial outpost.

In the years 1883 to 1889, the export of Ceylon tea grew from 1,000,000 pounds to

28,500,000 pounds. Indian exports too had shot up from 58,000,000 lbs to 96,000,000

lbs. The production of tea outstripped that of all other crops and the value of tea exported

was far greater than that of any other crop. In 1900 tea accounted for Rs. 53.7 million

while coconut contributed 16.3 million of a total export earning of Rs. 90.8 million.

The Chinese found it impossible to compete with the efficient British enterprise. Theirs

was one of smallholdings, making tea the traditional way. These archaic methods,

21

coupled with bad agricultural practices led to the decline of Chinese tea. Chinese exports

that were as much as 111,780,000 lb in 1883 dwindled to 61,000,000 lb by 1889. Chinese

tea lost its dominance in the major world markets. Indian and Ceylon teas virtually wiped

out China tea in the succeeding decades and with the passage of time Ceylon Tea

emerged as the prized beverage of the day.

Ceylon became synonymous with good tea and Ceylon rose to prominence in the world at

large as the producer of superior quality tea.

Tea was the major export of the country and accounted for the greater part of its foreign

exchange earnings. Rubber, Coconut, cocoa and other crops taken together could not

match the income generated by tea.

The bustling activity of the British Planter wrought several changes in Sri Lanka, Some

of it good, and some not. Be that as it may, these changes must be viewed against the

larger backdrop of history and not taken in isolation.

Prior to European occupation, Sri Lanka was a hydraulic society with entrenched

monarchical governance, which could be ruthless and absolutely autocratic. The elite

were the scholars and monks, the warriors and the hierarchy of chieftains and petty

chiefs, who dominated the commoner and overlooked the collection of dues and

enforcement of Compulsory Service to the king. The material benefits of an advanced

culture and civilization did not trickle down in any appreciable way to the common folk.

For example, permanent dwellings were the privilege of the exalted ranks and the rest

were consigned to live in semi permanent dwellings.

Urban and rural populations were as yet concentrated in the traditionally occupied areas,

with the vast hill country virtually devoid of human habitation. The large-scale opening

up of estates in the uplands required massive inputs in logistical support and

infrastructure.

The arrival of such a large immigrant labour force in the country, especially the

highlands, made great demands on several supply centres. Food, housing, clothing and

other necessities and even luxury items were required to satisfy the needs of this surging

population.

The extensive road network and the new railroad system built by the British rendered

passage and transport easy. The agrarian style economy of the country and the traditional

feudal system of land tenure and tenancy, subsistence farming and slash and burn

cultivation were gradually usurped by the new wave of industry and commerce, as well as

the new British legislation.

The production and export of tea (and earlier, coffee) in itself necessitated several

ancillary support services such as packaging, transport, warehousing facilities, seaports,

vessels – and - as always - labour and more labour. An extensive administration was also

necessary in order to coordinate sale of produce. This resulted in the emergence of

Agency Houses, Brokerage Houses, Buying Offices, Planters Associations and a

Chamber of commerce. Consequentially, there also arose Employers Federations and

Trade Unions.

The prosperity generated by the success of the Tea Industry meant an unfettered and

liberal import policy of the government. Businesses sprang up in the metropolis of

22

Colombo and also in Kandy. The Kandyans who had looked askance at the feverish

British economic activity, in surly suspicion, slowly changed their attitudes and fell in

with this new approach to commerce when they discovered that their lowland

counterparts had much earlier embraced this British philosophy of industry. There were

several wealthy estate owners among littoral Sinhalese, by the time the Kandyans decided

to follow suit.

British influence was now changing the face of the country. Although Government

policy was slanted towards their own subjects, (naturally) the peaceful environment

required by the British in which they could ply their trades profitably, meant addressing

the new issues which were brought about by the British occupation in general.

The denudation of the highlands did not seem to bother the British unduly, although even

in those times, the Sinhalese Monarchy had recognised the importance of the luxuriant

forest cover and had declared all highland rain forests as strict natural reserves.

Several important waterways originated in these Central Mountains and the country

whose economy was agrarian based depended on their bounty. The British were either

ignorant or oblivious as to these considerations in their haste to make hay while the sun

shone. The reprehensible Waste Lands Act of 1824, allowed the purchase of vast tracts

of Virgin Forest Lands by British subjects and their local lackeys at the give away price

of 5 shillings per acre!

Whilst it is true that the tea industry rose from the ashes of that of coffee, there was little

similarity between the two. Coffee was basically a seasonal crop, which required far less

input in terms of materials and manpower, than did tea. In the heyday of the coffee

industry, the labour requirement was obtained from South India. The harvesting period

was from November to April and this resulted in a seasonal influx of immigrant workers

from South India who would make the long trek back and forth each year, to work the

coffee plantations in Ceylon. Having said that, it must be mentioned that in the latter

boom years, the demand for more permanent labour by the Coffee Industry, resulted in a

resident immigrant Tamil population of about 100,000, in the central hill country.

Only a small resident labour force was necessary in order to maintain the plantations

during the rest of the year, and each estate or plantation had its complement of resident

labour.

With tea, the situation was very different. By the turn of the 19th century about 380

thousand acres had come under tea, an extent far greater than was in coffee ever. Tea was

not only a labour intensive crop, it was also perennially in production. Harvesting

continued right throughout the year, with seasonal fluctuations in intake patterns. These

factors demanded a much higher labour input than in the case of coffee, which meant the

recruitment of more and more immigrant labour from South India.

With the dawn of the twentieth century, Cocoa and Rubber estates were also being

opened up in the lower elevations (below 2000’). Several thousands of Indian Tamils

found employment in these estates as well. It had been estimated that there were over

500,000 Indian Tamils employed on British owned estates in Sri Lanka in the year 1900.

It had been suggested that the immigrant population enjoyed a more contented living than

their earlier hardship-filled existence in their native country. Whilst this averment will be

discussed at greater length subsequently, it goes without saying that the plantations could

23

not have succeeded without the immigrant Tamil labour, since as mentioned earlier, the

indigenous population were generally averse to plantation work which they considered

menial.

THE RECRUITMENT OF INDIAN LABOUR

With the influx of the South Indian immigrant labour, the British dependence on

indigenous labour was reduced to a minimum. Thus, in the uplands, the indigenous

population, which was scattered over the land in their traditional archetypal village

existence, became distanced from the mainstream of economic activity and their place in

the new established order of things looked more tenuous than ever. Gradually, their

religion and culture and traditional methods of farming and cultivation began to wither in

the face of this new establishment and this new economy.

The British community in Sri Lanka gradually settled into their new existence in the new

colony and quite naturally, with the passage of time, a sub culture emerged and spread

across the land – the culture (referred to in derogatory terms) of the Pukka Sahib. This

emerging culture had its origins in the Indian Sub Continent, where Tea was a thriving

industry

While most of these Britishers, had probably led quite pedestrian lives back home, they

lived lives of undreamed of grandeur in Ceylon. Each Plantation was an enclave in it self

with its own separate set of rules, within the general frame work of the law at the time.

There indeed were rules and customs peculiar to each property, instituted at the whim and

fancy of the landowner, the British Planter. The Tamil labour on these estates were

treated little better than slaves, and they lived in the most abominable of conditions, in

their barrack type “Line Room” accommodation. Vestiges of the subservience instilled in

them by the British linger to this day, and “Master Suh” can still be heard in some of the

up country plantations.

The British way of life took root in the hills (as well as elsewhere) and even the local

gentry began to emulate these British. The typical British sports, Cricket and Soccer,

Horse Racing and Polo, Golf and Croquet, Shooting and Fishing spread like a rash across

the country. Gentlemen Planters lost no time in establishing that peculiar British

Institution, the Club, in every sub-district of the Up Country. There were gun clubs,

tennis clubs, cricket clubs and golf clubs, men only clubs, turf clubs and even a fishing

club.

The well-being and prosperity enjoyed by the expatriate British Community was

extracted at a price – a price that was paid for by the indigenous population in more ways

than one.

Over a million acres of virgin rain forest cover had fallen to the rapacious axe of the

British and was replaced with (coffee) tea & rubber plantations. Many highland

watersheds were destroyed forever, and spelled disaster for Kandyan peasantry. Soil

erosion was of mind-boggling proportions, and ruined subsistence farmlands and rice

paddies.

The inexorable encroachment into the pristine rain forest canopy was catastrophic, and

would result in micro climatic changes. Rainfall declined noticeably. The relentless

denudation of the forests also disturbed ecological equilibrium for the worse. Pests and

diseases would surface and cause severe depredations in flora and fauna alike.

24

The firmly established Tea Plantation Industry being labour intensive in nature demanded

an ever-increasing resident labour population.

In 1827 the Indian Tamil population was only about 10,000 out of a total population of

1,000,000. By 1850 this figure had risen to about 40,000 of an estimated population of

1,700,000.

Europeans 500

Plantation enclaves 40,000

Urban enclaves 59,500

Village population 1,600,000

Total 1,700,000

In 1871 the demographic distribution in the Plantation areas is given below:

Total Population No. of estates Estate Population

Kandy District 258,432 625 81,476

Badulla District 129,000 130 15,555

Matale District 71,724 111 13,052

Kegalle District 105,287 40 3,790

Sabaragamuwa 92,277 37 3,227

Nuwara Eliya 36,184 21 308

Kurunegala 207,885 21 2,393

Matara 143,379 11 1,072

Total 1,044,168 996 123,654

The total population in the country according to the census of 1871 was 2,584,780.

Proportions of above census

Sinhalese 69%

Tamils 22% -- Plantation Tamils as well as Ceylon Tamils

Muslims 6.7%

Burghers 24%

Europeans & others 2.16%

The plantation Tamil population (South Indian Origin) at this point had risen to 123,654.

The earlier seasonal migration pattern began to change with the demand for more and

more resident labour. The Indian immigrant workers formed a segment of the general

movements of Indians across the seas to man the plantations of this Second British

Empire. It differed from that of other plantation colonies, being seasonal. This seasonal

requirement of labour suited the migrant work force, which was able to return to their

homeland in time for their next harvest.

Agitation from tea plantation owners for more labour resulted in state sponsored and state

subsidized immigration on the model of Mauritius and the West Indies.

25

The Government left the actual indenturing of labour to the planters, and they in turn

gave over the business to private recruiting agents. This system of recruitments was not

only insufficient but also resulted in a high fatality rate. This was largely due to the

rigours of the journey through the barren inhospitable reaches of the Northern Province

trekking through swampy malaria infested jungles and on to the heavy rain forests

infested with a plethora of wild animals. The journey took about 2 weeks, and amenities

along the way were inadequate and this posed more risks to the immigrant worker.

Fatality reached an alarming 40%, which finally prompted the Government to implement

measures to ameliorate the hardships of the journey.

When the 19th century was drawing to a close, immigration from India, propelled by

demand in the tea industry, was significantly more than emigration of repatriating

workers. Health ordinances such as quarantine were now established and ensured a more

disease free complement of immigrant labour. Several rest houses and wells now

punctuated the overland journey of the immigrant, reducing the incidence of fatalities and

illness.

The recruiting agent (Head Kangany) was an important integer in the plantation enclave.

He was solely responsible to the management for the supply of daily labour and also for

peaceful relations between management and labour .The Head Kangany was also a

paternal figurehead for the resident labour on an estate. The management in turn

remunerated the Head Kangany in proportion to the labour supplied, on an agreed rate per

head. This was referred to as “Head Pence.”

Whilst the Head Kangany lived in relative luxury, the labourers themselves were herded

in barracks of 10’ x 12’ rooms, one per family. Normally 2 or 3 workers would occupy a

“line room” but it was not unusual for a family of six to inhabit and cohabit in these

meagre quarters.

Abysmal living conditions – sans basic sanitary facilities and even running water

extracted a heavy toll of these plantation resident labourers. Mortality was high and life

expectancy low. Wages were extremely low, and stood at cents 40 per day for males and

cents 34 for females. An objective assessment indicates that conditions were little better

than slavery.

The inadequate income also effectively fettered these workers to their respective

plantations and also to the local moneylenders.

Moneylenders were invariably of the Moor and Muslim communities, who gravitated to

the hill country from the littoral, to take advantage of the new business opportunities.

Ceylon Tamils (as well as a few low country Sinhalese) who were generally engaged in

trading, opened shops in the various bazaars that sprang up to serve the needs of the

inhabitants among the various clusters of estates.

Thus the upcountry or ‘Kandyan’ Sinhalese native of the country was excluded from this

environment and was not a part of this new and prosperous tea plantation economy. In

point of fact, estates were generally out of bounds for the Kandyan who could venture

within, only with the consent of the colonial plantation master.

26

This dichotomy of the population, was intensified by the colonials who not only gobbled

up the land available under the horrendous waste-lands act of 1824, but also began

encroaching on patrimonial and traditional communal lands.

As a consequence of such impositions, the Kandyans, who refused to subscribe to Anglo

Saxon discipline and routine, found themselves sidelined from mainstream activities and

cheated of traditional lands, while erosion due to denudation of the rain forest canopy,

limited subsistence agriculture.

As for the littoral population the situation was vastly different. Though Sinhalese in the

main, the sustained occupation of the country by invading foreigners, and traders from

alien lands had vastly diluted their ethnic origins, and also established several ‘minority’

communities all over the littoral.

For example:

1 Low country Sinhalese

2 Ceylon Tamils

3 Burghers

4 Eurasians

5 Muslims

6 Malays

In the upcountry there were the Kandyan Sinhala and the Indian Tamils, and the

sprinkling of British planters and polyglot traders.

The low country Sinhalese, who having had to live ‘cheek by jowl’ as it were, with

various foreign colonialists and itinerant traders, over the centuries, acquired a great

resilience and adaptability to the changing environment. Being also more venal and

opportunistic than their upcountry counterparts, they took advantage of the opportunities

for advancement. The high proportion of Christians among them was also an important

factor in their upward mobility.

The British proved to be better rulers than either the Portuguese or Dutch, and

appreciated that a peaceful environment had to go hand in hand with infrastructure

development that was necessary for the success of commercial agriculture. Road and Rail

penetrated the heartland of the country providing an excellent network of transport.

Telegraphic (and later telephonic) communication provided an important adjunct to

business and leisure needs.

Their rule was not without incident nevertheless, and they had to quell at least 3 major

rebellions. The first in 1797 was due to the British administration’s attempts to change

existing customs and regulations such as compulsory service, (Rajakariya), and residence

taxes on Muslims and Chettties, (Uliyam), and capitation taxes on slave castes in Jaffna.

The capitulation of Kandy to the British in 1815 was succeeded by the rebellion of 1817

– 1818, when the Kandyans awoke to the unpalatable reality of British rule. This is

despite the two-tier administration adopted by the British, in deference to the traditions of

the Kandyan provinces. The rebellion was finally crushed when crack regiments from

India entered the fray. It was the most formidable uprising against the British.

The rebellion of 1848 was centered in Colombo and the Kandyan provinces of Matale

and Kurunegala. The fervid plantation activity aided and abetted by partisan British

27

legislature resulted in a veritable closure movement, causing disintegration of peasant

economy and landlessness among the peasantry. Broadly, the juxtaposition of the

commercial economy of the plantations with the traditional subsistence, or peasant

economy accelerated the breakdown of traditional society.

The malaise of the Kandyan region showed in the increase of crime and lawlessness,

which was spurred on by the influx of low country Sinhalese and Ceylon Tamils, who

came to exploit the pecuniary opportunities afforded by the new plantation economy.

British self-interest and neglect of peasant agriculture and infrastructure was as much to

blame for the Kandyan dilemma, as were the Kandyan village Headmen whose venality

was capitalized upon by the British. It was only with their connivance that the British

declared village lands crown property and sold them.

Despite a prolonged slump in the Tea trade, in the 1890s, the industry kept expanding and

the immigrant labour force swelled to satisfy the demand for more labour of a resident

nature. With the workers on the plantations now becoming permanent residents, rather

than migrant labour, a new element of plurality was introduced into the country’s multi

ethnic populace, a situation that was to have profound consequences for the future.

The industry had come a long way since the first shipment of 23 lbs of tea in 1873 from

Loolecondera estate in James Taylor’s day. Coffee was now relegated to near obscurity

with only 11,932 acres in production in the year 1900, whereas there were 417,448 acres

in tea. The early elation in the fledgling Tea industry was dampened by the slump that

came about as a result of global over production. The industry was however, vibrant

enough to withstand this depression, which lasted until 1905. A crisis point was reached

in 1897, when new planting was completely halted. The depression was to have far

reaching consequences. In the early aftermath of the depression the industry began to

take on a more organized and professional semblance. It was an evolution of survival.

Most of the proprietary plantations could not hold their ground through these long and

difficult years and were either sold, amalgamated with other properties or assigned in

charge of Agency Houses.

The Tea Industry spurred immigration from the Malabar States (South Indian) and the

statistics for 1887 given below show the demographics of the time.

RETURN OF THE POPULATION OF CEYLON FOR THE YEAR 1887

English European Sinhalese Malabar Other Races Total

4,639 17,886 1,848,842 687,248 200,179 2,758,794

During these latter decades of the 19th century immigration increase could surpass natural

increase in the census polls.

Year Total Intercensus Natural Immigrant

Population Increase Increase Increase

1871 2,400,380 359,358 119,792 239,566

1881 2,759,738 248,051 144,260 103,791

1891 3,007,789 558,165 225,406 332,759

1901 3,565,954 540,396 356,147 184,249

28

POPULATION PYRAMID 1875 – 1900 (Estimated average)

European Population 6,000

Urban Population 150,000

Plantation Population 450,000

Village Population 3.0 Million

TOTAL POPULATION 3.6 million

By the dawn of the 20th century there were over 500,000 Indian Tamils on the

plantations, altering demographic distribution considerably.

ANALYSIS OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE BRITISH OCCUPATION

RELATIVE TO THE TEA INDUSTRY

Now, with peasant agriculture on the decline and plantations displacing people from

their traditional homelands and livelihoods, many of the Sinhalese were compelled to

look for work in the urban areas. This gravitation of population caused enormous

pressure on the cities unable to cope with the increase. Eventually the situation resolved

itself in the stratification of classes of this society, with British at the top of the pyramid

and Indian Tamils of the plantation at the base. English literacy and Protestantism also

played and important role in aiding the upwardly mobile in their ascent up the social

ladder.

Elitism and snob value kindled rural to urban migration. Big city population assumed a

more cosmopolitan profile, with the increase of the transitory immigrant communities.

The total profile

Category 1911 1921 Increase

1. Europeans 7592 8118 6.9%

2. Indian 548,446 602,735 9.9%

3. Burghers & 26,663 29,430 10.4%

Eurasians

4. All Other Ethnic

Group 4,106.350 4,498,605 9.6%

Total Population 4,690,962 5,140,809

Indians include basically two categories of immigrants.

Viz 1. Indentured Indians with assisted travel – mainly to the plantations

2. Indians with unassisted travel – mainly to the cities.

The 1st category was mainly Malabar Indians indentured by the European Planter through

the now well-established recruitment scheme under the aegis the colonial government.

The second category was mostly entrepreneurs and adventurers intent on making their

fortune.

29

Urbanisation meant more conventional trade and encouraged shop keeping, which was

foreign to the indigenous Sinhalese.

On the other hand the British (dubbed a nation of shop keepers), exploited the upper end

of consumer needs, while from India arrived a hodge-podge of merchant tribes, such as

the Sindhi, Borah, Parsee, Chetty, Reddy and Afghan, among other North and South

Indian arrivals, to supply the various demands of these burgeoning urbanite populations.

In 1921, the population-density of Colombo was 1142 persons per square mile and those

of Kandy, Matale Galle and Kalutara increased to 450. Jaffna, which was detached from

plantation enterprise had a population density of 331 persons to the square mile.

Monetisation was now well established. British law and order governed a plural society.

The enlightened government of the British made concessions to the natives, and granted

redress for punitive colonial edicts of the past. Governmental paternalism was extended

through a host of civil servants in the various government services.

Through necessity and also by demand, the lower ranks of the civil service were filled

with Eurasians, Burghers, upwardly mobile Sinhalese and Ceylon Tamils. On the

plantations and in the plantation related businesses such as the agency houses and

engineering and supply firms too, Ceylonese found acceptance in the subordinate cadres.

This English speaking middle class, drawn from all local communities were not slow in

shedding their traditional customs, garb and even religion in favour of the glamorous

British dress and lifestyle. White Drill suits and pith helmets, top hats and tails and other

haberdashery were in. Other debatable accoutrements and appurtenances were also

embraced in shameless emulation. The ritual of Tea became a popular social grace. Tea

even became the refreshment drink of choice even in the working classes. Tea and Tea-

time became part of the new culture. Tiffin acquired glamour of its own. Scones,

crumpets, waffles, dainty sandwiches, pastries and cakes taken in the evening were

washed down with Ceylon Tea, religiously prepared and served in ornate china tea sets,

in the gracious living rooms of the wealthy, while plain tea was drunk off a cheap glass or

tin mug by the blue collar types, in their canteens.

A retinue of servants helped maintain genteel life in the British households as well as in

those of their local emulators. Even the most modest of aspiring households would have

at least one servitor to attend to the so-called menial tasks.

The employment of servants assumed great social significance and was a symbol of

success and social standing. On the other hand the dignity of labour received a mortal

blow and relegated blue-collar workers to the bottom of the social ladder thus retarding

the disintegration of the iniquitous caste system of social order.

The dependency on servants persists even to this day in the upper and middle classes,

though, interestingly, viewed as a luxury by their counterparts in other countries,

especially in the west.

Enlightened and paternalistic they may have been, but British supremacy in the island

was never in doubt. It was a long time before prejudice, bias and racism was openly

addressed.

30

The polarization of the country’s population seemed to have reached a culmination; the

urban/suburban sector, the estate enclaves and the rural villages.

The estate enclaves encompass tea, rubber, and now, coconut, but this study is primarily

concerned with the tea plantation scenario.

With the growth of urban population, services provided by the govt. increased in volume

creating more government jobs, much sought after and held in prestige by the native

population. In addition to the earlier mentioned services, there was now a government

railway, postal and clerical services and a civil medical department.

This department succeeded in controlling various epidemics including Cholera, Small

Pox, Bubonic Plague and Typhoid.

Life expectancy, which was 35 years, rose to 48 by the 1920s. Infant mortality was also

significantly reduced. The Department was indeed a boon to the country.

Education, that ‘sine qua non’ for upward mobility was concentrated in the cities, thus

excluding the vast majority of the rural population from benefiting from it. A command

of the English language ensured a high social standing in the community,

As mentioned earlier there was Western garb at one end and sarong and singlet at the

other end of the social spectrum. This caused an inferiority complex in the rural folk in

general which would give rise to more socio-political problems in the future.

The Kandyans who had at first looked askance at the activity of their low country

counterpart later looked with interest, into the economic and social activity that was

surely changing the face of the country. The Goigama caste which enjoyed positions of

importance began entering main-stream activities such as buying land and engaging in

plantation agriculture and related business fields.

The economy of the country has picked up by the end of the 1st quarter of the twentieth

century. There was over one million acres planted in tea rubber and coconut, of which tea

accounted for approximately half. (557,284 acres)

In 1890 Ceylon produced 34.1 million lb of tea and this rose to 240 million lbs by 1930.

Year 1890 Year 1933

India 96.5 million lbs India 359 million lbs

China 92.5 million lbs Ceylon 243 million lbs

Ceylon 34.1 million lbs Indonesia 158.7 million lbs

China 92 million lbs

Japan 18.1 million lbs

British Africa 1.9 million lbs

Indochina 1.2 million lbs

Export income hovered close to the Rs. 500,000,000 mark before the great depression of

1932, caused by over supply, which had a drastic impact on tea as well as rubber and

31

coconut. Tea export revenue plummeted below the Rs. 200,000,000 mark when, who but

the country’s former conquistadors, the Dutch, should come to the rescue, in a trade

agreement with the British, to curtail production levels of relevant commodities by 15

percent

It must be mentioned that during this watershed period of the early 20th century,

plantation enterprise accounted for about 90% of the export by way of commercial

agricultural products

Tea was always the major contributor with around 50% of these exports.

In 1915 tea accounted for 45% of the Islands exports

Acreage under Cultivation % of Export Trade

1. Tea 426,816 44.8%

2. Rubber 198,588 30.5%

3. Coconut 997,701 14.4%

4. Cocoa 41,538 1.1%

--------------------- --------

Total 1,664,643 acres 90.8%

== =========== =====

Tea survived the slump of the late 19th/ early 20th century by transforming from sole

proprietor ownership to company ownership and agency house management. The most

important of these agency houses and companies are worthy of mention.

1. George Steuart & Company - established in 1884

2. Whittall Boustead Company - established circa 1890

(Whittall amalgamated with Boustead & Company in 1957)

3. Consolidated Commercial Company - established circa 1885

4. Mackwood Company - established circa 1880

5. Carson Cumberbatch & Company - established circa 1885

6. Harrison Crossfield & Company - established circa 1895

Except in the case of George Steuart & company, agency houses not only managed other

tea companies and proprietary Holdings, but also estates of their won.

Other notable agency houses

Shaw Wallace & Hedges Ltd.,

Gordon Frazer & Company

Leechman & Company

James Finlay & Company

Agency houses were the intermediaries between the estates and the markets and became

part of a complicated chain of marketing, together with the produce brokers in the trade.

Some important tea companies of yesteryear

I. Over 10,000 acres each

1. Eastern Produce Estates Co (G. Nicholson, N.W. Grieve, R.A.

Cameron and David Reid)

32

2. Ceylon Tea Plantations Co (H.K. Rutherford, Reid, Talbot)

3. Anglo Ceylon and General Estates Co (Quintin Hogg)

4. Ceylon and Oriental Estate Co (H.A. Hancock, H.C. Smith)

II. Over 5000 acres

1. Caledonean Ceylon Tea Co (G.H.D. Elphinstone, James Ross)

2. Ceylon Land and Produce Co (James Wilson)

3. Ceylon Proprietary Tea Estates (R.A. Cameron Wiggin)

4. The Scottish Tea & Land Co. of Ceylon

III. Over 3000 acres

1. Central Province Ceylon Tea Co (Mackwood, Powell)

2. Carolina Tea Co (Hopkinson, C.A.W. Cameron)

3. Galaha Ceylon Tea Co (C.E.Strachan, W.L. Strachan)

4. Associated Tea Estate of Ceylon (Alexander Wilson)

IV. Over 1000 acres

1. Bandarapola Ceylon Co (Hugh Frazer, G.W. Paine)

2. Burnside Tea Co (G.A. Pilkington, G.W. Paine)

3. Kandapola Tea Co (R.A. Bosanquet, J.H. Alexander)

4. Poonagalle Tea Co (G.A. Pilkinton, G.A. Anderson)

5. Scottish Ceylon Tea Co H.L. Forbes, Donald Andrews)

6. Nuwara Eliya Tea Estates (C.A. Cameron, C.R. Robinson)

7. Lanka Plantations Co (Hendy Bois, George Allen)

Ceylon Tea first aroused interest in London in 1878, gaining ingress to the hallowed

Mincing Lane hub of the tea market, established earlier by the East India Co for the

distribution of China Tea.

The Low Country Products Association, formed in 1860, a bastion of the Sinhala Planters

gained strength with the passage of time and became a potent force to reckon with. They

clamoured for equal status and opportunity in the European dominated plantations.

In the early to mid 20th century there emerged new rivals to the LCPA in the form of

Indian and Muslim traders. They had accumulated fortunes by servicing the industry and

began buying the properties of departing British planters.

Finally, some of the more enterprising Kandyans too bought into the Tea plantations, in

and around the Kandyan province, where they had begun venturing into the tea industry,

with homestead plots and smallholdings.

In the early 20th century, area in tea had increased to around 498,000 acres (Blue Book

1916), coffee, down to 830 acres.

The other principal crops in the island had also extended their cultivation, viz;

Rubber - 380,000 acres

Coconut - 968,500 “

Paddy - 770,000 “

The tea industry, having now evolved into a highly organized thriving industry acquired

the appurtenances of a fully-fledged business. The planters association was already in

33

place and was a powerful lobby for the plantation industry. Plantation ownership had

layered into the Agency Houses and limited liability companies, private companies

(proprietorships) and smallholdings

The Tea Research Institute was founded in 1925. R.G. Coombe, a pre eminent planter

(Poonagalla estate) and Sir Edward Rosling of the Anglo Ceylon Tea Co are credited

with mooting this very important project, which became a widely acclaimed scientific

body, paving the way for the scientific approach to tea cultivation. The results, seen in the

tremendous increase in productivity spoke for the great contribution of this institute, to

the entire Tea Plantation enterprise.

In 1932, the Ceylon Tea Propaganda Board was established as a government sponsored

unit, to promote the cause of Ceylon tea. With the reins of British rule being slowly

slackened, Sri Lankans entered the political arena first, through the advisory council of

1802, which had evolved into the Legislative council in 1833. By the late 19th century it

had come to be regarded as a local parliament.

The Ceylon National Congress superseded a ‘toothless’ Ceylon National Association in

1916. A Ceylon Labour Association followed in 1922, and on its heels, in 1926, a Ceylon

Estate Labour Federation.

In 1928, the Donoughmore commission initiated constitutional reform and the conferring

of universal adult franchise. This caused destabilization of society due to the demarcation

of electorates impinging on plantation land and the denying of franchise to the Tamil

immigrant labour.

The Agency House style of management provided the incentive for planters to ascend the

rungs of this ‘Plantocracy.’ Diligent senior planters became directors of companies or

agency houses, or visiting agents who held sway over estate managers. This led to a

separation of estate level executives into a Ceylon Planters Society. There was also an

Estate Proprietors Association harking back to 1923. Then in 1939 The Ceylon Workers

Congress, was established by the astute Indian Tamil Proprietary Planter, S. Thondaman

Its formation owed much to the Ceylon Indian congress.

The unionisation of the of the working classes was not only a result of a harsh foreign

administration, but also a natural consequence of an enlightened indigenous population

voicing their demands, and the push pull effects of the administration which tended to

reflect the personal dogma of the governor at a given time.

The bulk of the estates came under Agency House management where meticulous and

exacting procedures were now well established.

British companies accounted for about 50% of tea estates while local companies and

smallholdings held the rest

The success of tea continued unabated despite the ripples of periodic price slumps. In

times of adversity, plantations overcame crises with various economies including

repatriation of workers to India. Such cavalier action contributed to labour unrest.

Labour militancy was gaining momentum, and also caused considerable losses of

production. Nevertheless, sound economic management prevailed over unpredictable

34

market situations. The increase in volume of tea resulted in the Colombo Auctions

processing a much greater quantity of tea than that of London.

The Tea Research Institute began experimenting with vegetative propagation of tea in

1938, and heralded a new era in the Tea Plantation Industry. While the success of the

industry was based on solid management and innovative marketing, the inculcation of the

scientific methods pioneered by the TRI gave that much needed boost to production. The

intensive monoculture of tea itself spawned severe depredations in the form of pests,

diseases, microclimatic changes, soil erosion, soil deficiencies, and diseases. The TRI

played a vital role in instilling a broader sense of awareness and appreciation of applied

science.

The cultivated acreage of tea reached about 560,000 acres, but uneconomical units were

abandoned or diversified and the acreage stabilized around 490,000 acres.

The process of Tea manufacture was also refined by the scientific approach. The

uniqueness of Ceylon Tea was emphasized in the various marketing campaign.

Tea estates were catergorised by their elevation

Estates below 2000’ amsl were Low Grown or Low Country

Estates above 2000’ and below 4000 amsl were ‘Mid Grown or Mid Country

Estates above 4000’ amsl were High Grown or Up Country.

The taste and aroma generating compounds of tea varied at these different elevations.

Generally, low country Teas were devoid of aromatic compounds and were described as

plain and/ or strong. Upcountry Teas had that special prized Ceylon flavour, a product of

the elevation and climate. Mid country Teas reflected an admixture of the former two –

again in general terms.

High grown tea was a truly fine, delectable beverage, which (undeservedly) encouraged a

superiority complex in the upcountry planter towards his low and or mid country

colleagues.

The quality of the finished tea depended on the proper harvesting. Since the tender shoots

contained more of the desirable compounds, it was essential that the harvesting was

restricted as far as possible to the apical bud and the first two or three leaves and the

harvesting intervals controlled to optimize this. The Tea manufacture process, i.e.

Plucking, withering, rolling, fermentation and firing was complemented by the grading

operation. The rolling process partly broke up the leaves by abrasion, and therefore the

fired product was not uniform but contained particles of different sizes and also fibre.

Suffice it to say that the grading process employed machinery of increasing sophistication

to grade the Tea according to particle size, and to extract fibre and mature stalk.

The normal grades are,

Main Grades Orange Pekoe – soft stem

Pekoe – leaf of shot like appearance

Broken Orange Pekoe – (BOP) broken leaf of good quality

Broken Orange pekoe Fannings – smaller type of the BOP

Dust No. 1

35

Inferior Grades Dust No. 2

Broken Pekoe

B.P. Fannings

There contain fibre and hard Stalk.

The best drinking quality Tea is the BOP, which mainly comprises the particles that

separate early in the manufacture process. BOP fannings come next. O.P and Pekoe are

light liquoring, large leaf teas preferred by certain countries such as from the Middle

East.

While the actual marketing process may be outside the scope of this study it must be

mentioned that the various preferences of the various markets were of great significance

in evolving marketing strategy.

FLOW CHART OF THE ORTHODOX TEA MANUFACTURING PROCESS.

Plucking (harvesting)

Withering (partial desiccation) 10-24 Hrs.

Rolling / Roll-breaking (maceration/separation)

1-3 Hrs.

Fermentation (oxidation)

20-25 Mts.

Firing (drying)

_______________________________________________________________________

Grading (sorting)

Storing/Packing No Critical Time Limit

In 1955, the first of the vegetative-propagated tea came into bearing. The new method of

contour planting (as apposed to row planting) ensured a higher stand of bushes per acre

and helped prevent soil erosion. The implication of the homogeneity of plants achieved

by this clonal (V.P.) propagation was not lost upon the planting community. Now it was

possible to develop tea plants to suit a gamut of needs, such as high yielding types,

quality manufacturing types, drought resistant types, borer resistant and root disease

resistant varieties and so on. With time the T.R.I. developed a portfolio of specialized tea

clones.

In 1958, the State entered the industry with the formation of the state plantations

corporation.

36

By 1961, Sri Lanka’s registered extent of tea lands once again exceeded 200,000 hectares

or 500,000 acres, and tea exports exceeded 2,000,000 metric tons (440,000,000 lb).

In 1963, the first-ever instant teas were produced and exported. This development

addressed a notable shortcoming in tea as compared with its rival coffee

Sri Lanka became the world’s largest tea exporter for the first time, (in 1965) surpassing

India. Further development in field techniques as well as that of the factory continued.

The National Yield approached the 1000 lb/acre mark, which was reflected in the

increase of gross production on a more or less static acreage. (See table Nos. 1 & 2)

New innovative machinery augmented the orthodox manufacturing process, and helped

produce better liquoring teas.

The withering process of the leaves (partial desiccating) was radically changed when

withering troughs replaced the traditional loft. Nearly 75% of the space in a tea factory

was occupied with leaf withering lofts. The new invention reduced the space requirement

of a factory by over 50%.

Rotorvanes now preceded the rollers in the rolling and separating operations and the all-

important tea drying machine or drier was now automatic. Still later the ‘Fluid Bed

Drier’ arrived, and superseded these automatic endless chain types.

In the grading room too, automation made its way in via conveyors, automatic stalk

extractors (as opposed to the manual, labour intensive method), density separators and

automatic bulking chambers. The traditional method of Black Tea Manufacture continued

to refine and develop and was known as Orthodox Manufacture in the argot of the tea

trade. In the 1980’s a new process of Black Tea Manufacture, which had received wide

acceptance in India and Kenya, was experimented with this was the CTC type of

manufacture where the early stages or orthodox manufacture are replaced by a “Cutting

Tearing and curling” process. This did not prove very popular and accounts for only

about 7% of national production. (See Table No. 3) Green Teas (unoxidised or

unfermented teas) were of relative unimportance as can be seen.

(See Table No. 4)

Instant Tea is slowly making headway along with other valued added tea exports.

(See table No.5)

It is recalled that the exodus of the proprietary British planter ended in the aftermath of

the great depression of 1933, leaving a new style company management under the

umbrella of agency houses, to run the tea estates. The new management proved very

successful. Besides, they now began assimilating a considerable proportion of the

indigenous groups, such as the Eurasians, Burghers and upper caste Kandyan and Low

Country Sinhalese. The new entrants who were from ‘Public School’ type background

fell in with the British ethos, like the proverbial duck taking to water. However, in

general the recruitment of Tamils to managerial positions at this point of time was

regarded as untenable probably due to the predominantly Tamil resident estate labour.

The British approach to the appropriation of profits differed as compared with that of the

earlier conquistadors who never really governed a unified (Ceylon) Sri Lanka. In the

interests of objectivity, it must be recalled that in the latter stages of the British

37

occupation they did practice a degree of enlightened governance, introduce the rudiments

of self-determination and loosen the reins of power.

The Portuguese, as noted earlier were more preoccupied with proselytism than trading

which the Dutch pursued avidly. Whilst the Dutch cashed in on Cinnamon, they were

only exploiting a natural resource. They left their mark mainly in the littoral.

The British, on the contrary, quite remarkably, were able to unify rule of the Island after

the capture of the Kandyan Kingdom, for only the third time in the millennium. They

introduced large-scale commercial agriculture in the form of Coffee and later, Tea

plantations. In the process of engaging in this agricultural enterprise, several factors

came into play, which no doubt, altered the course of history. This study has earlier

detailed the activities of the British, vis-a-vis their agricultural enterprise culminating in

the Tea phase.

If one were to make a broad review of the Tea Industry begun by the British over 125

years ago, the first impression is that it is the best thing that ever happened to Sri Lanka.

Today, the single largest contributor to the GNP is Tea. What has to be ascertained is

whether the prize beverage is worth the cost.

When Tea took over from Coffee as the main agricultural crop, it did so primarily from

the lands of the erstwhile Coffee plantations. Therefore in this regard much of the felling

of forests had been done earlier. Still about 250,000 acres of forest were later cleared to

make way for tea. It was seen that ecological or social considerations were not on the

British agenda in regard to expansion of plantation activity. Heavy soil erosion, damage

to indigenous agriculture, and traditional subsistence farming and even micro climatic

changes were wrought by unbridled expansion. Of course, some of the negative aspects

of Tea Plantation Agriculture could be ascribed to a learning process.

The heinous Waste Lands Act of 1824 resulted in virtual denudation of the Kandyan

District. Outright grants and sale of traditionally held village communal forests caused

severe hardship to the Kandyan population. The introduction of Indian Immigrant

Labour further sidelined the native Kandyan from mainstream activities – especially in

the early years of the industry. The imported Tamil labour also introduced a new

dimension in ethnic plurality to the country that was to have far reaching effects.

In the early 20th century, Governance had evolved from being Governor and Civil Servant

oriented to one where planters held sway, and this paved the way to planter and

communal representation. This later took on a territorial aspect with the course of time, in

the post WW1 era. In 1948 Sri Lanka gained independence and government changed

from State Council to Parliamentary Democracy. The more liberal and enlightened rule

of the British in the latter years saw a trickle down effect of the economy to a segment of

the indigenous population. The British also encouraged education, but this did not

percolate down in a meaningful way to the tea plantations and outlying rural areas. The

inequitable distribution of wealth and opportunities for upward social mobility would

cause discontent and agitation in a multi ethnic demographic mix. The British

administration, though by far the best of the three occupying powers in the recent history

of the island, was not without fault or favour and there was a more than perceptible

preference for the minority communities, in recruitment to the lower rungs of the

administration. The British also generally looked upon the Sinhalese majority as lazy by

nature. Though several governors disparaged the idle nature of the Sinhalese, they had,

much earlier, acquired a philosophy of their own – Materialism was demonic to culture

38

and acquisition of riches, not valued. Contentment within a simple pastoral life was their

goal.

Historically, Dravidians (the Tamils of the North and the South Indians) and the

Sinhalese have been through phases of war and peace, confrontation and collaboration,

separation and assimilation, for well over two millennia. It was the sporadic invasions of

the Dravidians that necessitated the retreat of the Sinhalese from Anuradhapura to

Polonaruwa to Dambadeniya to Yapahuwa, Kurunegala, Gampola, Kotte and the

Kandyan Hill Country. The imported Indian Tamil Labour were also unwelcome as they

represented a force which had changed the nature of their existence for the worse. The

other minorities, though possibly favoured, like the Burghers, Eurasians, Muslims and

Malays, seemed to have integrated well with this multi-ethnic population.

Whilst the British were in Sri Lanka, they were able to create and maintain a

socioeconomic environment in a plantation dominated scenario and submerge differences

and rivalries and hold them together. British custom and tradition also gained acceptance

in the land beginning with the Burghers, Eurasians and Upper Crust Sinhalese and

Tamils. However, with the departure of the British, the pressures of race, ethnicity and

even religion quickly destroyed the tenuous unification they had fashioned.

Looking back on British Governance of over one and a half centuries in the island, a

steady pattern of evolution can be seen. The Autocratic Governor, the Legislative

Council, The Civil Administration, Adult Franchise and State Council, culminating in the

Soulbury Constitution espousing Dominion Status. The 19th century dynamics of

governance was for the greater part, cohesion of the Civil Service with the British

Planting Community and later with the Ceylonese Planters as well. Communal

representation was expanded to include more ethnic groups through Universal Adult

Franchise. Government had to cater to historic mobility of ethnic groups brought about

by plantation growth. This is manifest in the Burgher/Eurasian dominance in the cities,

the organized movement of Indian Tamils to the estates, the regulated influx of Ceylon

Tamils to the Capital, the convergence of Muslims in urban – rural commerce and to a

lesser degree, Malays in the Police and Excise Departments. The vast majority of

Sinhalese however continued their existence in their traditional subsistence agriculture

environment. Though the stability of the country during this period owes much to British

direction, the general contentment and spirit of tolerance of the majority Sinhala towards

other races and religions is an equally important factor. But this status quo would change

in the post independence era.

Some Salient Features of the British Legacy;

A viable economy based on the Plantation System in which Tea features most

prominently.

Infra Structure of administration and commerce in nine provinces with three employment

sectors – the plantation – mercantile, the government service and trade.

Adjuncts for the administration of the law:

The network of Police Stations

The pyramid of Law Courts

Mechanism for Representative Government:

A Constitution ensuring political rights

A parliament elected by Universal Adult Franchise.

39

Cartography, Census and Statistics:

The Surveyor General’s Department

The Department of Census and Statistics.

Infra structure/facilities:

Roads, Railways, Telecommunication.

Hospitals, Public Health services

A tiered educational system paralleling international standards

Via the English Language

On the other side of the coin, initially, only a modicum of benefits from the Tea Industry,

reached the Sinhala rural population directly. The subsidized life of food rations housing

and clothing and medical benefits available to plantation workers were denied to the

native population, which survived on subsistence agriculture, village labour and available

employment. Only health care was provided and education was but partially subsidized.

Taxation on Tea and other Plantation products filled the coffers from which general

services were provided by the government. Despite this, there was a general impression

that the benefits of the plantation economy, in which Tea figured most prominently, were

siphoned off by immigrants and minority groups. With World War II, came food and

textile rationing, more equitably distributed. This model of state welfare-ism became

standard in the immediate post-colonial era. This was funded entirely by the plantation

economy to which tea contributed a hefty 68% (Export – Import Balance Sheet, 1948) It

can therefore be acknowledged that there was an appreciable trickle down effect from the

Tea Plantations to the population at large in the latter years.

In the post independence era, the tea enterprise continued to develop, with British owned

companies, Sri Lankan owned companies and small-holdings integrating well with each

other, for nearly 2 decades. In the hustings of 1970, the capitalist regime of the UNP was

rejected by the masses in favour of the socialist SLFP. Attempts at social reform, by a

government now concentrated in the hands of the Kandyan Sinhala caused havoc with the

economy and the stability of the country in general. The threat of Land Reform, which

had hung in the air for a few years, became reality in 1975. The ceiling on land ownership

was slashed to 50 acres per individual. Private companies and British companies were

the first to be vested in the government. Shortly after, it was the turn of the Ceylonese

owned public companies. The exodus of the British planter which had already begun in

the late 1960s, accelerated. After 1975 only a handful of die-hard Britishers remained in

the island. Agency Houses continued to manage the estates for a brief period as trustees

to the government. Had the then government continued with this arrangement, the story

of tea today would have been far different, but political agitation instigated by various

factions ended in the tea estates being handed over to the direct management of several

hastily instituted Boards of Management. The only exception to this was the State

Plantation Corporation, which was formed in 1958.

The Plantation Industry received a severe setback during this period of expediency-

oriented governance. High yielding Tea lands, among others were alienated for village

expansion, rural housing and other hastily mooted projects. The Plantations, themselves,

were controlled by the various politically instituted boards, which were grossly

incompetent to manage them. The Sri Lankan Planter, successor to the British Plantation

Raj was subject to persecution by the Kandyan Sinhala regime. The Indian Tamils were

also at the receiving end of draconian reforms, which denied them citizenship. An

40

unrealistic Repatriation Policy had left the fate of 950,000 Indian Tamils in the balance,

exacerbating the situation created by the Citizenship Legislation of 1948/49. Indian

Premier Nehru was intransigent in his stance against repatriation, but his successor,

Shasthri conceded moral responsibility towards these Indian Tamil Immigrants and an

unwieldy, unrealistic policy was hammered out with Mrs. Bandaranaike, the Sri Lankan

premier at the time. This resulted in only a fraction of the 525,000 Tamils eligible for

repatriation being repatriated. This statelessness dilemma was finally resolved in 1988 by

President R. Premadasa, by special ordinance.

An overview of British Tea Planters attitude toward their wards, the Indian Tamils,

indicates a cavalier manner and a lack of concern in general. The prejudices and racial

bias of the times led to their perception of the Indian Tamils as an inferior race. The all-

important aspect of education received only token attention on the plantations. More

over, the Tamil Labour who eked a precarious existence on the Tea estates could only

make ends meet as a family unit. Tea estates labour wages was another thorny issue and

figured prominently in plantation disputes. The cost of labour was the single largest

expense item of an estate, the industry being quite labour intensive. Nevertheless, wage

increases were conceded by both private owners and the State from time to time and

analysis of nominal tea plantation wages and the consumer price index indicates that

nominal wages have moved in harmony with the CPI. Real wages too, have generally

being maintained except during the period 1996 /1997. In comparison with other wages

boards shows that tea wages have actually enjoyed a premier status. The current tea

estate labour wages is Rs. 120/- per diem. Adjustments to the basic wage rate were

effected in 1967, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1993, 1998 & 2001. (See Table 16)

Tea plantation workers generally function as family units of 2 to 3 members whose

collective income in addition to free housing and other benefits, enable them to get by a

larger family naturally had better disposable income .

Therefore, it was pure expediency as far as a parent was concerned, for a child to help

augment the meagre family coffers than be sent to the estate school, which offered only

rudimentary education. This short-term benefit only rendered the child unfit for a life

anywhere except on the plantations. This dependency on the estate as an inexhaustible

source of employment would also contribute to aggravate an already seething situation.

Thus, the plight of the Indian Tamils, shunned by the Indigenous Sinhala and harshly

regimented on the plantations, became a thorny issue indeed, in Sri Lankan politics.

The plantation sector was operated by the private sector until the 1970’s. In the early

1970’s the then Government nationalized the plantation sector with the introduction of

Land Reform Laws in 1972 and 1975. This resulted in the Government acquisition of

502 tea, rubber and coconut estates and vesting them with two State Corporations,

Janatha Estates Development Board (JEDB) and Sri Lanka State Plantation Corporation

(SLSPC). By 1990, JEDB and SLSPC accounted for approximately, 51% of tea

production, 32% of rubber production and 2% of coconut production in the country.

The plantation sector in the 2 decades under State ownership and management had not

performed all too well.

During the 15 year period 1978-1990, JEDB reported losses in 12 years and the SLSPC,

reported losses in 9 years.

41

Between 1978 and 1992 JEDB and SLSPC had accumulated losses of approximately Rs.

3.0 billion. They were in debt to the tune of Rs. 5.0 billion primarily to State Banks, as a

result of sustained losses.

The Asian Development Bank report identified the following reasons as the primary

contributors to the decline.

1. Nationalization of Plantations

2. Adverse Fiscal and Monetary Policies

3. Haphazard Regulatory Policies

Faced with this situation, the government had no option but to turn to the private sector to

rescue the plantations. In 1994, most of the state owned plantations were privatized in 23

groups or companies, in which the government retained an ownership interest. This

strategy has worked well and the Tea, the ailing giant, is now healthy and vibrantly alive.

Today, Sri Lanka is once again, the biggest exporter of tea in the world (22% of World

exports) and ranks third in World Tea Production. Yields, which had sunk to around 800

kg/ha in 1970’s and 1980’s improved to around 1000 Kg/ha by 1990 and since

privatization has climbed steadily to reach 1600 Kg/ha mark, as recorded in the statistics.

A more realistic figure is probably 1500 Kg/ha since it is no longer mandatory to register

all tea lands with the Tea Commissioner. The analysis of yield figures appear quite lop

sided with small holdings, showing 2216 Kg/ha as against larger estates’ 1151 kg/ha.

These results, though remarkable are no grounds for complacency, as the average yield of

Indian Tea Plantations hover around the 2000kg/ha mark and that of Kenyan tea yields

almost touched 2500 Kg/ha in 1998. (See table Nos. 6, 7 & 8)

History will judge the occupying powers by the legacies they left behind. All such

legacies contain both the positive and the negative aspects. The Portuguese, Dutch and

British, each occupied the country for a similar period of time. The legacies of the others

pale into insignificance in comparison with that of the British. Perhaps it was fortunate

that they were the last of the Colonial Masters of the Island and that historians will tend

to be biased towards them in the chronicles. The writer has attempted to analyse the pros

and cons by a juxtaposition of the Tea Plantation Enterprise, that singularly outstanding

feature of the British legacy, as the most salient point of reference.

One can only speculate on the turn of events an alternate course of history would have

taken. However the reality of it all is that in over half a century of independence, the

country has not seen adequate economic progress or upward mobility in its peoples, the

reasons for which go beyond the scope of this study. What is relevant though, is the fact

that the economy of the country is still greatly dependent on the Tea Industry.

42

TABLE 1

REGISTERED TEA AREA BY ELEVATION

YEAR HIGH GROWN

HECTARES

MEDIUM GROWN

HECTARES

LOW GROWN

HECTARES

TOTAL

HECATRES

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

74,581

79,586

76,557

76,707

76,157

81,538

87,345

87,514

87,520

81,144

81,092

77,549

77,936

77,639

77,793

77,693

79,337

79,877

79,653

79,628

78,614

78,786

66,711

69,482

97,521

97,857

95,691

92,281

92,806

93,305

93,872

99,359

98,675

98,624

98,624

98,252

98,165

97,875

98,446

94,338

94,835

95,591

97,084

96,950

46,101

48,113

63,644

64,661

65,862

65,759

60,365

60,563

60,945

61,292

61,616

65,625

65,625

65,968

66,343

66,622

64,099

66,363

67,523

68,023

68,401

68,969

187,393

197,181

237,722

239,225

237,710

239,578

240,516

241,382

242,337

241,795

241,383

241,798

242,185

241,859

242,301

242,190

241,882

240,578

242,011

243,242

244,099

244,705

43

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1994

78,621

77,769

71,959

74,157

74,706

73,206

72,773

72,901

73,110

73,138

73,331

74,141

51,443

96,853

96,644

90,272

90,203

89,175

85,216

84,445

84,227

84,062

83,223

82,467

85,510

56,155

69,444

67,728

67,834

63,514

67,769

64,483

64,280

64,555

64,938

65,397

65,893

62,185

79,711

244,918

242,141

230,065

227,874

231,650

222,905

221,498

221,683

222,110

221,758

221,691

221,836

187,309

1995 51,443 56,155 79,711 187,309

1996

1997

1998

2000

52,272

51,444

51,444

52,272

56,863

58,155

58,155

56,863

79,836

79,711

79,711

79,836

188,971

189,310

189,310

188,971

Note: 1. The statutory requirement that owners should register their Tea Lands with the Tea

Commissioner was repealed at the end of 1992

2. Data from the Land Use survey is indicated for 1994/95.

TABLE 2

BLACK TEA PRODUCTION BY ELEVATION – TIME SERIES DATA UNITS: KILOGRAMS

YEAR HIGH

GROWN

QUANTITY

%

MEDIUM

GROWN

%

LOW

GROWN

%

TOTAL

44

66,711,302

69,481,551

73,894,059

73,532,203

77,465,673

75,692,090

78,799,420

73,555,871

79,061,967

80,927,492

77,520,222

72,199,523

75,958,177

74,921,969

70,422,600

70,510,017

73,079,031

64,455,442

66,627,985

61,143,498

62,450,564

55,563,799

59,345,037

51,644,626

48,458,228

54,660,319

55,195,393

53,314,398

53,538,286

54,306,232

50,013,524

51,925,202

51,270,463

37,855,362

47,165,593

47,427,931

50,632,962

48,048,111

57,084,621

52,356,979

53,531,151

56,208,061

74,580,857

79,586,340

81,378,652

85,747,607

88,473,215

87,378,593

91,340,878

88,846,801

84,774,325

86,022,316

84,910,563

81,110,217

84,568,971

81,393,196

80,570,660

80,285,984

80,160,075

75,917,845

78,675,129

71,815,883

76,540,849

72,569,840

80,492,171

71,664,582

67,761,155

79,330,706

78,755,063

77,068,281

73,410,187

76,828,940

74,080,836

76,115,685

73,246,871

53,726,602

72,582,221

76,726,405

73,486,667

72,229,829

83,772,322

77,390,476

81,299,489

83,488,933

39.8

40.4

39.4

40.5

40.3

40.0

40.0

40.0

38.4

38.3

38.7

38.2

38.8

38.1

38.1

39.3

37.5

38.6

37.7

36.1

37.1

37.9

38.3

38.2

37.8

38.1

36.8

36.5

34.4

33.9

35.8

32.6

30.4

30.0

31.3

31.7

29.9

27.9

30.3

27.6

28.7

27.3

35.6

35.2

35.8

34.7

35.2

34.6

34.5

33.1

35.8

36.0

35.3

34.0

34.9

35.1

33.3

34.6

34.2

32.8

31.9

30.7

30.3

29.0

28.2

27.5

27.0

26.3

25.8

25.2

25.1

23.9

24.2

22.3

21.3

21.2

20.3

19.6

20.6

18.6

20.6

18.7

18.9

18.4

46,100,606

48,113,117

51,215,791

52,570,333

53,859,268

55,442,509

58,096,014

59,910,210

56,905,763

57,853,234

57,208,864

58,900,342

57,246,025

57,159,933

60,277,694

53,242,427

60,439,660

56,232,688

63,268,730

66,021,202

67,425,776

63,241,742

70,310,710

64,506,354

63,067,661

74,067,114

80,143,646

80,895,038

86,378,939

95,816,861

82,893,320

105,124,399

116,229,702

87,288,319

112,122,934

118,059,738

121,841,143

138,149,467

136,003,696

150,308,542

148,930,542

166,146,767

24.6

24.4

24.8

24.8

24.5

25.4

25.5

26.9

25.8

25.7

26.0

27.8

26.3

26.8

28.5

26.1

28.3

28.6

30.3

33.2

32.7

33.0

33.5

34.3

35.2

35.6

37.4

38.3

40.5

42.2

40.0

45.1

48.3

48.8

48.4

48.7

49.5

53.5

49.1

53.7

52.5

58.6

187,392,765

197,181,008

206,488,502

211,850,143

219,798,156

218,513,192

228,236,312

222,312,882

220,742,055

224,803,042

219,639,649

212,210,082

217,773,173

213,475,098

211,270,954

204,038,428

213,678,766

196,605,975

208,571,844

198,980,583

206,417,189

191,375,381

210,147,918

187,815,562

179,287,044

208,058,139

214,094,102

211,277,717

213,327,412

226,952,033

206,987,680

233,165,286

240,747,036

178,870,283

231,870,748

242,214,074

245,960,772

258,427,407

276,860,639

280,055,997

283,761,182

305,843,761

45

TABLE 3

TEA PRODUCTION IN MAJOR PRODUCING COUNTRIES

1998-2000 (MILLION KGS)

COUNTRY 1998 1999 2000

Mn. Kgs. Mn. Kgs. Mn. Kgs

India – North 669.0 604.3 618.9

South 201.4 201.3 204.5

Total-India 870.4 805.6 823.4

China 665.0 675.8 680.0

Sri Lanka 280.7 284.0 306.0

Kenya 294.2 248.8 236.3

Indonesia 166.8 165.4 168.6

Bangladesh 56.2 47.4 54.0

Malawi 40.4 38.5 42.1

Uganda 26.4 24.7 29.3

Zimbabwe 17.8 17.0 22.5

-------- ---------- -----------

Total 2,417.9 2,307.2 2,362.20

===== ====== =======

TABLE 4

46

TEA PRODUCTION – ORTHODOX/GREEN TEA – TIME SEIRES DATA

YEAR

ORTHODOX

Kg.

CTC

Kg.

TOTAL BLACK

TEA (kg.)

GREEN

TEA

Kg.

TOTAL

BLACK &

GREEN TEA

kg.

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

191,375,381

210,147,918

187,815,562

178,539,902

207,522,918

213,400,242

210,184,428

212,224,982

225,732,764

202,804,009

227,501,683

234,285,432

173,718,704

223,946,702

231,033,767

226,168,077

241,604,910

257,414,010

262,764,762

265,454,712

288,332,654

-

-

-

747,142

535,221

693,860

1,093,289

1,102,430

1,219,269

4,183,761

5,663,603

6,461,604

5,151,579

7,924,046

11,180,307

19,792,695

16,822,497

19,446,629

17,291,235

18,306,071

17,511,107

191,375,381

210,147,918

187,815,562

179,287,044

208,058,139

214,094,102

211,277,717

213,327,412

226,952,033

206,987,680

233,165,286

240,747,036

178,870,283

231,870,748

242,214,074

245,960,772

285,427,407

276,860,639

280,055,997

283,760,783

305,843,761

-

-

814,727

673,204

1,158,425

1,210,721

1,427,765

1,274,785

1,238,284

963,930

909,173

805,054

744,606

1,403,842

1,351,582

464,197

542,375

567,155

617,619

429,861

945,071

191,375,381

210,147,918

188,630,289

179,960,248

209,216,564

215,304,823

212,705,482

214,602,197

228,190,317

207,951,610

234,074,459

241,552,090

179,614,889

233,274,590

243,565,656

246,424,969

258,969,782

277,427,794

280,673,616

284,190,644

306,788,832

TABLE 5

TEA EXPORTS – TIME SERIES DATA (1962-2000)

UNITS: METRIC TONS

47

YEAR BULK

TEA

PACKETED

TEA

TEA

BAGS

INSTANT

TEA

GREEN

TEA

OTHER

TEA

TOTAL

EXPORTS

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

199,163

204,518

202,065

212,237

198,516

197,929

182,160

202,931

190,519

175,514

191,597

165,930

195,426

182,496

171,364

167,265

163,790

153,043

150,615

146,635

115,001

156,958

138,862

137,605

120,192

139,720

128,601

133,435

136,306

117,699

129,003

152,175

132,145

129,727

148,274

160,116

171,638

182,836

1,704

1,672

1,496

2,064

1,674

4,261

7,027

7,720

10,281

14,574

13,918

9,196

17,033

17,210

14,066

25,177

24,336

31,132

32,018

32,993

41,688

45,602

56,132

66,334

77,644

75,790

72,400

76,327

69,783

55,033

74,857

64,386

93,877

93,715

94,825

86,746

73,216

74,668

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

31

111

36

62

281

603

1,075

936

1,122

2,126

2,055

2,425

3,309

2,710

4,781

4,318

4,541

5,138

6,819

7,541

9,246

10,781

11,946

11,250

12,134

-

20

6

12

33

128

132

114

165

101

227

279

252

223

217

147

188

203

114

163

152

252

409

262

346

200

436

361

377

413

733

851

709

736

832

859

991

1,218

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

173

53

252

253

8

-

751

21

418

36

400

690

744

799

399

473

475

556

643

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

11

4

6

39

56

1,573

514

141

30

292

336

129

252

112

679

484

2,479

5,163

6,291

9,852

200,867

206,210

203,567

214,313

200,223

202,317

189,318

210,765

200,965

190,189

205,742

175,405

212,711

199,960

185,758

192,625

188,377

184,659

183,362

181,043

157,837

204,226

197,837

207,837

201,120

219,911

204,198

215,615

211,206

178,215

210,673

225,087

235,750

234,307

257,664

265,305

263,942

281,351

TABLE 6

AVERAGE YIELD – TIME SERIES DATA

UNITS: Kg/He

YEAR HIGH GROWN

QUANTITY

MEDIUM

GROWN

QUANTITY

LOW GROWN

QUANTITY

TOTAL

QUANTITY

1961 1,063 758 805 869

48

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994 #

1995 #

1996 #

1997 #

1998 #

1999 #

2000 #

1,118

1,162

1,072

1,046

1,015

969

1,060

1,047

1,046

1,085

1,048

1,036

1,033

1,010

950

988

902

974

921

1,024

922

942

1,070

1,054

1,053

1,009

1,054

1,013

1,041

999

725

979

1,491

1,428

1,382

1,603

1,504

1,580

1,597

751

810

820

849

788

842

814

786

732

770

763

717

720

742

683

703

640

643

573

613

534

537

606

619

626

634

645

595

624

622

443

979

846

902

845

1,004

932

953

988

813

818

843

962

989

934

944

928

898

872

866

909

799

943

847

937

971

986

917

1,012

952

930

1,166

1,183

1,255

1,344

1,484

1,276

1,607

1,764

1,404

979

1,481

1,529

1,730

1,704

1,836

1,868

2,081

886

925

912

949

921

911

930

910

878

899

883

872

842

883

817

862

818

846

782

858

776

779

913

924

948

963

1,024

932

1,051

1,086

806

979

1,293

1,313

1,368

1,465

1,495

1,515

1,618

Note: Estimated using extent registered.

(Not using extent bearing)

# Using 1992 registered Area

TABLE 7

AVERAGE YIELD IN MAIN PRODUCING COUNTRIES – TIME SERIES DATA

UNITS: kg/he

49

YEAR

INDIA

SRI LANKA

BANGLADESH

INDONESIA

KENYA

JAPAN

USSR

TURKEY

ARGENTINA

1951

1961

1971

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

901

1,070

1,221

1,311

1,353

1,341

1,405

1,519

1,527

1,458

1,494

1,461

1,422

1,468

1,606

1,641

1,508

1,606

1,681

1,660

1,729

1,770

1,678

1,807

1,752

1,787

1,809

1,869

1,995

1,840

641

869

899

872

892

883

817

862

819

846

782

858

776

779

913

924

948

963

1,024

932

1,051

1,086

806

1,046

1,293

1,313

1,368

1,465

1,495

1,515

795

821

292

646

750

681

785

895

894

826

911

928

926

966

843

932

805

872

920

824

963

949

1,010

1,076

1,079

992

1,115

1,101

1,131

976

419

552

726

859

820

912

1,002

927

1,056

853

887

958

834

1,036

1,137

1,156

1,043

1,039

1,081

1,093

1,076

973

1,050

1,116

1,010

1,039

1,078

999

1,060

1,053

865

712

828

1,032

913

922

940

1,262

1,296

1,334

1,174

1,152

1,184

1,469

1,393

1,755

1,846

1,824

1,890

2,065

2,031

2,023

1,847

2,115

1,900

2,164

2,190

1,881

2,479

1,962

NA

NA

1,724

1,765

1,631

1,781

1,680

1,714

1,746

1,614

1,677

1,670

1,615

1,684

1,521

1,576

1,597

1,608

1,507

1,534

1,537

1,526

1,624

1,563

1,584

1,570

1,683

1,761

1,613

1,746

NA

NA

909

1,012

1,070

1,136

1,198

1,386

1,437

1,494

1,647

1,746

1,776

1,829

1,872

1,848

1,801

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

NA

1,138

1,067

1,055

1,105

1,145

1,482

1,631

1,902

1,782

789

1,055

1,565

1,767

2,048

1,723

1,743

1,775

1,581

1,400

1,526

1,749

1,692

1,745

1,359

1,493

1,818

2,317

2,222

NA

NA

802

759

945

629

840

503

645

784

499

724

889

896

985

679

966

826

860

969

1,042

1,055

1,063

1,111

1,014

750

1,103

1,410

1,282

1,282

TABLE 9

EXPORTS OF VALUE ADDED TEAS

UNITS: KILOGRAMS

YEAR PACKETED TEA INSTANT TOTAL TOTAL VALUE

50

TEAS BAGS TEAS VALUE

ADDED

TEAS

EXPORTS ADDED

AS % OF

TOTAL

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

1,704,000

1,672,000

1,496,000

2,064,000

1,674,000

4,260,552

7,026,706

7,720,135

10,281,185

14,574,120

13,918,198

9,195,974

17,032,744

17,210,423

14,066,056

25,177,408

24,336,455

31,131,900

32,018,062

32,993,221

41,687,831

45,602,340

56,131,512

66,333,799

77,643,620

75,790,050

72,400,140

76,327,429

69,782,657

55,033,103

74,857,450

64,385,799

93,876,723

93,715,377

94,824,639

86,745,514

73,216,143

74,668,426

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

31,000

110,989

36,206

62,084

281,021

603,491

1,074,968

936,448

1,122,227

2,125,511

2,055,031

2,424,597

3,309,093

27,098,183

4,781,182

4,317,610

4,540,582

5,137,950

6,818,608

7,541,295

9,246,031

10,781,190

11,945,985

11,249,922

12,133,846

-

20,266

6,385

11,932

32,624

127,817

131,602

114,043

165,000

101,297

227,231

278,614

251,804

223,068

216,589

146,552

188,152

203,082

114,000

163,106

152,385

252008

408,631

261,804

345,911

199,824

436,060

361,077

377,391

413,492

733,456

850,828

708,901

736,820

832,030

859,509

991,474

1,218,161

1,704,000

1,692,266

1,502,385

2,075,932

1,706,624

4,388,369

7,158,308

7,834,178

10,446,185

14,675,417

14,145,429

9,474,588

17,284,548

17,464,491

14,393,634

25,360,166

24,586,691

31,616,003

32,735,553

34,231,295

42,776,664

46,976,575

58,665,654

68,650,634

80,414,128

79,298,967

75,546,018

81,469,688

74,477,658

59,987,177

80,728,856

72,055,235

102,126,919

103,698,228

106,437,859

99,551,008

85,457,539

88,020,433

200,867,681

206,210,428

203,567,010

214,313,440

200,223,097

202,316,942

189,317,607

210,764,596

200,965,000

190,188,762

205,742,402

175,405,530

212,711,490

199,960,858

185,755,494

192,623,726

188,375,366

184,460,326

183,361,892

181,042,731

157,838,067

204,226,302

197,837,459

207,838,417

201,120,138

219,910,014

204,197,320

215,613,642

211,201,536

178,214,927

210,673,850

225,085,972

235,750,064

234,307,587

257,664,180

265,304,748

263,943,377

281,350,682

0.8

0.8

0.7

1.0

0.9

2.2

3.8

3.7

5.2

7.7

6.9

5.4

8.1

8.7

7.7

13.2

13.1

17.1

17.9

18.9

27.1

23.0

29.7

33.0

40.0

36.1

37.0

37.8

35.3

33.7

38.3

32.0

43.3

44.3

41.3

37.5

32.4

31.3

TABLE 10

TEA EXPORTS AS A PECENTAGE OF PRODUCTION

YEAR TEA

EXPORTS

MT

TEA

PRODUCTION

MT

EXPORTS

AS % OF

PRODUCTION

YEAR TEA

EXPORTS

MT

TEA

PRODUCTION

MT

EXPORTS

AS % OF

PRODUCTION

1885

1890

1,983

20,774

2,001

21,274

99.10

97.65

1953

1955

153,542

163,683

137,454

172,371

111.70

94.96

51

1900

1905

1910

1911

1912

1913

1914

1915

1916

1917

1918

1919

1920

1921

1922

1923

1924

1925

1926

1927

1928

1929

1930

1931

1932

1933

1934

1935

1936

1937

1938

1939

1940

1941

1942

1943

1944

1945

1946

1947

1948

1949

1950

1951

1952

67,844

NA

82,585

84,638

87,098

86,868

87,808

97,809

92,195

87,556

81,936

94,602

83,810

73,305

77,931

82,527

92,955

95,160

98,513

102,983

107,374

110,118

110,271

110,663

114,679

98,004

98,847

95,943

99,150

96,354

106,640

104,361

116,097

107,109

120,508

119,492

124,036

110,108

132,256

128,029

134,280

138,985

132,840

142,036

141,603

67,327

78,304

82,410

85,128

86,649

87,170

88,549

95,994

91,845

87,559

82,018

94,541

83,845

73,630

77,742

83,235

92,388

95,025

98,016

103,007

107,265

111,000

111,000

111,000

115,585

100,126

101,913

100,181

102,673

102,560

112,006

107,625

120,247

112,432

132,177

121,925

134,650

125,601

128,326

135,409

135,529

135,424

138,897

147,998

143,717

100.77

NA

100.21

99.42

100.52

99.65

99.16

101.89

100.38

100.00

99.90

100.06

99.96

99.56

100.24

99.15

100.61

100.14

100.51

99.98

100.10

99.21

99.34

99.70

99.22

97.88

96.99

95.77

96.57

93.95

95.21

96.97

96.55

95.27

91.17

98.00

92.12

87.66

103.06

94.55

99.08

102.63

95.64

95.97

98.53

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

162,286

160,082

171,155

178,723

181,622

193,658

200,868

206,210

203,567

214,313

200,223

217,546

202,317

189,318

210,765

200,965

190,189

205,742

175,406

212,711

199,961

185,755

192,624

188,375

184,460

183,362

181,043

157,838

204,226

197,837

207,838

201,120

219,910

204,197

215,614

211,202

178,215

210,674

225,086

235,747

234,308

257,664

265,305

263,943

281,351

170,360

180,428

187,404

187,393

197,181

206,489

211,850

219,798

218,513

228,236

222,313

220,742

224,803

219,640

212,210

217,773

213,475

211,271

204,038

213,679

196,606

208,572

198,981

206,417

191,375

210,148

187,816

179,287

208,058

214,094

211,278

213,327

226,952

206,988

233,165

240,747

178,870

231,871

242,214

245,961

258,427

276,861

280,056

283,761

305,843

95.26

88.72

91.33

95.37

92.11

93.79

94.82

93.82

93.16

93.90

90.06

98.55

90.00

86.19

99.32

92.28

89.09

97.38

85.97

99.55

101.71

89.06

96.81

91.26

96.39

87.25

96.39

88.04

98.16

92.41

98.37

94.28

96.90

98.65

92.47

87.73

99.63

90.86

92.93

95.85

90.67

93.07

94.73

93.02

91.99 Source upto 1933 estimates by ITC. Others extracted from Annual reports of Tea Commissioner/Tea Board.

52

TABLE 11

TEA EXPORTS VALUES – TIME SERIES DATA

YEAR

QUANTITY

KILOGRAMS

VALUE

RS.

US $

FOB

PRICE

RS/KG

US $ /KG

1962

1963

1964

1965

1967

1968

1969

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

1977

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

200,867,681

206,210,428

203,567,010

214,313,440

217,545,713

202,316,942

189,317,607

210,764,596

200,965,000

190,188,762

205,742,402

175,405,530

212,711,490

199,960,858

185,758,298

192,697,528

187,641,329

184,695,855

183,361,892

181,039,731

157,937,618

204,226,302

197,998,971

207,828,826

201,120,138

219,910,039

204,197,320

215,253,307

211,201,536

178,214,927

210,673,850

225,085,972

235,750,064

234,307,587

257,664,180

265,304,748

263,943,377

281,350,682

1,124,859,014

1,136,219,458

1,125,725,565

1,155,149,442

1,063,798,537

1,124,882,198

997,703,789

1,133,913,526

1,139,471,550

1,162,053,336

1,261,200,924

1,361,146,913

1,933,547,444

2,097,589,400

3,503,401,500

6,401,411,880

5,724,936,948

6,170,688,516

6,314,359,665

6,342,547,452

8,295,824,300

15,766,671,624

12,002,765,700

9,252,754,921

10,653,466,670

12,305,539,878

13,663,678,814

19,797,015,560

17,747,414,094

14,536,398,578

19,177,708,807

20,528,714,705

23,991,187,106

32,536,487,964

40,424,530,264

48,204,106,811

42,072,795,478

51,042,874,099

236,215,669

238,601,314

236,397,641

242,576,531

218,843,558

188,992,305

167,624,965

190,509,665

191,991,837

194,648,800

196,970,315

204,652,971

275,945,118

249,356,800

382,885,410

410,084,041

367,690,234

373,302,391

328,018,684

304,783,635

352,563,719

619,759,105

441,928,045

330,219,662

361,747,595

386,845,013

379,020,217

494,184,113

428,992,364

331,654,086

397,630,288

415,392,851

468,120,724

588,662,376

685,277,679

746,309,132

597,709,838

673,566,562

5.60

5.51

5.53

5.39

4.89

5.56

5.27

5.38

5.67

6.11

6.13

7.76

9.09

10.49

18.86

33.22

30.51

33.41

34.44

35.03

52.53

77.20

60.62

44.52

52.97

55.96

66.91

91.97

84.03

81.57

91.03

91.20

101.77

138.86

156.89

181.69

159.40

181.42

1.18

1.16

1.16

1.13

1.01

0.93

0.89

0.90

0.96

1.02

0.96

1.17

1.30

1.25

2.06

2.13

1.96

2.02

1.79

1.68

2.23

3.03

2.23

1.59

1.80

1.76

1.86

2.30

2.03

1.86

1.89

1.85

1.99

2.51

2.66

2.81

2.47

2.58

Table 14 shows comparative export figures for 1999 and 2000.

53

TABLE 14

VOLUME OF SRI LANKAN EXPORTS OF TEA

1999-2000 (Mn Kgs)

________________________________________________________________________

CATEGORY 1999 2000 % CHANGE

________________________________________________________________________

Black Tea in Bulk 171.6 182.8 6.5%

Black Tea in Packets 79.9 85.2 6.6%

Black Tea in Bags 11.3 12.1 7.0%

Others 6.2 7.9 27.4%

------ ------- --------

Total 269.0 288.0 7%

==== ==== =====

________________________________________________________________________ (Source: Sri Lanka Customs)

MAIN DESTINATIONS OF SRI LANKA TEAS

TABLE 15

EXPORTS OF TEA TO MAJOR IMPORTING COUNTRIES

1999-2000 (Mn Kgs)

_______________________________________________________________________

COUNTRY 1999 2000 % CHANGE

________________________________________________________________________

CIS Countries 48.1 57.6 +20 %

UAE 41.5 40.2 -03%

Turkey 25.2 20.3 -19%

Syria 19.4 21.5 +11%

Russia 37.1 46.1 +24%

United Kingdom 10.6 10.2 +04%

Libya 5.8 10.0 +72%

Japan 5.9 8.3 +41%

Germany 6.1 5.0 -18%

Iraq 8.9 11.1 +25%

Saudi Arabia 9.9 11.4 -15%

Egypt 7.6 10.1 +33%

Iran 9.8 12.5 +28%

Others 33.1 23.7 -28%

------ ------ -------

Total 269.0 288.0 +07%

==== ===== =====

________________________________________________________________________ (Source: Sri Lanka Customs)

54

TABLE 16

PLANTATION SECTOR WAGES

(TEA ONLY)

PERIOD

RPC RATE

RS. PER DAY

WAGES BOARD

RATE

RS. PER DAY

PREMIUM RS.

PER DAY

1992 January

1992 October

1993 January

1994 December

1996 May

1996 June

1996 July

1996 August

1996 December

1997 June

1997 December

57.08

60.24

72.24

72.24

73.80

77.28

83.00

83.00

83.00

83.00

83.00

49.08

52.24

55.68

61.10

73.80

77.28

80.52

83.00

83.00

83.00

83.00

8.00

8.00

16.56

11.14

0.00

0.00

2.48

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

(Source: Employers’ Federation of Ceylon)

55

PART III

56

RESEARCH

1. The Tea Research Institute

2. The Employer’s Federation of Sri Lanka

3. The Sri Lanka Tea Board

4. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce

5. The Planters Association of Ceylon

6. The Ceylon Planter’s Society.

7. The Ceylon Workers Congress

8. The Dept. Of Archives of Sri Lanka

9. The Sri Lanka Museum Library

REFERENCES

(a) An Historical Relation of Ceylon

An account of the Island of Ceylon (1803) – by Robert Knox

(b) Ceylon (vol. 1) - by Sir James Emerson Tennent

© Ceylon (Vol.2) - by Sir James Emerson Tennent

(d) Golden Tips - by H.W. Cave

(e) The pioneers (early British Tea & Coffee Planters and their way of life)

by John Weatherstone.

(f) Tea & Politics - by S. Thondaman

(g) Sri Lanka Plantations (The Flavour gets sweeter) - Jardine Fleming Research -

Plantations – by Isuru Gunassekera

(h) Plantations Sector wage increase 1998 – An assessment – by Ernst & Young

(Chartered Accountants)

(i) Tea Plantations in Crisis – An overview by P.P. Manickam

(j) A Hundred years of Ceylon Tea – D.M. Forrest

(k) The Hills of Paradise– S.N. Breckenridge