The History of Ceylon from the Earliest Period to the Present Time
With an Appendix, Containing an Account of its Present Condition

An 1845 survey of this island's ancient past up to the author's day, covering the Portuguese, Dutch and British invasions.

William Knighton (Author)

9781108055505, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 28 March 2013

416 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2.4 cm, 0.53 kg

William Knighton (d.1900) published this history of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) in 1845. He spent most of his career there and in India, and published a number of vivid accounts of his experiences. This book surveys the ancient past of the island up to Knighton's own day, covering its many rulers and invaders as well as its shifting eras of unity and fracture into competing kingdoms. It gives an account of the first settlement, the establishment of Buddhism, the growth of the ancient capital Anuradhapura, the reign of Queen Anula (the first female ruler in Asia), the emergence of early Christianity, the development of the caste system, the medieval wars after the forming of the Jaffna Kingdom, the arrival of the Portuguese, the Dutch, and later the British invasion. Covering law, agriculture, arts, religion and language, this learned work remains relevant to students of Sri Lankan history and culture.

Introduction
1. First settlement of Ceylon
2. Utteya
3. State of Ceylon before the Christian era
4. Buddhism, and its influence on the public mind
5. Koodatisso
6. State of Ceylon during the first eight centuries after Christ
7. Invasion of the Malabars
8. Proceedings of Prackrama
9. Remarks on the history of Ceylon prior to the arrival of the Portuguese
10. Jurisprudence of Ceylon
11. Knowledge possessed of Ceylon in Europe before the arrival of the Portuguese in 1505
12. Eastern discoveries of the Portuguese
13. Don John and De Souza
14. Singha defeats Diego de Mela
15. Obsequiousness of the Dutch to the Ceylonese
16. Habits and condition of the Ceylonese
17. Embassies of the English
18. Formal deposition of Wickrama
Appendices.

Subject Areas: Asian history [HBJF]