Sri Lankan Cooking. Wendy Hutton

the end of the eighteenth century, the British, with their superior naval force, had started to push the Dutch out of the island they called Ceylon. However, it took almost another two decades until they managed to topple the independent kingdom of Kandy and to exert control over the entire island.

      The British had by far the greatest impact of any of the colonial rulers. They abolished most of the discriminatory regulations and monopolies established by the Dutch and brought about a significant change in the island’s economy. By the mid-1800s, coffee—planted in the hill country in the interior—had replaced cinnamon as the island’s most valuable crop. However, a blight virtually wiped out the coffee plantations in the late 1870s.

      Tea seedlings had been imported from China in 1824 and from Assam in 1839, and the first tea estates were established by 1867—just in time to take over in importance after the failure of the coffee crop. The import of large numbers of southern Indian Tamils to work on the coffee and tea estates was another move to have a significant impact on the shape of the country.

      Inevitably, as there had been intermarriage between the Portuguese and Dutch and local woman, so too was there intermarriage with the British. However, one observer remarked, in the late 1870s, that the “English, Scotch or German mechanical engineer, road officer or locomotive foreman generally marries the native burgher female with whom he associates; the civil servant, merchant, planter and army officer only keeps her.”

      The children of these marriages became known, during the Dutch period, as Burghers or “town dwellers.” This term was also used for people of Portuguese descent, and later, for those who had British blood. Christian converts were able to escape the social distinctions of the traditional caste system and the Burghers became a privileged minority. Their fluency in Dutch and later in English, ensured they found work in various government departments and even as lawyers.

      The British influence on Burgher food seems to be limited to the way meals are served. In many Burgher homes, lunch is the universal “curry and rice.” However, the evening meal is often served British style, in what is called a “course” dinner. This usually begins with a soup and might be followed by a spiced meat stew, potatoes or bread and vegetables. Many of these dishes are based on Dutch or British recipes, but with sufficient spices and seasonings added to please the palates of those accustomed to more flavourful Sinhalese food.

      — Wendy Hutton

      Burghers, other wealthy locals and Europeans enjoy an evening at the Orient Club in the early twentieth century.

      Banking on Tea

       Or how the word “Ceylon” was immortalised