The adaptable peasant : agrarian society in western Sri Lanka under Dutch rule, 1740-1800 / / by Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri.

• Superior document: TANAP monographs on the history of Asian-European interaction, v. 9
• Author: Dewasiri, Nirmal Ranjith.
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: TANAP monographs on the history of the Asian-European interaction ; v. 9.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (326 p.)
• Notes: Based on the author's thesis (doctoral--Leiden University).
• Other title: Preliminary Materials /; Prologue /; Introduction /; Chapter One. The World Of The Peasant /; Chapter Two. The System Of Production And Its Changes /; Chapter Three. Land Tenure And Its Changes /; Chapter Four. The Emergence Of A New Class Formation And The Rise Of A Landowning Class /; Chapter Five. Caste And Social Mobility /; Chapter Six. The Discussion /; Epilogue /; Notes /; Appendix 1. Chronological List Of Kings Of Kandy And Dutch Governors /; Appendix 2. List Of Accommodessan Grants /; Appendix 3. Classification Of People In Various Sources /; Bibliography /; Index /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-288) and index.
• ISBN: 1281937320; 9786611937324; 9047432827
• ISSN: 1871-6938
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: by Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri.

This study investigates the structural changes in western Sri Lanka's agrarian society under the administration of the Dutch United East India Company (VOC). In the areas where peasant agriculture was the predominant form of production, changes in the land tenure system paved the way for a modern system of private property relations. A new class differentiation emerged and the indigenous chiefs turned into powerful landowners. In addition to this, new light is shed on the dynamics of caste formation as a result of the early colonial encounter.