The British , Pilimatalawwe, Ehelepola Vickrama Rajasinha OR ?

I am reading the 1800s Sri Lankan history again . I found an early 1800s book on ceylon ! .

Since there is patriotism and interest these days ....

I am sure many of us have heard of Ehelepola being the one betraying Lanka to the British and that made way for British to take over Lanka?

Has anyone read why Ehelepola went to the British?
Was Sri Vickrama a real tyrant?
Was Pilimatalawwe the real culprit ?

Or was there something bigger than all of them for British to take over Lanka?

I will not add my comments for now but would like anyone interested to mention his/her opinion/version here..

Thanks Sls eager to know aboutthe real facts.
I, m afraid Im very weak in this subject may be one day I have a spare time to study.
Waiting for Chinwis reply to spice up the topic.

History is full of contradictions and that was why Napoleon said "History is a set of lies agreed upon".
And I whole heartedly agree with his bold statement.  

කිත්සිරි ද සිල්වා wrote:History is full of contradictions and that was why Napoleon said "History is a set of lies agreed upon ".
And I whole heartedly agree with his bold statement.  

Spot on Kith..
SF could be a War Hero or a Villain.

First to answer Kithsiri's Napoleon's "History is a set of lies agreed upon"


It only partly true.

1) If you take history beyond a certain era there might not be enough documentation . So above can be true

Below is what Davy wrote on Ceylon history in 1820s ( take it for what is worth and not from against point of view)


"The Singalese, like the nations of Europe in the middle ages^
and like the people in general of almost the whole of Asia and
Africa at this instant, possess no accurate records of events, are
ignorant of genuine history, and are not sufficiently advanced to
relish it Instead of the one, they have legendary talea; and, in-
stead of the other, historical romances, which arethe more complete
the more remote the period is to which they belong. Agreeably
to this remark, the details of the earliest periods are not only
the most monstrous, but also the most clear and precise, without
mystery and without obscurity; whilst those of later periods,
approaching the present times, on the verge of authentic history,
are less monstrous and wonderful, and proportionably scanty and
obscure. "




2)
Some part of history ( early part) can be done upon the interpretation an author does based on a another persons writing.
If this cycle continues it can be twisted.

ex : Do you think Kuveni was a Yakshani in the real sense? She was from that Gothra and it does not necessarily mean that she was a Demon . Now some material says she changed "wess" in the form of a 16 year old maiden to seduce Vijaya. I also read somewhere that Lord Buddha instructed Lord Vishnu to protect Viyaja when he comes to lanka or something like that. Thats why Kuveni ( yaka) did not eat Vijaya and the clan in the first place. Well it make sense
But .............

Certain things one can think for him/her self before accepting.

This is where the great wisdom of buddhist philosophy " think for yourself rationally before deciding" comes.




Now Why it can be wrong :

If you take early 1800s of Ceylon history itself. It will be hard to lie ( if someone is smart to analyse enough)

Why ?


In 1805 Percival wrote "account of the island of Ceylon"
1810 Major Johnston wrote "Narrative of the operations of a detachment
in an expedition to Candy"
1817 Fellowes's History of Ceylon
1821 Dr Davy wrote the "Account of the interior of Ceylon"

I can write more titles. So if one can smarty study all interpretations one can probably come up with the very good idea of what happened.


One major issue I see with Sri Lankans is they were very poor in writing. ( forget english , even in sinhalese or tamil) There is hardly any books written on Ceylon by a Sri Lankan from 1600 to early 1900s. Everything was done by outsiders.


So most of the touches given to events in books are from a western point of view. But have to say some of them were rather honest in writing to the best of their knowledge.

Robert Knox interpretation of history done in 1681 can be perceived mostly honest ( from what he knew) though he was a captive.


Though we have issues with britishers/dutch/Portuguese invaders for the bad they did , we have to be thankful of one thing : the literature they provided.

If some one is interested on old ceylon literature ( 1600s to 1900s) one can discuss with me.

UKB thanks...

1) You are on the right track. I wanted people to think deeper
What we normally hear should not be taken as ad verbum. We need to analyse and think deeper.

2) But any versions anyone read/heard are welcome to write about here . No analysis is needed. This way we an get a better idea of different views etc

3) When I asked "Has anyone read why Ehelepola went to the British?

There was more than 1 reason.

Molligoda would be one reason as you mentioned. I need to analyze more but it appears Molligoda maybe the biggest non patriot to them all.

Regarding Ehelepola going to the british, there is a greater background than Molligoda. Think pilimatalawwe and Sri Vickrama
Hint : Ehelepola can be seen as a victim if one looks deeper

Btw who remembers
"Aiyandiya biya nowanna , marena heti mama pennami "
( Brother don't be afraid , I will show you how to die. )

Said by Madduma bandara Ehelepola , little son of Adigar Ehelepola. By the way this is not a myth as per say, this is well documented in early 1800s literature also.

I will reserve the version I read on how Sri Vickrama killed Ehelepola family and how Ehelepola Kumarihami had to pound her infant child's head in a mortar for later. It is one of the most disturbing things I read. Apparently after this act , the people of the kingdom got so shocked and upset. It is recorded some people did not eat for days.

Hint : this happening also is one fact that helped British to take over the Kandyan kindom indirectly.
That's why I asked : " Or was there something bigger than all of them for British to take over Lanka?"

There are more reasons .. but if you boil them in one pot there maybe one answer

This response is not directed at anyone in particular.
Look at the last line of serene's post.
Despite so much technology, mass media exposure and so forth today, Field Marshal SF was made nobody with a stroke of a pen by someone.
If the Ayahapalanaya was allowed to continue a few more decades, he will never be remembered by the younger generation, not because he did not do anything for the country but the history is set of lies agreed upon only.
Read Bradman Weerakoon's book about the former president RP and as someone who comes from a family where we (my father & older generation) knew who RP was really, it was full of fabricated facts than actuals.
Another former president cleaned up part of the Archive when it was reported that the person who stole the watch from the last king of SL is a blood relative of him.
This is recent history.
Look and compare at the amount of dedication given to King Dutugamumu and King Kassapa in Mahavansam.
Why one was glorified and the other was sparsely mentioned?
"History is a set of lies agreed upon than hardly accurate reporting".

Kithsiri,

I see you are driving your Napoleon quote still. You made you point on that and I partly agreed giving examples to support you also.

So best to move on about the early 1800s British take over history which if the focus here.

I see people talk about patriotism and also of the British era nowadays.
So this topic is ideal and good to know as Sri Lankans.
Appears many do not remember or have not studied history of the British take over.

One thing irrespective of true or false it's fascinating to study the history.
thanks again SLS for opening this thread.
I know for sure Chinwi can contribute more to the thread.

slstock wrote:" Or was there something bigger than all of them for British to take over Lanka?"

the simple answer to your question is most of the kandyan Nilames were against the King and his "Waduga" community. Removing waduga dynasty was more important than expel British from Sri lanka.

They (like Pilimatawala, Ehelepola) thought that they should go to British (King Rajasinha II went to Dutch to get rid of Portuguese) to ask help to get rid of the King and his Nanayakkara community in Kandy.

These Kandy Chiefs (Nilames) were also jealous about the wealth of Waduga community.  Sri Lankan aristocracy did have the power but not that much money.  

King's behaviour also another reason.

John Doyle is another interesting character you should read to get an idea.

But overall there's no one else did bad things such Molligoda. He should have at least supported the 1818 Uva rebellion.

The only mystery I have is why on earth Ehelepola didn't take his wife and kids with him. At least one kid.
As a nation we were not that creative during this time. It was dark period in our history.  
Keppetipola is a brave & honest leader but not so tactical.
The only exceptional character we can found during this time is Pilimatalawwa maha adhikaram.

Man has arrived (Chinwi),i was waiting for his moment in to the topic + for u n SLS.
Thank U for SLS to initiate this top..

SLS කියන්න හදන දේ ගැන තව දුරටත් සෙවිය යුතු බව හැඟේ.....

One note on Doyly : If I recall when Sri Sumangala hamuduruwo took down the Union Jack and tried to host the Lankan flag, there was going to be an angry retaliation from the soldier/s. D'Oyly is said to have mediated and calmed the situation. Else history would have been different.


Molligoda Yes. From what I read too Molligoda did lot of harm.

According to a certain rare book done on Ehelepola , Molligoda intercepted messages multiple times sent by Ehelepola to the King and changed them. This created a massive wedge between Ehelepola and King Kannasamy ( Sri Vickrama) as King saw Ehelepola was against him ( he was already in some doubt due to Pilimatalawwe behavior) and that made the King make that brutal decision to wipe out Ehelepola family.

Do you want to know more details of the incidents that followed ( after Ehelepola went to sabaragamuwa) and how Molligoda turned the King against Ehelepola for good ??

Btw Ehelepola made a few "mistakes" too to arouse the Kings anger.


Why Ehelepola left his family behind

Ehelepola Kumarihari had an infant ( or her pregnency could have been at late stages when Ehelepola left need to check time line) the one's head who was to be put in a Motar ( wangedi) and ordered to be smashed by Kumarihamy herself. Also Ehelepola was sent on a dangerous mission to Sabaragamuwa by the King.

For both reasons it would be clear why Ehelepola did not take any of the Family.


Mind you , Ehelepola also made a few "mistakes" to arouse the Kings anger. One is after Ehelepola left to Sabaragamuwa, he stayed in the same House King used to stay on his visits. That created some anger in Kings mind ( whose mind was already poisoned by 2 parties .....)

Ukboy wrote:
John Doyle is another interesting character you should read to get an idea.

But overall there's no one else did bad things such Molligoda. He should have at least supported the 1818 Uva rebellion.

The only mystery I have is why on earth Ehelepola didn't take his wife and kids with him. At least one kid.
As a nation we were not that creative during this time. It was dark period in our history.  
Keppetipola is a brave & honest leader but not so tactical.
The only exceptional character we can found during this time is Pilimatalawwa maha adhikaram.

chinwi wrote:මා මේ ගැන කලකට ඉහත සොයා දැනගත් සමහර දේ දැන් මතකයේ නැත​.

Ofcourse , this is undertsandable. No one can keep memory that fresh from year ago reading. It clearly applies to me also. These days I am refreshing 1800-1820s specially as it is a very important and more documented chapter in history : take over of the island by british

I also got hold of an early 1800s book on Ceylon.

chinwi wrote:

1. ඇහැලේපොල ට උවමනා වූයේ විජාතික රජුගෙන් සිංහලේ බේරා ගැනීමට බව කියවේ. ඇහැලේපොල උඩරට රජ කම බලපොරොත්තු වූ  බැවින් ඉංග්‍රීසීන් ගේ පිහිටෙන් එය ලබා ගැනීමට සිතුවා වෙන්නත් ඇත​. ඉන් පසු සිදුවූ කරුණු මත ඇහැලේපොල පවුලම මරා දැමීම ඉතා බිහිසුණු ක්‍රියාවක් හා රටේ අනාගතය වෙනස් කල දෙයක් ලෙස අපට අද හැඟේ .

The first line fits Pilimatalawwe isn't it more than Ehelepola ?

The reason Ehelepola went to the British was more for self protection it (clearly) appears. He did not have mal-intention to be forces with the British from the start. It happened only after King Kannasamy ( Sri Vickrama) getting furious with him ( due to Molligoda dirty work part of which I explained in Ukboy reply).
Actually this would give an answer ( from what I discovered so far) to one my original question asked: Why Ehelepola went to the British. After some very bad events he appears to have been forced to go for self protection . Remember King was on witch hunt to capture him too ( by the same guy Molligoda who made the mess )

chinwi wrote:

UKboy කියන ලෙසම මොල්ලිගොඩ යනු ඉතා භයානක සට කපට පුද්ගලයෙක් වශයෙන් තමයි එලිවෙන්නෙ. රජ හා ඇහැලේපොල අතර ගැටුම ඇතිකර දෙපසට ගතු කියා අවුලුවන්නේ ඔහු ලු. ඊට අමතරව රජ සමග හිතවත් කම පෙන්වමින් මත්පැන් සාද පවත්වා රජව සුරා ලෝලීයකු කර විනාස කරන්නේත් ඔහු . ඇහැලේපොල පවුලේ මරණ නියෝගය පවා රජ ලවා නිකුත් කරවූයේ මේ පසුබිම මත බවයි සිතෙන්නේ.
මොල්ලිගොඩ හා ඔහුගේ පුතා ද පසුව අඩුවයසින් බීලම මැරුන බවයි කියවෙන්නෙ.

1) Yes, he did the ketaweema ( to turn Ehelepola against the King) It is documented in a 1890s rare book on Ehelepola.
I mentioned it in UKBoy reply. I can give more info on exactly what he did if anyone wishes.

2) in the above paragraph you wrote about another hidden reason I initially wanted this discussion to highlight )as to why Kandyan kingdom was easy for British to take

Curios to know anybody here has any old books on ceylon from before 1900s ?


Btw am glad there are 2 people who commented on the topic directly.

Hope there will be more.

During that period Sri Lanka really missed people who can take tactical decisions. The closest one i see is Pilimatalawe adikarama. 
We didnt have a John odoyle in our side.

You will find more interesting stuff when reading the rise & fall of 1818 Uva rebellion. You will hate Molligoda more.

I used to read books/articals about 1800+ history but as Chinwi said don't remember all now. 

Above my posts is just what I think about that time after read some books/articals.

Which specific work are you referring to ? When I said I got hold of 1800 book I meant I got hold of an actual near 200 year old book.
It not that I have not read about Molligoda. I have researched about the the mess he created.

I will write about how Molligoda intercepted messages Ehelepola sent to the King to make him more angry with Ehelepola to commit the great crime ( killing the family that way) . This part is only documented in a rare ( no reprint) book called Life of Ehelepola done in the 1890s.



For now, here is interesting read which should talk more about Molligoda and clear Ehelepola from the usual accusations.

I know the author below personally for a good reason. I had some chats with him. He sadly passed away few years ago ( I mean the Author)




Ehelepola Maha Adikaram of the Kandyan Kingdom

by Rohan L. Jayetilleke
The life and times of Ehelepola Maha Adikaram (1773 - 1829 A.D.) who passed away in exile in the Mauritius on April 5, 1829, have not been analytically assessed by historians, scholars and writers. Hence this attempt to place his life and times in their correct perspective, as he was never a traitor, though some uncritically assess it to be so.

Ehelepola, a village in Udugoda Udasiyapattu of Matale West about nine miles from Matale town, is the ancestral home of the Ehelepola dynasty. The Wasamas included Kinigama, Urelemulla, Kohana, Kohotanwela, Dalupota, Walmoruwa, Demadaoya, Hompola, Ehelepolas of the Ehelepola Walawwa of the Wasama were the greatest of the Kandyan, purely Sinhala Buddhist aristocracy.

The family name was Wijayasundera. In the Matale Maha Kadaimpotha, the dynasty of the Ehelepolas is clearly recorded that in the reign of King Rajasingha and King Wijayapala of Godapola, Ehelepola Basnayaka Nilame was Ratemahatmaya and Muhandiram. Ehelepola Ralahami Maha Adikaram Nilame was witness to an era of 1706, written at the palace of Hanguranketha. The family had a Sannas (1722 A.D.). The ancestry of the Ehelepolas and their land entitlements as per the Sannas of 1745 A.D. are as follows in summary form -

"His Most Gracious Majesty our Supreme Lord and God, king of the illustrious Lanka by the light of his incomparable and most profound divine wisdom made the following edict. "Waradamune Mudiyannaehe, served and continued to serve the Great Gate with affection and then obtained great many favours, among such a Sannas to Asweddumize any land he might wish in any place below Narangashinna and above the ferry Timbillatota. Medabedde Ekanayake Mudiyannaehe also having served the Great Gate with true loyalty obtained office of Dissava of Seven Korales and in recognition of his military exploits received the present of an elephant and a chain of four strands from His Majesty.

The grandson of Siriniwasa Maha Terunwahanse, who is a descendant of Bhuvanekabahu Terunnanse accompanied King Rajasingha to Madakalapuwa (Batticaloa) and performed loyal military service and was appointed as Lekam of the Halu Mandapa and Radabedda, Gabada Nilame of the Palle Maha Wasala."

Ehelepoal Disava of Uva married a daughter of Rate Korale and sister of Kosinne Korale, who was executed in 1815. Ehelepola Maha Nilame by his marriage to a Pilimatalawwe Lady had two sons and two daughters. 1. Ehelepola Adigar, 2. Ehelepola Disava of Matale, 3. Ehelepola Menike, who was married to Meegastenne Adigar, 4. Ehelepola Tikiri Menike who married Haluwadana Nilame.

The elder brother of Maha Nilame married a niece of Niramulle Muhandirama, a sister of the wife of Kobbekaduwe Disava. Ehelepola Disava of Uva died in 1807. His children were Maha Nilame and Second Disava of Matale.

In a document (Sittu) he is described as Ehelepola Wijayasundera Wickramasinghe Chandrasekera Seneviratne Senanayake Jayatilleke Amarakoon Wahala Panditha Mudiyanse Ralahami, who held the offices of Gantuna Disava, Gangala, Laggala, Kirioruwa, Bogambara Kuruwa, Nalanda, Kallawa, Kotalbadde, Kumbalbadde, Tamarankada Disava and Maha Disava of Matale. He incurred the King's displeasure and was sent out of Kandy and his properties were given to the Maha Nilame, his brother.

He had two sons and a daughter. 1. Ehelepola Disawa of Seven Korales, who was put to death with Maha Adikaram Ehelepola's children. 2. Ehelepola of Nuwarakalaviya (Anuradhapura, too was put to death after Ehelepola Maha Adikaram's flight to Colombo for refuge under British Governor Brownrigg. 3. Ehelepola Kumarihamy married Dodanwela, then divorced and married Unambuwa Godahela Wedikkara Lekam.

The chief character of this story, the eldest son Ehelepola Wijayasundera Wickramasinghe Chandrasekera Seneviratne was born about 1773 A.D. Appointed the Disava of Seven Korales and succeeded Migastenne as Second Adigar in 1806 at the age of 33 years, comparatively a very young age to hold this high office, comparable to a present day Deputy Prime Minister.

However, the King, knowing the talents and the Second Adigar's popularity among the people, in order to keep him in check the office of Seven Korales was divided between Ehelepola and Molligoda, which greatly dissatisfied the people, as they to perform double services and duties to two officials.

People rose in rebellion and Pilimatalawwe suppressed it ruthlessly. Ehelepola was then shifted as Disava of Uva. Pilimatalawwe himself, not gaining his wish of becoming the King of the Kandyan Kingdom, and to be treated as heir-apparent by the King, rebelled against the King and he was put to death by the King in 1812.

Ehelepola then succeeded as the First Disava. But the King suspected that he would have been hand and glove in the rebellion with Pilimatalawwe. This displeasure was directly shown to Ehelepola when he made some rich presents to the King Sri Wickrama Rajasinghe, on his marriage with the King stating that these presents were unworthy of acceptance.

Ehelepola discerned that this King's remarks were the outburst of the King due to the Kandyan officials with no connection to the Sinhala Buddhist aristocracy were trying to gain important officialdom under the king and ultimately to succeed to the throne, even assassinating him and the best stratagem was to feign total allegiance to the king by fabricating stories against Ehelepola and make the King a total adversary of Ehelepola. Ehelepola, was thus circumstanced to proceed to his Disavoni, as the atmosphere at the Kandyan court was totally detrimental to his life.

Furthermore king was a confirmed alcoholic and well provided by the plotters with liquor smuggled from the British liquor shops at Colombo, through the itinerant Muslim traders who took arecanuts and spices to the Colombo markets. The King summoned Ehelepola in March 1814 and Ehelepola refused to call over at Kandy.

The King deprived Ehelepola of offices of Disava and Adigar and conferred these offices on Molligoda. A rebellion broke out at Wellessa and in the wake of the supresional activities Ehelepola fled to Kalutara in May or June 1814 and thence repaid to Colombo and sought refuge under British Governor Brownrigg, as the Kandyan King and his acolytes were planning and plotting to kill him.

True to expectations Molligoda had the followers of Ehelepola both in Sabragamuwa and Kandy killed. It could be presumed that it was Molligoda who was the force behind to encourage King Sri Wickrema Rajasinghe to pursue the most bestial genocide, ever happened in any civilised country. Ehelepola's brother and nephew were put to death and eventually to destroy all traces of Ehelepola family his wife and children and relations were put to death.

Thus came the end of the Ehelepola dynasty who had every right, through their ancestry and Buddhist monks descending from King Bhuvanekabahu's dynasty, popular leaders of the Sinhala Buddhist of the country and fearless military strategists and logisticians, came to a forced ending by the conspiratorial officials of the Kandyan court who never had any such credentials to be the heirs to the throne of high offices in the administration of the country.

"Palipane Disawa witnessing the drowning of Ehelepola Kumarihamy and her female relative in the Bogambara Tank was so affected that he fainted and was deprived of his office for showing such tender sensibility, says Charles Pridham in his work, 'A historical, political and statistical account of Ceylon and its dependencies (Volumes London 1849, pp. 185 - 186).

He further records, during the two days, the whole of Kandy, with the exception of the court (Palace) was one of mourning and lamentation, and so deep was his grief (that it was said) not a fire was kindled, nor food dressed and a general fast was held. "This is clear manifestation to the popularity of Ehelepola Maha Adikaram and his family and Kandyans never reckoned Ehelepola as a traitor.

In a foregoing paragraph, the correct place where Ehelepola children were beheaded and where Ehelepola Kumarihamy was ordered the severed heads of her children were to be pounded, namely in the centre of the area between the Vahalkada of Natha Devale (opposite old Dharmaraja College building) and the flight of steps leading to Maha Devala (Vishnu Devale) within sight from the window of the Queen's apartment (extreme Western end of the Sri Dalada Maligawa building).

This Great lady has to be immortalized and I would also appeal to the Central Province Governor, Mr. Monty Gopallawa to initiate action with the Ministry of National Heritage to raise a statue of Ehelepola Kumarihamy and her children, so that thousands of schoolchildren visiting the Sri Dalada Maligawa and the precincts would be aware of the great contribution this lady had made for the country. The statement quoted by me made by her could be carried in the epitaph of the memorial.

(The writer is a member of the Bharatiya Kala Kendra, India and ISP (Switzerland) 1978 International Awardee (first Asian) in anthropological and investigative journalism).

Ukboy wrote:

You will find more interesting stuff when reading the rise & fall of 1818 Uva rebellion.

One of my favorite subjects when I was younger.

SLS, I would be selecting a similar topic for thethread if I were initiating this.

I do not possess any books right now, but believe there are enough material/records and 'gossips' to get a good understanding of what was happening form 1600' s.

Few points I would like to put down for the time being (without any proper order or structure) are;

* To understand properly what was happening during 1800's, it's good to study the events from 1600 onward. Apart from records about battles and kings, if we use some 'creative thinking', we can visualize the society and it's believes prevailed during that era.

* (Gossip) Ehelepola kumari hami was said to be very beautiful (සිරා කෑල්ලක්). Sri vickrama wanted to scr..her somehow or other (After baby was born). So he sent Ehele. Nilame on a time wasting mission to a remote area (can't remember the exact පළාත). Then approached Kumarihamy. It's said Kumarihamy scolded the king and spat on his face. Which made king to revenge later.

* Molligoda and Ehelepola had a cold-war from the beginning it seems. Once Sri Vickrama assigned both of them as rulers for the same area it seems to make things worse. It seems, Molligoda wanted his family to prosper while Ehelepola wanted the country to prosper.

* (Gossip) Pillimathalawe is said to be the father of Kannasamy (Sri Vickram). That's why he wanted him as king (not Muththusamy who was the next inline). But apparently, Sri Vickram didn't know who his father was.

* Pilimathalawe was a shrewd man. He carried out many missions with near success. He planed to get British capture the King and then chase British and give the crown to a local king.
He went to the extent that when British wanted a reason to attached king, he made some reasons by making some 'king's' men to attack some 'British' as well.
However, when Sri Vickram got to know that one of Pimlima.'s relatives was going to marry a royal lady, he got panicked and assassinated Pilima. ( I am sure Molligoda also got some part to play there.)

* Ehelepola also had the same vision but he got successful in the first half only. As I heard, his second part was messed up by people like molligoda. There are records that, after being captured, Sri Vickrama got friendly with British and tipped them of Ehelepols's real ambition and advised British to use Molligoda to backfire those efforts.

* To understand these events properly, I believe, we need to study the events from 1600's. What happened in 'low lands' and 'high lands' during times of Veediya bandara, Konnapu bandara (1 st Vimaladharamsooriya) and subsequently.

One of my favorite strategists/rulers lived in this era was Konnappu Bandara (1st VimalaDh). If not for his premature death due to small pox, Sri Lanka's history would be a totally different one.

HUNTER wrote:

One of my favorite strategists/rulers lived in this era was Konnappu Bandara (1st VimalaDh). If not for his premature death due to small pox, Sri Lanka's history would be a totally different one.

Small pox was as common as flu those days. So Don John's weak immunity was his problem. Suddha conquered entire continents thanks to his diseases.

In a monarchy the power passes to weak low quality family members rather than leaders and citizens with potential. If Don John was a super strategist he would have sorted out the power succession and found a leader with true potential as his successor. Greed to keep power within family is a normal problem for Kings and wanna be kings.

Another story;

The last Sinhala King, (Narendrasinghe) was party addicted and alcoholic. Apparently, Dutch were making sure he was on enough alcohol always (They wanted to get king's support for business; or may be they controlled him). The king was mostly not in the Kandy palace but having some fun-time at some remote palace.
Once he casually mentioned to dutch that the princesses in his country were not 'sexy' enough. They promised to bring him a better princess from India.
Apparently they get hold of a 'sexy' prostitute in India and made the king believe that she indeed a princess.
Then started that famous story of දස්කොන්-ප්‍රමිලා as well.
The rest is the history of වඩුග.

jiggysaurus wrote:

HUNTER wrote:

One of my favorite strategists/rulers lived in this era was Konnappu Bandara (1st VimalaDh). If not for his premature death due to small pox, Sri Lanka's history would be a totally different one.

Small pox was as common as flu those days. So Don John's weak immunity was his problem. Suddha conquered entire continents thanks to his diseases.

In a monarchy the power passes to weak low quality family members rather than leaders and citizens with potential. If Don John was a super strategist he would have sorted out the power succession and found a leader with true potential as his successor. Greed to keep power within family is a normal problem for Kings and wanna be kings.

So you don't vote for what he did?

Best ruler in that era does not necessarily mean he was an all time perfect example.
When studying the history, in that given context, he has shrewdly managed the available resources to the betterment of his country and people. Some tasked nobody could achieve before or after.

History and religion should be taken out from school curriculum is my opinion.

Good thread. Thanks all.