You get these Monty Python moments travelling around Sri Lanka: the evidence of the colonial past is evident in many ways. The names Pererra and Pedro are common from the original Portuguese colonialists, as is the strong presence of Christianity; the Dutch left an extensive canal system that helps irrigate fields for food production; and then came the British.
So what have the British done for Sri Lanka ? As in India, the British developed an impressive railway system in Sri Lanka and the justice system here is an English legacy. School learning was encouraged by the British and education remains highly valued here: Sri Lanka has an impressive 96% literacy rate, above world average. Being colonialists the British were not content until they recreated a little Britain to remind them of the mother country, no more so than in Nuwara Eliya which has a touch of the Cotswolds about it. The colonialists escaped the heat of Colombo in this high country retreat and built golf courses, introduced trout to the rivers and constructed buildings of incredibly twee quaintness.
They also pulled up all the coffee plants and began planting tea, in abundance. Tea is a plant of the camellia family and is grown in the cooler climbs of the hill country. To pick the tea the British plantation owners imported Tamils from India, which created another strata of second class citizens: these Indian Tamils who settled for a number of generations were not recognised as citizens at the time of independence and there was a push for them to be shipped back wholesale to India. Today they are citizens, but remain among the poorest Sri Lankans and continue to be concentrated in the tea growing area where they still do the heavy manual work.
Agriculture is a major industry and the patchwork of verdant fields dotting the country side is exquisite. The Sri Lankans are adept at taking tiny spaces and popping in a crop of carrots, beans, corn or whatever. The land is densely planted, and pesticide is liberally applied. In fact pesticide is a huge problem and WHO did some research a few years back which revealed high numbers of poisoning deaths. Death by poisioning is one of the top five causes of death here.
One of the more shocking British legacies was the outrageous carnage on the wildlife. We all know they liked to hunt, but we were horrified when we visited one of the wilderness areas that is now a national park and found that in this one area, one hunter alone was responsible for killing more than 1400 elephants. How anyone could want to kill one of these magnificent, sentient creatures is beyond me.
So what have the British done for Sri Lanka ? As in India, the British developed an impressive railway system in Sri Lanka and the justice system here is an English legacy. School learning was encouraged by the British and education remains highly valued here: Sri Lanka has an impressive 96% literacy rate, above world average. Being colonialists the British were not content until they recreated a little Britain to remind them of the mother country, no more so than in Nuwara Eliya which has a touch of the Cotswolds about it. The colonialists escaped the heat of Colombo in this high country retreat and built golf courses, introduced trout to the rivers and constructed buildings of incredibly twee quaintness.
The British built post offfice at Nuwara Eliya
They also pulled up all the coffee plants and began planting tea, in abundance. Tea is a plant of the camellia family and is grown in the cooler climbs of the hill country. To pick the tea the British plantation owners imported Tamils from India, which created another strata of second class citizens: these Indian Tamils who settled for a number of generations were not recognised as citizens at the time of independence and there was a push for them to be shipped back wholesale to India. Today they are citizens, but remain among the poorest Sri Lankans and continue to be concentrated in the tea growing area where they still do the heavy manual work.
Agriculture is a major industry and the patchwork of verdant fields dotting the country side is exquisite. The Sri Lankans are adept at taking tiny spaces and popping in a crop of carrots, beans, corn or whatever. The land is densely planted, and pesticide is liberally applied. In fact pesticide is a huge problem and WHO did some research a few years back which revealed high numbers of poisoning deaths. Death by poisioning is one of the top five causes of death here.
With no face mask or other protection this worker is spraying insecticide in the wind
I thought these might be silver painted branches for a celebration - but I was told by the man cutting them up that this is the result of DDT
The pineapples flourish
One of the more shocking British legacies was the outrageous carnage on the wildlife. We all know they liked to hunt, but we were horrified when we visited one of the wilderness areas that is now a national park and found that in this one area, one hunter alone was responsible for killing more than 1400 elephants. How anyone could want to kill one of these magnificent, sentient creatures is beyond me.
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