Acknowledgements -- Glossary -- Maps -- Introduction -- PART I: TEMPTATION ISLAND -- Chapter One: Local politics and foreign intrusion -- 1.1 Sri Lanka prior to European arrival: the ancient civilizations -- 1.2 Political fragmentation and drift to the south -- 1.3 Island society around 1500 -- 1.4 Portuguese political infiltration and the origin of the Kandyan Kingdom -- 1.5 Dutch Ceylon: the formative years -- 1.6 Political organization of the Kandyan Kingdom -- 1.7 Eighteenth-century Kandyan kingship and Buddhism -- PART II: THE FIRST COLONIAL TRANSITION: LOCAL GROWTH OF COLONIAL INTERESTS -- Chapter Two: Colonial politics in Dutch Ceylon till 1780 -- 2.1 Early developments -- 2.2 Contradicting policies and subordination to Batavia -- 2.3 A policy for Kandy -- 2.4 Prelude to change -- 2.5.1 Administrative organization of Dutch Ceylon - Company superstructure -- 2.5.2 Administrative organization of Dutch Ceylon - Indigenous input and indirect rule -- 2.5.3 Administrative organization of Dutch Ceylon - Managing indigenous power -- 2.6 Conclusion -- Chapter Three: Beyond cinnamon: Dutch interior policy 1780-1795 -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Changing circumstances - the cinnamon plantations -- 3.3 Changing international conditions -- 3.4 Company in crisis -- 3.5 A testing ground in Galle -- 3.6 An island-wide approach -- 3.7 Beyond cinnamon -- 3.8 Creating enterprising headmen -- 3.9 Centralization of power: competition and cooperation -- 3.10 Company servants and native elites: joint ventures -- 3.11 Increased efficiency, land and capitation tax -- 3.12 Troubles in Jaffna -- 3.13 Conclusion -- Chapter Four: Inland exploitation: the discovery of the periphery -- 4.1 "Broodkamer" ideology -- 4.2 New encounters: a journey around Trincomalee -- 4.3 Clash of cultures: useful versus threatening nature -- 4.4 Civilization as universal remedy.

4.5 Colonial intervention in the Vanni -- 4.6 Administrative reform in Batticaloa -- 4.7 Conclusion -- Chapter Five: Dutch perceptions of the colonial order -- 5.1 Developments in Europe -- 5.2 Ceylon and the colonial criticism -- 5.3 Van de Graaff 's "response" -- 5.4 The vision of Jacques Fabrice van Senden -- 5.5 Thomas Nagel and the Vanni -- 5.6 An ideal image: the colonial ruler as humanitarian father -- 5.7 Jacob Burnand's practical reflections -- 5.8 Conclusion -- Chapter Six: Isolation and disintegration: the Kandyans and the Dutch -- 6.1 Diplomatic relations after 1766 -- 6.2 Official policy 1785-1795 -- 6.3 Ulterior motives: the Sluijsken - Van de Graaff controversy -- 6.4 Revenue and conspiracy -- 6.5 Political developments in the kingdom: Rajadhi, his nobles and the Europeans -- 6.6 The aftermath: Batavia's opposition and Van de Graaff 's prophecy -- PART III: THE SECOND COLONIAL TRANSITION: IMPERIAL DESIGN AND LOCAL PRACTICE -- Introduction -- Chapter Seven: Regime change and transitional politics 1795-1798 -- 7.1 The incorporation of Dutch Ceylon in the British Empire -- 7.2 The capitulation of Colombo -- 7.3 1795-1798: coconuts and dubashes -- 7.4 The Dutch approach revisited -- 7.5 Regime change and collaboration -- Chapter Eight: A new destiny for Ceylon 1798-1805 -- 8.1 Transition to crown government -- 8.2 Pacification of the remaining Dutchmen and judicial reform -- 8.3 Internal strife and changes in the revenue department -- 8.4 From bulwark to granary -- 8.5 Dundas' scheme -- 8.6 North's drift -- 8.7 A failed mission -- 8.8 Conclusion -- Chapter Nine: Towards a new order 1805-1815 -- 9.1 North's heritage -- 9.2 The fate of the Dutch who stayed behind -- 9.3 Cutting expenses -- 9.4 Understanding the island and the Dutch system -- 9.5 Changes in the departments of justice and the native department -- 9.6 Agricultural development.

9.7 The periphery -- 9.8 The aftermath: accommodation to local conditions -- 9.9 Conclusion -- Chapter Ten: British Ceylon and the Indian experience: connecting policies -- 10.1 In search of a proper rule for India -- 10.2 Frederick North and the Bengal reforms -- 10.3 Thomas Maitland and the return of the European despot -- 10.4 Simultaneous trends in Madras -- 10.5 Maitland and native headmen -- 10.6 Conclusion -- Chapter Eleven: The colonial project completed: the fall of the Kandyan Kingdom -- 11.1 Defining a course: Colombo, the EIC, and the Secretary of State -- 11.2 North's ambitions and the first Kandyan war -- 11.3 A period of passive appeasement -- 11.4 Irresistible temptation -- 11.5 The Kandyan factor -- 11.6 The Sinhala consciousness debate -- 11.7 The stranger-king as political factor -- 11.8 A long-term view of Kandy's collapse -- Chapter Twelve: Conclusions and reflections -- 12.1 The first and second colonial transition: long-term processes -- 12.2 The colonial interplay: characteristics of Dutch and British rule -- 12.3 Connecting debates -- 12.4 Clashes, cooperation and negotiation -- Notes -- Appendix -- Bibliography -- Index.