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The battle for Ceylon
During the first decade of the 19th century the struggle for
imperial domination still raged across the globe. Britain and
France were at war as the tide that swept away the Bourbon monarchy
in bloody revolution gained momentum under the genius of Napoleon
Bonaparte and was felt from Europe to the East and West Indies.
Britain in dominating the Indian sub-continent was in conflict with
martial cultures who often had French backing. Here the future Duke
of Wellington would make his name before his greater military
glories in Iberia. The tear-drop shaped island of Ceylon a rich
resource of spice, tea and other exotic trade goods-and a country
which would add another eastern jewel to the imperial crown-had, of
course, not escaped Britain's notice. Predictably, the indigenous
population, particularly in the form of the rulers of the kingdom
of Kandy, took issue with the prospect of British rule and opposed
British Army regular troops, supported by the natives of the
Honourable East India Company's army, with force. This book
recounts a very little reported campaign to subjugate the
Kandyians. It was a savagely a war fought over difficult terrain
and one which did not decide who would rule Ceylon. This book will
fascinate those interested in the history of warfare during the
Napoleonic period and the story of the campaign is supported in
this special Leonaur edition by an historical overview of the
period to provide a first hand account context and understanding of
the wider conflict.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each
title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our
hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their
spines and fabric head and tail bands.
William Knighton (d. 1900) published this history of Ceylon
(present-day Sri Lanka) in 1845. He spent most of his career there
and in India, and published a number of vivid accounts of his
experiences. This book surveys the ancient past of the island up to
Knighton's own day, covering its many rulers and invaders as well
as its shifting eras of unity and fracture into competing kingdoms.
It gives an account of the first settlement, the establishment of
Buddhism, the growth of the ancient capital Anuradhapura, the reign
of Queen Anula (the first female ruler in Asia), the emergence of
early Christianity, the development of the caste system, the
medieval wars after the forming of the Jaffna Kingdom, the arrival
of the Portuguese, the Dutch, and later the British invasion.
Covering law, agriculture, arts, religion and language, this
learned work remains relevant to students of Sri Lankan history and
culture.
The writer William Knighton (c.1824-1900) spent much of his career
in Sri Lanka and India. Published in 1855, this is an account of
the court of the notorious Indian King Nussir-u-deen (c.1803-37),
written from the viewpoint and using the testimony of an anonymous
British member of the King's retinue. Richly descriptive, it is an
intimate portrait of life in the service of a hedonistic sovereign
so hated and paranoid that he feared his own family would try to
poison him. He is characterised as a cruel and frivolous man who
only trusted his sycophantic barber. As well as describing the
lavish royal lifestyle, the narrator documents the King's thirst
for hunting, for exotic-animal fights and for abusing and
humiliating members of the royal family. This is a lurid and
engrossing tale of a monarch in decline and the corruption and
favouritism that led to his eventual assassination.
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(16)
R889
Discovery Miles 8 890
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