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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 April 2010
The National Archives of Sri Lanka hold a vast number of hitherto little used documents which provide an excellent basis for the study of Sri Lanka under Dutch and British administration. This article is a result of my visit to the Archives to carry out research on crime in Sri Lanka in the second half of the nineteenth century. It seeks to describe some of the opportunities - and difficulties - in using this rich resource.
1. My visit was possible because of financial support from the Central Research Fund of the University of London and from the School of Oriental and African Studies.
2. “Study of religion” is one of the activities which the Sri Lankan Government, includes under the label “tourism” for immigration purposes. Nationals of most Western countries may stay in Sri Lanka for six months as tourists but only one month's stay will be granted in the first instance. For a longer stay one must apply for an extension in Colombo.
3. Colombo, National Science Council of Sri Lanka, 1978. This guide is not available for reference or sale at the Archives and must be obtained direct, from the publishers at 47/5 Maitland Place, Colombo 7. The price is 10 rupees (about US 50 c). Other accounts of The Archive holdings include Patrick Peebles, The Transformation of a Colonial Elite. The Mudaliyars of teenth Century Ceylon, unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Chicago 1973, pp. 343–58Google Scholar ; Silva, H. de, National Archives of Sri Lanka in Cores, I. (ed.), Li-braries and People Colombo Public Library 1925–1975, Colombo 1975, pp. 87–95; andGoogle ScholarLow, D.A., Iltis, J.C., Wainwright, M.D. (eds.), Government Archives in South Asia, Cambridge 1969, pp. 3–27. There is a detailed list of the contents of lot 1 (the Dutch records) in Low et. al.,pp. 7–14Google Scholar.
4. The list of lot titles in Low et. al. is now in complete. The best listing is in Wimalaratne, pp. 23–28. His dates are only a general indication of the holdings.
5. There are two advantages to consulting this material in London. First, enclosures to dispatches are often difficult to locate in Colombo. Second, one can read the minutes of the Colonial Office officials.
6. The Government Gazette should be ordered from the newspaper room.
7. Low et. al. lists correspondents of the Colonial Secretary, albeit in a confusing manner.
8. Peebles, op cit, and “Land Use and Population Control in Colonial Ceylon”, Contributions to Asian Studies, IX (1976) pp. 64–79.Google Scholar
9. Orders should be made at the P.R.O. Galle, Matara, Hambantota, and Ratnapura are among the kachcheri records currently stored at the depository.
10. The Kandy and Kagalla kachcheri records and the records of the Board of Kandyan Commissioners.
11. There are long term plans to open other regional branches. (Switzerland), 1975. p. 207.
12. Peebles, Patrick, “Sources and Prospects for Social Research in Sri Lanka”, in Patterson, M. and Yanuck, M., South Asian Library Resources in North America, Zug (Switzerland), 1975. p. 207.Google Scholar
13. The move into the new building will be gradual, and there are no plans to close the Archives at any stage.