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In the past decade, Sri Lanka has been engulfed by political tragedy as successive governments have failed to settle the grievances of the Tamil minority in a way acceptable to the majority Sinhala population. The new Premadasa presidency faces huge economic and political problems with large sections of the island under the control of the Indian Peace-Keeping Force (IPKF) and militant separatist Tamil groups operating in the north and south.
This book is not a conventional political history of Sri Lanka. Instead, it attempts to shed fresh light on the historical roots of the ethnic crisis and uses a combination of historical and anthropologial evidence to challenge the widely-held belief that the conflict in Sri Lanka is simply the continuation of centuries of animosity between the Sinhalese and the Tamils. The authors show how modern ethnic identities have been made and re-made since the colonial period with the war between Tamils and the Sinhala-dominant government accompanied by rhetorical wars over archeological sites and place-name etymologies, and the political use of the national past. The book is also one of the first attempts to focus on local perceptions of the crisis and draws on a broad range of sources, from village fieldwork to newspaper controversies. Its interest extends beyond contemporary politics to history, anthropology and development studies. ... Read more

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Sri Lanka—an island nation located in the Indian Ocean— has a population of approximately 19 million. Despite its diminuative size, however, Sri Lanka has a long and complex history. The diversity of its people has led to ethnic, religious, and political conflicts that continue to exist. Peebles describes the experiences of the country, from its earliest settlers, to civil war, to its current state, allowing readers to better understand this often misunderstood country.

With an emphasis on the 20th century, chapters discuss the economy, religion, culture, and government of Sri Lanka. A timeline outlines key events in Sri Lankan history, as well as biographies of notable people, and a bibliographic essay.

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Synopsis This book presents the history of Sri Lanka from the earliest times to the present. Sri Lanka is an ancient civilization, shaped and thrust into the modern globalizing world by its colonial experience. With its own unique problems, many of them historical legacies, it is a nation trying to maintain a democratic, pluralistic state structure while struggling to come to terms with separatist aspirations. This is a complex story, and there is perhaps no better person to present it in reasoned, scholarly terms than K. M. de Silva, Sri Lanka's most distinguished and prolific historian. "A History of Sri Lanka", first published in 1981, has established itself as the standard work on the subject. This fully revised edition, in light of the most recent research, brings the story right up to the early years of the twenty-first century. The book provides comprehensive coverage of all aspects of Sri Lanka's development - from a classical Buddhist society and irrigation economy, to its emergence as a tropical colony producing some of the world's most important cash crops, such as cinnamon, tea, rubber and coconut, and finally as an Asian democracy. It is a study of the political vicissitudes of Sri Lanka's ancient civilization and the successive phases of Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial rule. The unfortunate consequences of becoming a centre of ethnic tension and Sri Lanka's long-standing relationship with India are also discussed. Exhaustively researched and analytical, this book is an invaluable reference source for students of ancient, colonial and post-colonial societies, ethnic conflict and democratic transitions, as well as for all those who simply want to get a feel of the rich and varied texture of Sri Lanka's long history. Contents: Glossary. Preface and acknowledgements. 1. Colonizers and settlers. 2. The Anuradhapura Kingdom I: aspects of political history from Saddhatissa to the Cola conquest. 3. The Anuradhapura Kingdom II: An irrigation civilization. 4. The Anuradhapura Kingdom III : the political economy. 5. The Anuradhapura Kingdom IV: a Buddhist civilization. 6. The Polonnaruva Kingdom: Indian summer of Sinhalese power. 7. The fragmentation of the Sri Lankan polity: from c. 1250 to the end of the fifteenth century. 8. The periphery stakes a claim. 9. The crisis of the sixteenth century. 10. Portuguese rule in the maritime regions, C. 1600-58. 11. The Kandyan Kingdom at Bay, 1658-87. 12. The struggle for mastery over Sri Lanka, C. 1680-1766. 13. Trade and agriculture under the voc. 14. The VOC in Sri Lanka: the last phase, 1767-96. 15. The impact of Dutch rule. 16. Religion, literature and the arts in the Kandyan Kingdom. 17. The English East India Company in Sri Lanka, 1796-1802. 18. The fall of the Kandyan Kingdom. 19. Economic and social change in the early nineteenth century, 1802-32. 20. Crown colony government, 1802-32. 21. An era of reform and reconstruction, 1833-50. 22. A plantation economy, 1850-1910. 23. Peasant agriculture, 1850-1910. 24. The consolidation of British rule : the triumph of conservatism. 25. Education and social change in the late nineteenth century. 26. Religion and the rise of nationalism, c. 1870-1900. 27. Politics and constitutional reform in the late nineteenth century. 28. Political change in the early twentieth century. 29. Elite conflict and the Ceylon National Congress, 1921-28. 30. Social and economic change in the early twentieth century, 1910-28. 31. The Donoughmore Commission and its recommendations, 1927-31. 32. The politics of the transfer of power: the first phase, 1931-42. 33. D.S. Senanayake and the passage to dominion status, 1942-47. 34. Social and economic change in the Donoughmore era, 1931-47. 35. Literature and the arts: the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 36. Sri Lanka since independence: the dominance of the UNP, 1947-56. 37. Linguistic nationali ... Read more

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Using careful historical research and analysis of policy documents, this book explains the origin and evolution of the political conflict in Sri Lanka over the struggle to establish a separate state in its Northern and Eastern Provinces. The conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the secessionist LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is one of the world's most intractable contemporary armed struggles. The internationally banned LTTE is considered the prototype of modern terrorism. It is known to have introduced suicide bombing to the world, and recently became the first terrorist organization ever to acquire an air force. The book argues that the Sri Lankan conflict cannot be adequately understood from the dominant bipolar analysis that sees it as a primordial ethnic conflict between the Sinhala majority and the Tamil minority. The book broadens the discourse providing a multipolar analysis of the complex interplay of political-economic and cultural forces at the local, regional and international levels including the roles of India and the international community. Overall, the book presents a conceptual framework useful for comparative global conflict analysis and resolution, shedding light on a host of complex issues such as terrorism, civil society, diasporas, international intervention and secessionism. ... Read more

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This study of Dutch and British colonial intervention on Sri Lanka in the period 1781815 provides a new over-all characterisation of the functioning and growth of the colonial state in a period of transition. ... Read more

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Could actions have been taken prior to September 11 th to prevent the formation of a strong and resilient al Qaeda ? Might alternative development policies have prevented the World Trade Center attacks and forestalled the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq? Paradise Poisoned draws crucial lessons from Sri Lanka's civil wars to demonstrate that violent conflict and terrorism are both predictable and preventable .

John Richardson's study - carried out over nearly twenty years - employs rigorous political and economic analysis and a multi-disciplinary engagement of the systemic linkages between development, governance, and civil conflict. The author - a noted development professor and practitioner, applied systems theorist, and South Asian scholar - traces ten development failures that spawned conflict and terrorism in Sri Lanka, and he proposes a comprehensive prevention strategy summarised in ten key imperatives.

Thus, while contextually rich in its examination of Sri Lankan political history, the policy relevance of Paradise Poisoned extends also to cases like Kosovo, Kashmir, Palestine, Sudan, Afghanistan and now, in particular, Iraq.

Of special utility are 3 policy leverage points discussed at length by Richardson: meeting the needs and expectations of young men, increasing police effectiveness, and prioritizing business community involvement.

Political leaders often say they 'had no choice' when implementing policies such as the US invasion of Iraq or earlier Sri Lankan government interventions, yet this is rarely true. Multiple choices are usually available, and the longer the time horizon, the greater the range of choices. Paradise Poisoned demonstrates that deadly conflict and terrorism are both predictable and preventable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Challenging Conventional Wisdom
John Richardson's *Paradise Poisoned* is an important, timely, and groundbreaking book.The product of more than 18 years of work, it is a carefully researched account of Sri Lanka's fall from a beautiful island paradise and international development "success story", to a headline-grabbing example of a nation torn apart by terrorism and deadly civil conflict.

Drawing both on an innovative methodology and his long-standing work in the fields of international development and conflict, Professor Richardson demonstrates how Sri Lanka's tragic story clearly exposes a world-wide issue that has long been hiding in plain sight--that international development programs, conflict, and terrorism are intimately linked, and often in very negative ways. This is obviously a highly important and policy-relevant finding that is rarely discussed or analyzed in a rigorous manner--the only other book I can recall is Peter Uvin's work on Rwanda (Aiding Violence, 1998).Other important authors, like Mary Anderson(Do No Harm, 1999) offer valuable advice to practitioners on how to reduce conflict in the field, but Richardson and Uvin's more structural analyses expose how contemporary international development policies, put in place by well-meaning leaders and the international community, can be a factor that leads to deadly conflict in the first place.

The book has many lessons, but for me the most important is this profound critique of contemporary development wisdom, and Richardson's carefully documented case study makes it impossible to ignore his findings, or write them off as a simplistic superficial analysis based on preconceived conclusions.Quite the contrary, Richardson's approach is highly sophisticated, and his innovative systems methodology enables him to clarify how deadly conflict arises not from a single cause, but from a complex interaction of a number of critical factors that, acting together, help to explain the fall of Sri Lanka from apparent success to disastrous failure.

The practical policy lessons to be drawn are many, and reach well beyond the Sri Lanka case.Perhaps the most important lesson is that development policies need to be examined with an additional lens that clarifies the ways in which well-intended programs can exacerbate this complex set of factors that undo the development goals and lead to violent and persistent conflict and terrorism.Professor Richardson's useful book goes a long way in this direction by pointing out some of the most critical reference points for this new perspective.It is essential reading, both as a cautionary tale, and as an important source for anyone concerned with discovering specific ways to improve international development policy and reduce global violence.

Steven Arnold, University of Washington (formerly Director, International Development Program, American University)

What Went Wrong in Sri Lanka?
John Richardson's *Paradise Poisoned* is far and away the most comprehensive study of civil violence in Sri Lanka ever undertaken.In its narrative sweep, mastery of detail, conceptual acuity and analytic range, it will never be surpassed.Indeed, no other study of civil violence anywhere rivals Richardson's in these several respects.

For those of us who have seen Sri Lanka from the inside, Richardson's large claim is beyond challenge:the country's descent into violence had no single overriding cause.Richardson assembled vast amounts of data (helpfully displayed in innumerable graphs and tables) on every conceivable contributing cause.His background in the analysis of dynamic systems gave him the best imaginable tools for mapping tangled developments over many decades.His conclusions are always compelling, strikingly so when he catalogs the beneficiaries of violent conflict.

One by one, the ten imperatives Richardson puts forward for preventing civil violence in developing societies may seem like common sense.His exhaustive, fully integrated study of the Sri Lankan experience massively substantiates every one of them.Taken together and taken seriously, they are represent our best chance for a better, safer world.

Nicholas Onuf
Professor Emeritus
Florida International University ... Read more

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"Will be of interest to those working on conflict and peace studies, economic development, cultural studies, and women in the modern world. A key new publication." -- Chandra R. de Silva, Old Dominion University

"... offers a superb overview of how a civil war, driven by ethnicity, can engender a new culture and a new political economy... Highly recommended." -- Choice

Economy, Culture, and Civil War in Sri Lanka provides a lucid and up-to-date interpretation of Sri Lankan society and its 20-year civil conflict. An interdisciplinary examination of the relationship between the economy, broadly defined, and the reproduction of violent conflict, this volume argues that the war is grounded not just in the goals and intentions of the opposing sides, but also in the everyday orientations, experiences, and material practices of all Sri Lankan people. The contributors explore changing political and policy contexts; the effect of long-term conflict on employment opportunities and life choices for rural and urban youth; life histories, memory, and narratives of violence; the "economics of enlisting" and individual decisions about involvement in the war; and nationalism and the moral debate triggered by women's employment in the international garment manufacturing industry.

Contributors are Francesca Bremner, Michele Ruth Gamburd, Newton Gunasinghe, Siri T. Hettige, Caitrin Lynch, John M. Richardson, Jr., Amita Shastri, Deborah Winslow, and Michael D. Woost.

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This is the first in-depth academic work on the Ceylon Survey Department and provides an institutional history of the largest government department on the island. It argues that there was no 'single colonialism' but varieties of colonialism explained by local conditions and exigencies. ... Read more

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Since the late 1970s civil war has left Sri Lanka in an almost permanent state of crisis; conventional histories of the country by liberal and Marxist scholars in the last two decades have thus tended to focus on the state’s failure to accommodate the needs and demands of the minorities. The entire history of the twentieth century has been tied to this one key issue. Sri Lanka in the Modern Age offers a fresh perspective based on new research. Above all, the author has written a history of the peoples of Sri Lanka rather than a history of the nation-state. ... Read more

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This is an A to Z guide to Sri Lanka. It is the first work of its kind in English and fills a gap in the reference literature on the island. It is a comprehensive encyclopedia, covering almost every aspect of the country. There are over 1,100 entries on the country's geography and history, places and people, parties and politics, races and religions, artists, academics, scientists and writers, presidents and prime ministers, economy and trade, education and health, agriculture and industry, art and culture, constitutions and elections. There is information on the island's banking, cinema, cuisine, ethnic problem, garment industry, population growth, telecommunications, universities and much else. The book is profusely illustrates with nearly 100 pictures. ... Read more

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Explores the genesis of the crisis and proposes an alternative policy framework for Indian intervention in the Sri Lanka crisis. ... Read more

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Contains the contributions of 11 German scientists highlighting Sri Lanka's archaeology and history, geography and climate, and tourism and economics. ... Read more

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(Reprint 1817 edn.), Dimensions: 10x7x1 inch. ... Read more

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"Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands" is part of a series of books concerned with the Portuguese Encounters with the World, in the Age of Discoveries. Its primary objective is to provide access to translations of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century documents which illustrate various aspects of this encounter, combining documents from indigenous sources with those from the Portuguese histories and archives. A historical introduction provides the context in which the documents can be read, and a select bibliography indicates the most recent and authoritative secondary works on the subject. The present volume contains chapters covering the Portuguese arrival in Sri Lanka, and their first encounters with the island and its peoples, their subsequent relations with Kandy and Jaffna, and a final chapter on Portuguese relations with the Maldive Islands. ... Read more

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This collection of essays discusses the impact of the Dutch on the society and economy of Ceylon. Based on archival material, the essays explore the interaction between the Dutch and the indigenous people and the impact of Dutch colonial rule over a period of about 150 years. ... Read more