The Dutch Reformed Church in Colonial Ceylon (18th Century)
The Dutch Reformed Church in Colonial Ceylon (18th Century)

Author: Klaus Koschorke

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783447065467

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The volume edited by Klaus Koschorke contains the Minutes of the Consistory of the Dutch Reformed Church in Colombo (1735-1797). They are made accessible to the academic public in an English translation for the first time. These documents are of crucial importance for the religious, social and political history of Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in the 18th century. The Colombo Consistory was the highest executive committee of the Colonial Church in Dutch Ceylon. It regulated and coordinated countless church affairs on the island. Manifold problems were discussed here that give us unique insights into the religious, cultural, political, and ecclesiastical life of a Dutch colony in 18th-century Asia. Special attention was paid to the "dangerous spread of Roman papacy in this country" and the seemingly unstoppable advance of the Catholic underground movement. It continually increased in spite of all counter measures by the Dutch authorities, and presented a religious alternative to the prevailing colonial system. These new documents also enhance comparative studies in Church-State relations in different Dutch overseas possessions at that time.

A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450-1990
A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, 1450-1990

Author: Roland Spliesgart

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 2007-09-14

Total Pages: 461

ISBN-13: 0802828892

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Taking the three continents in turn, the documents trace chronologically the transfer of Christianity from the beginning of Western colonization through the end of the Cold War. Traditional forms of Christianity in Asia and Africa are not covered. The emphasis is on the voices of people working in the field--both missionaries and Indigenous people--rather than those at the imperial centers.

A History of Sri Lanka
A History of Sri Lanka

Author: K M de Silva

Publisher: Penguin UK

Published: 2005-08-25

Total Pages: 666

ISBN-13: 9351182398

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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.