This Inscrutable Englishman

by Brendon Gooneratne

Sir John d'Oyly (1774-1824) accomplished in 1815, through shrewd diplomacy and the creation of an efficient intelligence network, the peaceful annexation on behalf of the British Crown of Sri Lanka's fiercely independent mountain kingdom of Kandy. Yet, in the press, d'Oyly voluntarily exchanged the prospect of further honours for permanent exile. Was he merely the Crown's "obedient servant", constructing a blueprint for British imperial domination or had he permitted himself to dream a romantic dream? This study of d'Oyly's conduct, motives and seemingly contradictory personality, set against the background of a feudal Asian state catapulted by colonization into a 19th century dominated by Eurocentric concepts of morality and oriental" exoticism, and by utilitarian notions of civilization, aims to unravel the cultural and psychological implications of colonial rule for both colonizer and subject.

Hardcover

First published July 9, 1999