Christianity in Ceylon - Its Introduction Progress Under Portuguese, Dutch, British American

Sir James Emerson Tennent (1804-69) combined the roles of traveller, politician and civil servant, publishing accounts of Greece during the war of independence, and several books on Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where he was civil secretary to the colonial government from 1845 to 1850. His other major achievement was as promoter of the Copyright of Designs Act of 1842, which secured the same protection for applied arts designs as existed for inventions and written works. This 1850 book describes the various missionary activities of the Portuguese, Dutch, British and Americans among the peoples of Ceylon since its first discovery by Europeans. The first Portuguese explorers observed that the inhabitants of the north of the island were Hindus, and those in the south were Buddhists, and the different approaches over time to these two belief groups form the core of this prejudiced but interesting book.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. The middle ages and the Portuguese period; 2. The Dutch period; 3. The British period; 4. The Brahmanical system; 5. Buddhism and demon worship; 6. Moral and social character of the Singhalese.

Summary

This 1850 book describes the various missionary activities of the Portuguese, Dutch, British and Americans among the peoples of Ceylon since its first discovery by Europeans. The work describes the different approaches over time to the two predominant religions of the islands, Hinduism and Buddhism (both inevitably dismissed as 'superstitions').

Product details

• Authors: TENNEN JAMES EMERSO, James Emerson Tennent, Tennent James Emerson
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2018
• EAN: 9781108082693
• ISBN: 978-1-108-08269-3
• No. of pages: 384
• Series: Cambridge Library Collection - South Asian History; Cambridge Library Collection -; Cambridge Library Collection - South Asian History
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Sri Lanka, Christian mission & evangelism, Christianity, Asian History, Religious mission and Religious Conversion, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), HISTORY / Asia / South / General