17 rare photos of daily life in Sri Lanka in the 1880s

According to historical documents, Sri Lanka is 3,000 years old, and traces of settlements existing on the island are no less than 125,000 years. When the Portuguese conquered the territory of Sri Lanka, they began to call it Ceylon, and the ancient state had such a name until it gained independence in 1948.

In the 1880s, life in Ceylon was difficult: the entire territory of the island was a colony of the British Empire. Very few documents were preserved about that time, but archivist Patrick Montgomery kindly provided interesting rare photographs of the life of Sri Lanka of that period.

Residents of the village, located near the city of Kandy. They froze, feeling the greatness of the moment, everyone, even the children, are carefully looking at the camera.

This is a village in the Colombo region, in the photo you can see the bypass ditch, a huge cart with hay and colorful national clothes of the peasants.

The Temple of Brahma in Colombo surprises with pretentious decoration and beauty of details. It must be thought that in comparison with simple houses made of palm leaves, he made a special impression.

And here are the Buddhist priests, who are also very serious and important, because photography at that time seemed akin to a miracle.

In the 19th century, Sri Lanka was taken under British control, it imported tea from India and established extensive plantations that became the basis of the country's economy. Both men and women and teenagers worked in the fields.

Giant bamboo

This is how the city of Colombo looked at the end of the 19th century, when it was not yet the capital of Sri Lanka.

To compare the photo, what it looks like now.

Here's what the country road to Colombo looked like: a forest of palm trees, unpretentious huts, carts harnessed by donkeys.

Another country road to Colombo. We see a horse-drawn cart with buffaloes, people trying to hide from the scorching sun under umbrellas.

British gentleman in a white suit and cork helmet, riding astride an elephant.

The city of Negombo became the first resort city in the country. It is famous for its canals connecting the Negombo lagoon and the sea. That's what one of the Negombo canals looked like in the 19th century.

And this is just a beautiful view in the area of ​​the town of Pussellava. And again we see the English gentlemen and their servants. Of course, a black-and-white photo does not convey all the beauty of the river, but by the size of the stones that fell from the mountains, one can judge the grandeur of the surrounding landscape.

Sinhalese fishermen are preparing their boats.

Snake charmers. Many of those who did not meet them live, considered them a fiction.

Anuradhapura was the capital of the first Sinhala kingdom on the island. But then the Tamils ​​plundered and burned it, the city fell into decay and was overgrown with jungle. At the beginning of the 19th century, the British discovered it, archaeological excavations began. Now Anuradhapura is restored and is a residential city. The photo shows the research process.

And the last photo is a picturesque view of the lake in the vicinity of Kandy.

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