AN INVESTIGATION OF THE HEALTH CONDITION OF THE BRITISH ARMY TROOPS POSTED IN THE KANDYAN PROVINCES (1815 - 1820)

The British conquered the island of Ceylon in 1815, after establishing their power over the maritime provinces of the island in 1796. Following the establishment of British dominion in Ceylon, there were several native uprisings, especially in 1817 and 1818, which the British forces successfully suppressed. However, it was not only Europeans who were commissioned by the British forces; there were Malay, Indian, and Capri individuals working for the British troops. Despite the ordinary challenges that a foreign force has to encounter in battling the enemy forces, the British troops had to tackle the weather conditions of the unknown territories while maintaining assembly points. Subsequently, British troops had to endure a multitude of health problems and diseases which arose from natural disasters. The research problem is to investigate the health problems faced by the British troops who were serving in the highlands between 1815 and 1820 and what treatment methods were adopted in terms of disease prevention. The research objective is to identify the diseases and the challenges they faced as well as the prevention methods among the soldiers who were working in the upland areas. The Historical Research Method has been used for this research. British administrative records, works written by British officials in this country based on their experiences reports and other literary sources were review for this research. The information identified there was analyzed through qualitative data. When examining the period from 1815 to 1820, it is discernible that the state of health of the British soldiers was miserable, as fever, smallpox and cholera resulted in the deterioration of the health condition amid adverse weather conditions and natural disasters.