Acknowledgements; Notes to the reader; Glossary; Maps; Prologue; Introduction; Chapter One: The World of the Peasant; Chapter Two: The System of Production and Its Changes; Chapter Three: Land Tenure and Its Changes; Chapter Four: The Emergence of a New Class Formation and the Rise of a Landowning Class; Chapter Five: Caste and Social Mobility; Chapter Six: The Discussion; Epilogue; Notes; Appendices; Bibliography; Index
Summary
Analyses how in early colonial times, the peasant society of Sri Lanka underwent fundamental changes in the land tenure system as it faced the arrival of the Dutch East India Company administration's merchant capitalism. This study also reveals the dynamics of caste formation as a result of the early colonial encounter
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-288) and index