- ISSN: 1876-9071
- E-ISSN: 2214-5729
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OADe lotgevallen van de Burghers op Sri Lanka
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Author:
Nicoline van der Sijs1
- Amsterdam University Press
- Source: Internationale Neerlandistiek, Volume 63, Issue 3, Nov 2025, p. 230 - 251
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- 01 Nov 2025
Abstract
Between 1638 and 1658, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) expelled the Portuguese from the island of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) and took control of the coastal regions. The VOC introduced new products, European knowledge, and colonial infrastructure, all of which had a significant impact on Ceylonese culture, society, and language. Dutch became the administrative language, though it was never widely spoken as a colloquial language.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many hundreds of VOC employees settled in Ceylon as vrijburgers or burgers after completing their contracts. When Ceylon came under British control in 1796, the British administration recognized these ‘Burghers’ as a distinct ethnic group, identifiable by their first or last names, religion, clothing, customs, and appearance—but not by their language. Over the course of the nineteenth century, the Burghers transitioned from Dutch to English. Under British rule, the Burghers held a privileged position. However, this changed dramatically after Ceylon gained independence in 1948. In 1956, the government passed a language law making Sinhala the sole official language. This prompted a large-scale migration of Burghers to English-speaking countries, particularly Australia. Although this appeared to signal the decline of the small Burgher community, interest in Burgher heritage began to revive in the late twentieth century, both within Sri Lanka and among the diaspora. In recent years, public figures have increasingly acknowledged and celebrated their Burgher roots.
