In the 1795, Dutch Ceylon fell on British hand, in addition they managed to get a crown colony for the 1802. Of the 1815, they’d and additionally beaten the former separate Empire out-of Kandy. The british stipulated one to in the previous Dutch regions the present legislation is kept, whereas into the Kandy typical laws and regulations was to getting used, that have been then codified. There are regarding introductory section you to several people thought new Portuguese therefore the Dutch had effortlessly stamped away polyandry inside the maritime provinces. Numerous gurus claim that, in practice, vintage legislation got stored precedence, except if the law try ‘hushed otherwise inapplicable’. Footnote 68 Actually, we have seen when you look at the point step three how a great Western european attorneys actually invoked these types of regular regulations in order to ask the fresh validity out of polyandry. Footnote 69 Yet not, british believed from the beginning your coastal provinces had already been governed predicated on Roman-Dutch rules. Currently when you look at the 1822, they bought this new re also-regarding the school thombos, not only to own Christians but for the whole society of your own maritime provinces. The brand new pre-eminence out-of Roman Dutch Legislation are codified when you look at the a charter off 1831, and an ordinance regarding 1847 given its prohibited amounts of relationship, limited ages of people, and you may cause of divorce proceedings. Fundamentally, in 1861 Roman-Dutch laws try stated while the joining for the whole island. Footnote 70 It paradoxical court problem might have been summarised at the same time by the Jayawardene: ‘[Brand new Dutch] delivered brand new Roman-Dutch Rules so you’re able to Ceylon; but it is the English… who mainly based it within Singhalese, which managed to get what the law states of one’s land’. Footnote 71
The newest woman gets restaurants from for each and every spouse, and so they all do have more
We surmise the alot more stringent applying of Roman-Dutch regulations and the expansion regarding ilies from the coastal section considering good polyandrous partnership. As such a married relationship wasn’t court, pupils could not inherit using their second father. What about the within? The fresh codified Kandyan regulations consisted of a myriad of fine print about how exactly inheritances of combined husbands would be to become separated. In the brand new 1850s an effective reent taken place. From inside the 1855, Governor Ward acquired a beneficial petition about Chiefs out-of Kandy, ‘praying into abolition from the laws and regulations regarding polygamy and you will polyandry’. The brand new plea is constant twice within the 1858, in the long run getting picked up by the rather perplexed Uk, which went on when you look at the 1859 to help you outlaw polygamy and you may separation of the shared concur also to generate inserted monogamous relationships the only real court mode. As to why performed brand new elites change against their heritage and just why did they supply the british it chance to ‘civilise’ the brand new Sinhalese? Specific scholars exhort me to read between your traces of petitions. They do say that this top-notch away from landowners need a ‘reform’ off wedding while they lined up to attenuate separated and you can widowed ladies’ customary states into lands of their moms and dads, which were fundamentally taken advantage of from the the brothers. Homes deals and starting higher plantations required basic marriage and you will genetics legislation, but this is cloaked in a strike on polygamy, a bait that United kingdom got. Footnote 72 Hence, the british imposed good European idea of relationship on the Kandyan populace, and this quickly caused a flurry from legal actions just like the all of the unregistered ous – was basically now considered illegal. Berwick, the new vital legal away from Colombo, aptly called the 1859 Regulation a good ‘bitter gift away from bastardy’. Footnote 73
That it conjecture possibly stems from new distress concerning your https://gorgeousbrides.net/no/blog/juridiske-sporsmal/ relatives between Dutch authoritative laws additionally the classic, uncodified, laws and regulations of your Sinhalese
Though polyandry could well be punished by around three years off hard work, the brand new habit continuing up to really into twentieth century, albeit into the dwindling numbers. Hence, it had been nonetheless possible for the brand new ethnographers which observed village existence on the mountainous indoor regarding 1950s to review existing polyandrous affairs otherwise gather reminiscences off earlier in the day such as for example affairs. As an example, the people off Udumulla in the eastern Sri Lanka examined polyandry undoubtedly: ‘It is very good for all the. .. These individuals need not cover up the brand new plan, there is nothing to be embarrassed of’. Footnote 74 Brand new ethnographic descriptions often emphasise the new important and you may quite harmonious character of polyandrous arrangement, that an area was even entitled ‘residing you to peace’. Footnote 75 As to the reasons up coming made it happen decrease?