John Clifford Holt is William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of the Humanities in Religion and Asian Studies at Bowdoin College. He has written many books, including Spirits of the Place: Buddhism and Lao Religious Culture, The Buddhist Visnu: Religious Transformation, Politics and Culture, and The Religious World of Kirti Sri: Buddhism, Art and Politics in Late Medieval Sri Lanka. He has also been awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka.

List of Illustrations xiiiAcknowledgments xvIntroduction 1I. From Ancient to Early Modern 9II. The Colonial Encounter 133Sri Lanka: National Identity and the Impact of Colonialism / K. M. da Silva 135The Portuguese: An Introduction / Jorge Flores 152The Dutch: An Introduction 189The British: An Introduction 230Kandyan Culture in the Colonial Era: An Introduction 295Colonial Postscript: The Other Eden / Richard de Zoysa 328III. Emerging Identities 331Buddhist Identities: An Introduction 334Muslim Identities: An Introduction 409Tamil Identities: An Introduction 458Christians and Burghers: An Introduction 559Emergent Perspectives in Modern Art: the '43 Group-Formation of a Sri Lankan Avant-Garde / Larry D. Lutchmansingh 574IV. Independence, Insurrections, and Social Change 589V. Political Epilogue 713Acknowledgment of Copyrights and Sources 735Suggestions for Further Reading 745Index 753