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Amend summary, external links
The British gained control of the coastal areas in the 1795-96 [[War against Dutch in Ceylon]] but the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandyan_Kingdom Kingdom of Kandy] continued to rule the central highlands. In 1802 the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Amiens Treaty of Amiens] formally ceded the Dutch territories to Britain and they were declared a Crown Colony so were not a part of British India.
Competing rivals for the Kandyan throne sought assistance from the British and tensions arose when British subjects were maltreated by agents of the Kandyan First Minister. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_North,_5th_Earl_of_Guilford Frederick North], first British Governor of Ceylon, used this as an excuse to invade on 31 January 1803. Two forces were dispatched - one under Maj-Gen Hay MacDowell from Colombo and the other from Trincomalee under CoCol Barbut. After initial success the British became isolated in hostile territory and subject to guerilla warfare. Col Barbutwas captured and executed and his force all but wiped out. The British gained a significant victory at Hanwella and hostilities ceased without a treaty when [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Maitland_(British_Army_officer) General Thomas Maitland] succeeded North as governor in 1805.
== External Links ==
[http://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armycampaigns/indiancampaigns/ceylon.htm 1st and 2nd Kandyan War (Ceylon) 1798-1818] The British Empire<br>
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandian_Wars 1st Kandian War 1803-05] Wikipedia<br />
[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ejM-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA419&dq=Corporal+George+Barnsley&hl=en&ei=x2EcTcrGCcWYhQeNjcW3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false An account of the war in 1803]<br />
[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KtJNAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA155&dq=Major+Adam+Davie&hl=en&ei=eIcbTdjgNYPMhAexr_W2Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Major%20Adam%20Davie&f=false The Campaign in 1803] Google Books<br />
[http://www.dutchburgherunion.org/genealogy/ancestry-b/JDBU%201934%20Vol%2023%20No%204%20p191-197%20-%20Lieut-Colonel%20Barbut(1).pdf Lt-Col Burton Gage Barbut] Google Books<br />[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dt05AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA112&dq=Corporal+George+Barnsley&hl=en&ei=x2EcTcrGCcWYhQeNjcW3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Corporal%20George%20Barnsley&f=false Corporal George Barnsley's narrative] Google Books
====Historical books online====
