ABSTRACT
Situating the baseline period prior to the changes in the early twentieth century meant that the upper limit of the baseline had to be 1910. The Grain Tax was abolished in 1892 and since these registers were essential for constructing a picture of landownership at the time, found it necessary to push back the lower limit to 1885, thereby allowing inclusion of the last available Grain Tax Assessment Register compiled in 1888. Today a plethora of government institutions and services have penetrated the community, but during the baseline period geographical isolation was accompanied by government neglect. The presence of the Devideniya walawwe and its dissolution just prior to the baseline period have been significant factors in the history of this community, and have played a part in shaping its contemporary social structure. The coffee industry in Sri Lanka suffered a severe setback with the appearance of a fungal leaf disease in the early 1870s.
