Eminent Aloysian Historians (3) - Prof. K. W. Goonewardene
Introduction
Prof. K. W. Goonewardene studied at St. Aloysius College, Galle & entered the University of Ceylon around the time this blogger began his school career there. He passed away in 2009 at the age of 84 years.
Important Milestones
Courtesy: Ceylon Daily News of 3 October 2009
Summary of an appreciation of Prof Goonewardene by Dr. K. D. G. Wimalaratne, former Director of National Archives, is reproduced below:
1925 – Born in Bataduwa, Galle. Son of Edward
Wijesiri Goonewardene and Gardiye Hewawitharanawasam Gallege Amarawathie De
Silva
Early Education - Sangamitta Vidyalaya, Galle, St:
Aloysius College, Galle, Kingswood College, Kandy, finally at St: Aloysius,
again.
1945 - Entered University of Ceylon, Colombo. He
offered Economics, English and History for qualifying arts and decided to
specialize in History,
1948 – Obtained Honours Degree in History.
Appointed as an Asst: Lecturer in History, in the Department of History of the
University of Ceylon
1950 - Married Lakshmi Gurusinghe
1951 - Obtained study leave to undertake
post-graduate research, attached to the School of Oriental and African Studies,
London. Acquired proficiency in Mediaeval Dutch, Portuguese, German and French
during the overseas studies. He worked on the earlier period of Dutch
occupation of the island from 1638-1658, under the supervision of eminent
Historians such as, Profs. Dr. G.E. Hall, C.R. Boxer and C.H. Philips of the
Soas, London.
1953 - Presented thesis. It was the earliest from a
Asian historian on the subject of Dutch occupation of Sri Lanka.
1953 - Came back to University of Ceylon in December and began his teaching career, until
he retired in 1989.
Conferences & Seminars
1969 - Visiting Commonwealth Research Fellow,
delivered the Convocation Address, Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu
1973/1974 – Research Fellow
1981/1982 - Inter Port Lecturer in the University
of Pittsburg
Appointments (Academic & Administrative)
1963 – 1968 Warden of Marcus Fernando Hall,
Peradeniya
1964 February - !969 January – Professor of History, University of Ceylon,
Peradeniya
1969 January – 1972 March - Vice Chancellor, Vidyalankara University
“A turning point in his career was the appointment
as the Vice-Chancellor of the Vidyalankara University in January 1969, by the
then Education and Culture Minister I.M.R.A. Iriyagolla. He was called to
re-vamp the whole administration of this university, after a Royal Commission. Prof.
Goonewardene, while re-organizing and obtaining facilities for students and
building funds, defended the shifting of the science faculty by the
authorities. He also encouraged the study of Tamil at Vidyalankara, and also
advocated that arts graduates to be given a grounding in science.”
1972 March – 1973 October, Professor
of History University of Ceylon, Peradeniya
“When the new system of university administration
was introduced as a single university with presidents in 1972, he reverted back
to his former post as professor of history.”
1973 – 1975?
1976 – 1978 Dean of the
Faculty of Arts, University of Ceylon, Peradeniya
1979 – 1982?
1983 - 1985 Professor of History University of
Ceylon, Peradeniya
1986 Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of
Ceylon, Peradeniya
1987 Professor of History University of Ceylon,
Peradeniya
Other Activities
“He was the Warden of Marcus Fernando Hall from 1963-1968, always looking after the welfare of its students, joining to play cricket and table-tennis with them, chairman, faculty club, President, University Teachers Association in 1967 and 1968.
Prof. Goonewardene also
served on the Advisory Board of the Department of National Archives,
Consultant, the Dutch Period Museum, President, Sri Lanka Historical
Association, etc.
His research writings are numerous in articles to
be mentioned here, but majority of them are historical revision with
unshakeable evidence.”
Courtesy: Sunday Times of 25 October 2009
Summary of an Appreciation by Professor Mahinda Wereke is reproduced below:
PhD Thesis
“Professor Goonewardene was very thorough and original in his research.
His work on the early part of the Dutch period was the basis of a superb PhD
thesis he wrote at the University of London in 1953. He knew several languages,
including Dutch, Portuguese and German, and had a very good grasp of Sinhala.
This knowledge helped him to conduct extensive and original research and write
with authority on the Dutch in Sri Lanka. His research in Dutch colonial history
extended from South Asia to Southeast Asia. He was one of the few historians
specializing in modern Sri Lankan history who could research both local
resources in the Sinhala language and foreign sources in foreign languages.
His PhD thesis, “The Foundation of Dutch Power in Sri Lanka”, published
in 1958, is a pioneering work on the subject and a landmark study not only of
the Dutch period of Sri Lanka but also of the colonial Dutch era in Asia. In
that study, he gave a balanced account of Rajasinghe II, who had been portrayed
as a tyrant by many previous historians. His critical evaluation of Robert
Knox’s account of life in the Kandyan kingdom threw new light on the work and
its significance."
"Ph D Thesis Foundations of Dutch Power I Ceylon 1638-1658
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1 From the Arrival of the Portuguese up to the Accession of Raja Sinha.
Chapter 2 The Alliance between Raja Sinha and the Dutch.
Chapter 3 The Policy of the Dutch.
Chapter 4 A Period of Stalemate. The Mission of Boreel.
Chapter 5 The Dutch become a Territorial Power. The Conclusion of the Truce.
Chapter 6 The Period of the Truce.
Chapter 7 Aims and Methods of Dutch Administration.
Chapter 8 Expulsion of the Portuguese. Dutch Power Predominant.
Glossary
Bibliography
Maps"
Authority on European Colonial Expansion
"Professor Goonewardene was a leading authority on European colonial
expansion in the 17th and 18th centuries. His critical evaluation of the
original sources, and his unique gift for reading between the lines, often
resulted in a revision of established views on modern Sri Lankan history in
general, and the Dutch period in particular. He challenged the Eurocentric view
of western and local historians, and highlighted the achievements of Asia vis a
vis the West.”
Supporter of Teaching in Swabasha
Mahinda Wereke further states as follows:
“Professor Goonewardene was always immaculately attired and was among
the best dressed teachers at Peradeniya. He was a strong supporter of teaching
in Swabhasa at the universities, at a time when many academics of his
generation were either skeptical or unenthusiastic about the transition. He
lectured in English and Sinhala with equal ease. In his tutorial classes, he
encouraged his students to think clearly and critically.”
Membership of Academic Associations
"Besides his role as a professor and university administrator, Professor
Goonewardene devoted a great deal of time to volunteer work, helping others. He
served in various national and international academic societies, committees,
and advisory bodies, such as the Royal Asiatic Society, Sri Lanka Historical
Association, the National Museum, the National Archives, the Indian Historical
Records Commission. He also served on the Peradeniya university Senate and Council."
Some Writings of Prof. K. W. Goonewardene
"A New Netherlands In Ceylon ", Dutch Attempts to found a colony during the first quarter century of their power in Ceylon. https://noolaham.org/wiki/index.php/The_Ceylon_Journal_of_Historical_and_Social_Studies_1959.07_(2.2), p 203 to 243
"Comments on Robert Knox and his Writings on Ceylon", http://dlib.pdn.ac.lk/bitstream/123456789/1039/1/Gonewardene.K.W.pdf, - 1958 - University of Peradeniya
"Foundations of Dutch Rule in Ceylon"
- 1958 – Amsterdam
Dutch historical writings on South Asia, - 1961
"Moors in the Dutch period" - Glimpses from the past of the Moors of Sri Lanka …, 1976
Calculating
Merchant Rulers and Cultivating Colonial Subjects: Coffee Cultivation in Java
and Sri Lanka Under the Dutch East India Company to 1740 A …, - 1976 - University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Kingship in seventeenth century Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, 1977
Ayutthaya in the twilight years and its triangular relations with the VOC and Sri Lanka - The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities, 1980
A Dutch mission to Tenasserim and glimpses of the mid-eighteenth century
Ayutthayan kingdom
- Relations between Thailand and other countries, 1984
Muslims Under Dutch Rule up to the Mid-eighteenth Century - Muslims of Sri Lanka: Avenues to …, 1986 - Jamiah Naleemia Inst.
"Some Aspects of Trade between Sri Lanka and the South Coromandel Coast from the Mid-17th to the Mid-18th Century: - 1987 - repository.kln.ac.lk
"The Dutch on the South Madura Coast in the Later Part of the Seventeenth Century: Some Aspects of their Early Aims and Activities" - Indian Historical Records Commission Proceedings of …, 1988
Dutch Policy Towards Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Some Aspects of its Impact, C. 1640 to C. 1740 - Asian panorama, 1990
Dutch Policy Towards Buddhism in Sri Lanka
- The Sri Lanka Reader: History, Culture, Politics, 2011
"The Accession of Sri Vijaya Rajasinha"
Commemorative Volume of the Royal Asiatic Society …, 1845
Comments
Post a Comment