Portugal Holland Britain Ceylon

Where it all began.

More than 500 years of Burgher history, told through the Burgher community and writers already covering it.

1505PortugalThe Portuguese arrive, and over the next century come to control the coast.
1658HollandThe Dutch East India Company completes its takeover of the coast.
1796BritainThe British take over the Dutch territories.
1948CeylonCeylon becomes independent.
1956CeylonThe Sinhala Only Act makes Sinhala the sole official language.
TodayThe worldMany families have left for Australia, the UK, Canada and beyond.

Read by era

Portuguese era

Dutch Burghers and Portuguese Mechanics: Eurasian Ethnicity in Sri Lanka PDF →

Anthropologist Dennis McGilvray’s 1982 account of how the two Burgher communities differ.

Proud & Prejudiced: The Story of the Burghers of Sri Lanka National Library of Australia →

Rodney Ferdinands’ 1995 history of the Burghers, from the Portuguese era to the 1950s emigration, drawing on interviews with over 200 people in Australia, the UK and Sri Lanka.

Dutch era

A Tulip in Lotus Land (Henry, 1986) Burgher Association (Australia) (PDF) →

How the Dutch Burgher Union, founded in 1908, set Dutch Burghers apart from other Burghers.

Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union Dutch Burgher Union →

All 70 volumes, 1908 to 2005: articles, family histories and genealogies, indexed by the Union itself.

British era

People Inbetween: The Burghers and the Middle Class, 1790s–1960s National Trust Sri Lanka (PDF) →

Michael Roberts on the prejudice Burghers faced under British rule, drawn from his 1989 book with Ismeth Raheem and Percy Colin-Thomé.

Class & Ethnic Prejudice in 19th–20th Century Ceylon National Trust →

A 2015 National Trust lecture by historian Michael Roberts, co-author of People Inbetween, a history of the Burghers.

Independence and leaving

The Burgher Exodus from Sri Lanka: A Reading in 1988 eLanka →

A New York Times feature with first-person accounts from Colombo.

The White Australia Policy, Ceylonese Burghers and Alice Nona eLanka →

A 1949 case showing the path Burghers used to enter Australia.

Genealogy and Sri Lankan Burghers (Campbell, 2005) eLanka (PDF) →

A colonial definition of ‘Burgher’ and migration under White Australia.

Go further

Community organisations

Burgher Association (Australia) →

Events, news and connections for the diaspora.

Dutch Australian Cultural Centre →

Keeps a list of VOC descendants.

Libraries and records

Victor Melder Sri Lanka Library →

Thousands of books and journals on Sri Lanka. Our thanks to Victor Melder for building this record of our history and culture.

Portuguese, Dutch and British Burgher Surnames of Ceylon/Sri Lanka (PDF) →

A January 2024 list of Burgher surnames compiled by Dennis and Helene de Rosayro, hosted by the Burgher Association (Australia). The names on our homepage come from it.

Burgher Names from the Dutch Period (PDF) →

Over 870 family names from the Dutch and British periods, from the Burgher Association (Australia).

This list will grow. Know a resource that belongs here? We welcome submissions and articles.

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