Batticaloa region

This article is about the ancient territory and the district of colonial Ceylon. For similarly named places, see Batticaloa (disambiguation).
Batticaloa region
மட்டக்களப்புத் தேசம்
Territory of Colonial Ceylon
????–1961

The map of former Batticaloa District based on a British Ceylon map of 1822 CE[1]
CapitalSammanthurai till 1628, Puliyanthivu 1628–1961
Population 
• 1881
105,558
• 1953
270,043
History 
• Tribal Native and settlements from Tamilakam
????
• Bifurcated into two districts of Batticaloa District and Ampara District[3][4]
1961
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Dominion of Ceylon
Batticaloa district
Ampara District

Batticaloa region (Tamil: மட்டக்களப்புத் தேசம் Maṭṭakkaḷapput tēcam; also known as Matecalo;[5] Baticalo;[6]) in colonial records was the ancient region of Tamil settlements in Sri Lanka. The foremost record of this region can be seen in Portuguese and Dutch historical documents along with local inscriptions such as Sammanthurai Copper epigraphs written in 1683 CE which also mentions Mattakkalappu Desam.[7] Although the region was bifuricated into districts of Batticaloa and Ampara Districts, the amended term "Batti-Ampara Districts" as well as “Keezhakarai” can still be seen in the Tamil print media of Sri Lanka.

  1. ^ https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcartssrilanka/6102503485/ Ceylon Map 1822
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference dbmg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Partha S Ghosh (2203)"Ethnicity Versus Nationalism: The Devolution Discourse in Sri Lanka" p.269
  4. ^ Robert Muggah (2008)"Relocation failures in Sri Lanka: a short history of internal displacement and resettlement" pp.88, 91
  5. ^ Donald Ferguson (1927) "The Earliest Dutch Visits to Ceylon" pp.9,15
  6. ^ Hamilton, Walter I. (31 January 2018). "A Geographical, Statistical, and Historical Description of Hindostan, and the Adjacent Countries". Murray – via Google Books.
  7. ^ A.Velupillai (1971) "Ceylon Tamil Inscriptions" Part 01, p.62-64