Great Rebellion of 1817–1818 (), also known as the 1818 Uva–Wellassa Rebellion (after the two places it had started), was the third Kandyan War in the Uva and Wellassa provinces of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which is today the Uva province of Sri Lanka. The rebellion started against the British colonial government under Governor Robert Brownrigg, three years after the Kandyan Convention ceded Kingdom of Kandy to the British Crown.
The rebellion was initiated by disgruntled Kandyan chiefs who were disillusioned by the British colonial administration. It gained initial success with many Kandyan chiefs such as Keppetipola Disawe sent to suppress it joining the rebel forces. Major Sylvester Douglas Wilson, the Assistant Resident in Badulla was killed and the rebels soon gained much control over the region. A pretender to the throne of Kandy, Wilbawe was proclaimed king. Governor Brownrigg established his field headquarters at Kandy and directed military operations against the rebels, who had resorted to hit-and-run attacks, with the assistance of Kandyan chiefs who remained loyal which included Molligoda Maha Adikaram and Ratwatte Adikaram. Brownrigg soon received reinforcements from British India. Following the capture of many rebel leaders, the rebellion eventually fizzled out as the last remaining rebel holdouts were killed or captured by the British.
Background
Following the annexation of the Kandyan Kingdom by the British under the terms of the Kandyan Convention in 1815, certain actions of the British antagonize the Kandyan Chiefs who now found them under their administration. The lack of respect shown by British of all ranks to high ranking Kandyan chiefs and priests further angered them. Two incidents are believed to have trigger the revolt. The first occurred in June 1816, when Madugalle Uda Gabada Nilame proposed to the chief priest the removal of the relic of the tooth of the Buddha from Kandy unknown to the John D'Oyly the British Resident in Kandy. This was followed in September 1816, when he publicly sent offerings to the deities at Bintenne and Kataragama to the overthrow of British and a return of a native king. Madugalle was tried by the British of treason, dismissed from office and exiled to Colombo. His walauwa (house) burnt and possessions were confiscated and sold with the proceeded going to a pension fund for British officers. Another incident took place that angered the Kandyan Chiefs as it directly challenged their traditional rights that the British promised to protect under the Kandyan Convention. This was the appointment of Haji Marikkar Travala, a Moorman of Wellasse, as Madige Muhandiram by the Governor on the recommendation of D'Oyly in September 1817. The post of Madige Muhandiram was traditionally held by families of Kandyan chiefs and it undermined the authority of the Millewa Dissawa. Local chiefs in Badulla, Kivulegedara Mohottala, Kohu Kumbure Rate Rala, Butawe Rate Rala and Millawe Disawa organized local protests against the Madige Muhandiram's appointment.
Revolt begins
Around this time in September 1817, Major Sylvester Douglas Wilson, the Assistant Resident and Agent of the British Government in Badulla received word that a person of Malabar origin had been gathering a following in the Uva Wellasse region with claims to the throne of Kandy. It was said that this person claimed to be Wilbawe Mudiyanse Doresami, a former priest who claimed to be a relative of the former king and member of the Nayak dynasty. Wilson dispatched the newly appointed Haji Marikkar Travala Mohandiram with a detachment native soldiers to inquire into the suspected Malabar. Having reached Dankumbura in Bintenne, the Haji Marikkar gained information that Wilbawe along with some priests were at Kehelwella with the Veddas. On his way to Kehelwella, he was captured by Bootawe Rate Rala in Wellassa and was killed on Wilbawe's orders on 26 September 1817. After Major Wilson received information of Haji Marikkar's death, he set out from Badulla with a contingent of Malay soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Newman to Wellasse on 14 October 1817. He attempted negotiations with the rebels, but on 16 October 1817, while detached from the rest of the group at a stream close to Bibile with only two servants, Major Wilson and one of his servants were killed by arrows fired by Meegahapitiya Rate Rala and his men. Lieutenant Newman was unable to recover Wilson's body and it was later claimed to have been decapitated.