Re Call - MCQ - Fill In The Blank - Social Changes In Sri Lanka Under The British -Economic Changes — O/L Past Papers & Revision Courses

#1. Before the British, Sri Lanka’s economy was a world of its own, based on agriculture and local ____________.

global trade

industrial production

self-sufficiency

maritime commerce

#2. In this traditional system, village life revolved around mutual support, and community work was managed not by a central government, but by the ____________, or village council.

Rodiya clan

Panchayat

Gamsabha

Vihara

#3. A key pillar of this old world was the ___________ system, where villagers provided labor to the king in return for the right to use land.

wage-based

feudal

barter

compulsory service

#4. But in 1833, the winds of change arrived with the ___________, which aimed to completely modernize the economy and introduce private entrepreneurship.

Manning Reforms

Donoughmore Reforms

Soulbury Constitution

Colebrooke Reforms

#5. One of the most revolutionary changes was the ____________, which allowed both locals and foreigners to purchase land, paving the way for large estates.

Land Grant Act

abolition of compulsory service

establishment of banks

sale of land

#6. The old system of labor was dismantled when the Colebrooke Reforms abolished compulsory service and introduced a new ___________ labor system, where labor became a commodity to be bought and sold.

wage-based

caste-based

slavery-based

community-based

#7. To further open the market, the government ended its trade monopolies, throwing the trade of valuable goods like cinnamon and ___________ open to private investors.

tea

rubber

salt

coffee

#8. To support this new capitalist economy, the British established ___________ to provide loans, especially for the burgeoning estate cultivation.

trade unions

Gamsabhas

research institutes

banks

#9. This new economic landscape gave rise to the plantation era, which first exploded with the cultivation of ___________ in the upcountry regions like Kandy and Matale.

tea

rubber

coffee

coconut

#10. The coffee boom was fueled by high demand in Europe and the efforts of Governor Edward Barnes, but its reign was cut short in 1869 by a devastating ____________.

global price crash

worker rebellion

leaf disease

drought

#11. After the coffee crash, planters experimented with other crops, but ___________, which was used for quinine production, only had limited success in high-altitude areas.

tea

cocoa

cinchona

rubber

#12. The crop that would truly replace coffee and define Sri Lanka’s economy for a century was ___________, pioneered by James Taylor at the Loolkandura Estate.

coconut

rubber

cocoa

tea

#13. By 1894, a staggering 400,000 acres were covered in tea plantations, primarily in the Central, Uva, and ___________ provinces.

Sabaragamuwa

Western

Northern

Eastern

#14. While tea dominated the hills, ___________ plantations expanded in the coastal lowlands of Kurunegala and Chilaw, with 65% of these estates owned by Sri Lankans.

rubber

coffee

coconut

cinchona

#15. The final major plantation crop to emerge was __________, which boomed in the early 20th century thanks to the rise of the motor vehicle industry.

tea

rubber

coffee

coconut

#16. To support the plantation economy, a vast network of roads and railways was built, including the famous Colombo-Kandy railway, completed in ________ to transport goods from the hills.

1833

1867

1905

1894

#17. To improve cultivation methods, specialized research institutes were established, such as the Lunuwila Institute for coconut and the ___________ Institute for rubber.

Peradeniya

Gannoruwa

Agalawatta

Mahailluppallama

#18. As the new centralized administration and plantation economy grew, the power and function of the traditional village council, or ___________, steadily declined.

Gamsabha

Panchayat

Vihara

Kachcheri

#19. The rise of the plantation economy also created new social dynamics, as ___________ began working on estates, particularly in the tea and rubber industries.

children

men

women

civil servants

Re Call – MCQ – Fill in the Blank – Social Changes in Sri Lanka under the British -Economic Changes

Results

#1. Before the British, Sri Lanka’s economy was a world of its own, based on agriculture and local ____________.

#2. In this traditional system, village life revolved around mutual support, and community work was managed not by a central government, but by the ____________, or village council.

#3. A key pillar of this old world was the ___________ system, where villagers provided labor to the king in return for the right to use land.

#4. But in 1833, the winds of change arrived with the ___________, which aimed to completely modernize the economy and introduce private entrepreneurship.

#5. One of the most revolutionary changes was the ____________, which allowed both locals and foreigners to purchase land, paving the way for large estates.

#6. The old system of labor was dismantled when the Colebrooke Reforms abolished compulsory service and introduced a new ___________ labor system, where labor became a commodity to be bought and sold.

#7. To further open the market, the government ended its trade monopolies, throwing the trade of valuable goods like cinnamon and ___________ open to private investors.

#8. To support this new capitalist economy, the British established ___________ to provide loans, especially for the burgeoning estate cultivation.

#9. This new economic landscape gave rise to the plantation era, which first exploded with the cultivation of ___________ in the upcountry regions like Kandy and Matale.

#10. The coffee boom was fueled by high demand in Europe and the efforts of Governor Edward Barnes, but its reign was cut short in 1869 by a devastating ____________.

#11. After the coffee crash, planters experimented with other crops, but ___________, which was used for quinine production, only had limited success in high-altitude areas.

#12. The crop that would truly replace coffee and define Sri Lanka’s economy for a century was ___________, pioneered by James Taylor at the Loolkandura Estate.

#13. By 1894, a staggering 400,000 acres were covered in tea plantations, primarily in the Central, Uva, and ___________ provinces.

#14. While tea dominated the hills, ___________ plantations expanded in the coastal lowlands of Kurunegala and Chilaw, with 65% of these estates owned by Sri Lankans.

#15. The final major plantation crop to emerge was __________, which boomed in the early 20th century thanks to the rise of the motor vehicle industry.

#16. To support the plantation economy, a vast network of roads and railways was built, including the famous Colombo-Kandy railway, completed in ________ to transport goods from the hills.

#17. To improve cultivation methods, specialized research institutes were established, such as the Lunuwila Institute for coconut and the ___________ Institute for rubber.

#18. As the new centralized administration and plantation economy grew, the power and function of the traditional village council, or ___________, steadily declined.

#19. The rise of the plantation economy also created new social dynamics, as ___________ began working on estates, particularly in the tea and rubber industries.