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A Colonial official’s view of Christianity in Ceylon-by P.K Balachandran Sir James Emerson Tennent Source:Dailymirror James Emerson Tennent was Colonial Secretary in Ceylon from 1846 to 1850 and Acting Governor in April-May 1847. Tennent was not just an administrator, a Colonial master lording over obsequious natives. His keen eye and ear caught the nuances of the communities he was administering. His scholarship got him the Presidency of the Ceylon branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.  In “Christianity in Ceylon” published in 1850, Tennent traces its encounters with, and the challenges it faced from, entrenched faiths like  Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and demon worship and how it tried to overcome the odds. He also wrote on the Dutch attempt to root out Catholicism from Ceylon and the educational achievements of the American missions in Jaffna.  Contrary to the general belief that the Portuguese used violence to spread their religion in Ceylon, Tennent ...