George Samuel Bird (1792 - 1 March 1857) was a British Army officer, and the first

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. S ...

planter in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Biography

George Samuel Bird was born in 1792 in

Goytre Goytre ( cy, Goetre) is a village near the town of Port Talbot, Wales. The village lies in the valley of the Nant Ffrwdwyllt, between the communities of Taibach, Cwmafan, Bryn and Margam. The former St Peter's Church (Church in Wales) was a ' ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, Wales, the thirteenth child of Brevet Major Henry Bird (1748 - 1800) and Elizabeth née Hicks (1762 - 1842). Bird joined Monmouth's East local militia on 12 February 1813. The first coffee estate in Ceylon was opened near

Gampola Gampola ( si, ගම්පොල, ta, கம்பளை) is a town located in Kandy District, Central Province, Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council. Gampola was made the capital of the island by King Buwanekabahu IV, who ruled for four yea ...

in 1824, by Bird, who accompanied his older brother,

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Henry Bird, of the 16th Regiment (1780-1829) to Ceylon in 1823, for the purpose of engaging in such agricultural undertaking as inducements in the island should appear to offer; and the attention of the brothers (Col. Bird being at that time Commandant of Kandy), was directed to the cultivation of coffee; and the valley of Gampola was selected as an eligible locality wherein to carry out their intended speculations. Sir

James Campbell James Campbell may refer to: Academics * James Archibald Campbell (1862–1934), founder of Campbell University in North Carolina * James Marshall Campbell (1895–1977), dean of the college of arts and sciences at the Catholic University of Ameri ...

, the then Lieutenant Governor, gave encouragement to the proposed undertaking by promising a loan and a grant of land for the purpose, which was afterwards confirmed by Sir Edward Barnes (

Governor of Ceylon {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Governor of Ceylon can refer to historical vice-regal representatives of three colonial powers: Portuguese Ceylon * List of Captains of Portuguese Ceylon (1518–1551) * List of Captain-majors of Portuguese ...

), and thus commenced that cultivation on the site of two ancient Kandian palaces (Singapetia and Weyanpwatte).Chapter 10, Arrival of Indian Tamils, Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle
by T. Sabaratnam (Ilankai Tamil Sangam) Retrieved 26 April 2016 The mode of cultivation adopted, and the enormous protective duties then in favour of the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grena ...

, rendered this, and two other coffee estates at Ganga Orowa and

Matale Matale ( Sinhala: මාතලේ, ta, மாத்தளை, translit=Māttaḷai) is the administrative capital city of the Matale District. It is the most urbanised and populated centre in the district. Matale is also the second largest muni ...

that soon followed the one at Gampola, equally unprofitable. Col. Bird's death of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

on 3 April 1829 so paralysed the operations at Gampola that George Bird was induced to abandon the property in 1833 and relocate to

Kundasale Kundasale ( si, කුණ්ඩසාලේ, translit=Kuṇḍasālē; ta, குண்டசாலை, translit=Kuṇṭacālai) is a former town, now a suburb of Kandy in Kandy District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. The town is situated to ...

, where together with Ackland Boyd and Company, they established a coffee plantation. Due to but the financial difficulties he was compelled again to abandon the plantation. He subsequently planted a third estate, with Mr Tindall at

Imbulpitiya Imbulpitiya is a village in Sri Lanka. It is located within Central Province. See also * List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka External links * Populated places in Central Province, Sri Lanka {{CentralLK-geo-stub ...

, in Oudabulatgaiunia however owing to age and infirmities had to abandon the venture and retire. Bird returned to his former residence at Kondasally, from where exhausted by a long protracted illness, he moved to the house of his nephew in Kandy. Bird also had investments in

arrack Arrack is a distilled alcoholic drink typically produced in India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, made from the fermented sap of coconut flowers or sugarcane, and also with grain (e.g. red rice) or fruit depending upon the country of origin. It ...

renting and was the proprietor of the Udapalata

tavern A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food such as different types of roast meats and cheese, and (mostly historically) where travelers would receive lodging. An inn is a tavern that h ...

in 1825.'Nobodies to Somebodies - The Rise of the Colonial Bourgeoisie in Sri Lanka'
Kumari Jayawardena, p.48 (Social Scientists' Association and Sanjiva Books).

Personal life

Bird married Charlotte Hook in 1828. They had nine children, with Charlotte dying during childbirth in 1842. Bird died of chronic

diarrhoea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

in Kandy on 1 March 1857. Bird's nephew, Henry Byrde, Jr. reverted the spelling of the surname to an earlier version of the family name.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, George 1857 deaths British Ceylon period British Militia officers People from Monmouthshire 1792 births 19th-century British businesspeople Planters from British Ceylon 19th-century British farmers