In modern times, English has become the common language while Sinhalese is taught in school as a second language. The World Bank classifies Sri Lanka as a low income country. The Portuguese Burghers are largely descendant from the Sri Lanka Mestiços, the people of mixed Portuguese and Sri Lankan descent (either a Portuguese father and a Sri Lankan mother, or a Sri Lankan mother of Portuguese descent and a Sri Lankan father) who appeared in the 16th century, after the Portuguese explorers found the sea route to the Indian Ocean. The Dutch Burghers and Portuguese Burghers contracted intermarriages. Origins. The Portuguese and Dutch had held some of the maritime provinces of the island for centuries before the advent of the British Empire. Sri Lanka Portuguese (also known as Sri Lanka Creole Portuguese, Burgher Portuguese, or, in the past, Ceylon Portuguese) is a Portuguese-lexified creole language spoken by the Portuguese Burgher community of Eastern Sri Lanka and historically also by the Afro-Sri Lankan (locally known as Kaffir) and the Dutch Burgher communities. Dutch rule in Sri Lanka, Dutch colonial remains, Dutch colonial history, Dutch empire It has been a common practice in discussing the Burghers to distinguish between those of Dutch descent, the "Dutch Burghers," and those of Portuguese descent, the "Portuguese Bur- Sri Lanka govt says that action will be taken if protests are carried out inconveniencing the general public. [6] The Portuguese and Dutch had held some of the maritime provinces of the island for centuries before the advent of the British Empire. The term Burgher was applied during the period of Dutch rule to European nationals living in Sri Lanka. A short documentary produced by the Sri Lanka Portuguese Burgher Foundation and the Burgher Union of Batticaloa about Portuguese creole and its users. The Dutch Burghers of Sri Lanka. Origins. Dutch Burghers and Portuguese Mechanics: Eurasian Ethnicity in Sri Lanka DENNIS B. McGILVRAY University of Colorado, Boulder I. PROLOGUE Historians and anthropologists in Sri Lanka have tended to migrate in opposite Burgher people, also known simply as Burghers, are a small Eurasian ethnic group in Sri Lanka descended from Portuguese, Dutch, British and other European men who settled in Sri Lanka and developed relationships with native Sri Lankan women. As the Sri Lanka Portuguese Creole is now only used at home and many are unable to speak the Creole very well, it is endangered. But, the Portuguese Creole is losing ground as a spoken language. The Portuguese Burghers are an ethnic group in Sri Lanka, of mixed Portuguese and Sri Lankan descent. Dutch Ceylon. .At the 1981 Census, the Burghers (Dutch and Portuguese) were almost 40,000 (0,3% of the population of Sri Lanka). SriLanka: This Elephant Screamed Out in Pain, But They Continued to Beat Him; Sri Lanka: The tragic two-thirds trap- Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka They are Roman Catholic and spoke the Sri Lanka Indo-Portuguese language, a creole based on Portuguese. They are Roman Catholic and spoke the Sri Lanka Indo-Portuguese language, a creole based on Portuguese. In modern times, English has become the common language while Sinhalese is taught in school as a second language. The Portuguese Burghers are largely descendant from the Sri Lanka Mestiços, the people of mixed Portuguese and Sri Lankan descent (either a Portuguese father and a Sri Lankan mother, or a Sri Lankan mother of Portuguese descent and a Sri Lankan father) who appeared in the 16th century, after the Portuguese explorers found the sea route to the Indian Ocean.