king was exiled with his harem, to Vellore Fort in India, where he died 17 years later. His son, and potential heir, died childless in 1842. The single most important event following the arrival of British forces in Kandy was the signing of the Kandyan Convention. Essentially a treaty of annexation, it was agreed to in March 1815 after negotiations between John d'Oyly and the nobles of Kandy. The central points of the agreement were: 'Sri Wickrema Rajasinha', the 'Telugu' king, is to forfeit all claims to the throne of Kandy. The king is declared fallen and deposed and the hereditary claim of his dynasty, abolished and extinguished. All his male relatives are banished from the island. The dominion is vested in the sovereign of the British Empire, to be exercised through colonial governors, except in the case of the Adikarams, Disavas, Mohottalas, Korales, Vidanes and other subordinate officers reserving the rights, privileges and powers within their respective ranks. The religion of Buddhism is declared inviolable and its rights to be maintained and protected. All forms of physical torture and mutilations are abolished. The governor alone can sentence a person to death and all capital publishments to take place in the presence of accredited agents of the government. All civil and criminal justice over Kandyan to be administered according to the established norms and customs of the country, the government reserving to itself the rights of interposition when and where necessary. Other non-Kandyan's position [is] to remain [as privileged as previously] according to British law. The proclamation annexing the Three and Four Korales and Sabaragamuwa is repealed. The dues and revenues to be collected for the King of England as well as for the maintenance of internal establishments in the island. The Governor alone can facilitate trade and commerce. The signatories of the convention were Governor Brownrigg, Ehelepola and the lords (called 'Dissawes' in Sinhalese) Molligoda, Pilimatalawe the Elder, Pilimatalawa the Younger, Monerawila, Molligoda the Younger, Dullewe, Ratwatte, Millawa, Galgama and Galegoda. The signatures were witnessed by d'Oyly, who became British Resident and effective governor in the area, and his private secretary James Sutherland. The convention is interesting in many ways. It represents the theoretically voluntary transferral of authority in Kandy to the British, and indeed later events showed that the Kandyan nobility did hope that they were simply replacing one malleable master (the Nayakkar monarchy) with another (the British).