Final answer:
Coffee production in the British colony of Sri Lanka was part of the colonial agricultural reorganization that initially focused on tea plantations. British colonizers introduced coffee amidst other crops as they transformed local economies to supply Britain's industry, using Tamil laborers imported from Southern India.
Step-by-step explanation:
The events that led to coffee production in the British colony of Sri Lanka are part of the broader context of colonial plantations and the crop's non-native introduction to regions around the world. Originally, the higher elevations at the center of the island were found suitable for tea production, and the British established plantations there. To work these plantations, thousands of Tamil laborers were brought from Southern India across the Palk Strait to Ceylon, which is modern-day Sri Lanka. Coffee, not native to Sri Lanka, was part of the crops cultivated, following colonial trends seen in other regions such as Colombia and Jamaica, where colonial powers supported or promoted the cultivation of various crops for export.
During the British control, which followed the Portuguese and Dutch colonization, the British East India Company shifted policies from trading to reorganizing local economies to produce crops like tea, coffee, cotton, and opium. This transformation aligned with the British dietary inclusion of these products and their growing industrial economy's needs. By the time the British Crown took over from the Company following the Sepoy Mutiny, India—and by extension, its possessions like Sri Lanka—were already significant producers of agricultural goods. Even though Sri Lanka eventually focused more on tea, coffee cultivation had become embedded in its agricultural landscape during colonial rule.