The Imperial Wye.

This essay explores how the 1782 book "Observations on the River Wye" by William Gilpin influenced violence in Ceylon from 1796 through 1818 during the years of the British consolidating colonial power from the former Dutch colonial administration. It considers how the notion of the picturesque shaped British travel accounts. Also considered are the illustrated books "A Picturesque Voyage to India by the Way of China," by artists Thomas and William Daniell, and "Journal of a Residence in India" by Maria Graham.