Robert Knox Memorial (Lagundeniya)
Memorial of Robert Knox Lagumdeniya (Sinhala: ලැගුම්දෙණිය රොබට් නොක්ස් ස්මාරකය) is a monument in Lagundeniya village in Kandy District, Sri Lanka, erected for the remembrance of Robert Knox (1641-1720 A.D.), an English sea captain who lived in Sri Lanka for 19 years as a captive of King Rajasinghe II (1635-1687 A.D.) of Kandy (Abeyawardana, 2004). Knox is said to have lived in Lagundeniya for a long period and had associated with the family of Kallora Mudiyanse (Abeyawardana, 2004). In a letter addressed to the English authorities at Madras by the Dutch Governor, Rijckloff van Goens (1665-1675), dated Colombo 22 October 1669, it is stated that Robert Knox and three men were in a village beyond Kandy named Legondeny (Lewis, 1913). Knox is said to have lived there as a bachelor in the company of three men before he moved to Eladetta (see: Eladetta Knox Memorial) where he constructed a house (Abeyawardana, 2004; Lewis, 1913). Later, he managed to escape from captivity by secretly going t…