Sinhalese–Portuguese conflicts
1527–1658 conflict in Sri Lanka / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Sinhalese–Portuguese conflicts refers to the series of armed engagements that took place from 1518 to 1658 in Sri Lanka (then known to Europeans as Ceylon) between the native Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms and the Portuguese Empire.[2] It spanned from the Transitional to the Kandyan periods of Sri Lankan history. A combination of political and military moves gained the Portuguese control over most of the island, but their invasion of the final independent kingdom was a disaster, leading to a stalemate in the wider war and a truce from 1621. In 1638 the war restarted when the Dutch East India Company intervened in the conflict, initially as an ally of the Sinhalese against the Portuguese, but later as an enemy of both sides. The war concluded in 1658, with the Dutch in control of about half the island, the Kingdom of Kandy the other half, and the Portuguese expelled.
The Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505, initially as merchants for the lucrative spice trade. Sri Lanka's Crisis of the Sixteenth Century (1521–1597) began with the Vijayabā Kollaya, the partitioning of the Kingdom of Kotte between three brothers, who began a series of wars over the succession. Starting in 1527, the Portuguese began to intervene in internal Sinhalese politics and exploiting the rivalries between the various kingdoms.[3][4] The Portuguese expanded their influence by placing client rulers on the thrones of several kingdoms and directly ruling other areas. These machinations gained the Portuguese control over the Kingdom of Kotte starting in 1551. However the main beneficiary was the Kingdom of Sitawaka, was able to expand between 1521 and 1587 – through conquest of other native kingdoms – until it controlled most of Sri Lanka.
Rajasinha I of Sitawaka attempted to expel the Portuguese from the island, but was repulsed with heavy losses at the siege of Colombo in 1587–8. Most of the newly conquered territories then rebelled against Sitawaka. The divided and disorganised rival kingdoms became easy targets for further Portuguese expansion, and in a series of military conflicts and political manoeuvres the Portuguese extended their control over the kingdoms of Jaffna (1591), Raigama (1593), and Sitawaka (1593).[3]
In 1592 the Portuguese placed a client ruler on the throne of the Kingdom of Kandy, but he died soon after in suspicious circumstances and they were forced to withdraw. Seeking to subdue the last major kingdom in Sri Lanka, the Portuguese launched a military invasion of Kandy in the Campaign of Danture of 1594. The invasion was a disaster for the Portuguese, with their entire army wiped out by Kandyan forces. The war became a stalemate, with further Portuguese attempts to conquer Kandy repeatedly repulsed, whilst the Kandyans were unable to oust the Portuguese from the rest of the island. A series of rebellions in both Portuguese held territory and the Kandyan Kingdom led both sides to agree to a truce in 1621. The treaty led to Kandy formally becoming a vassal state of Portugal, but in reality maintaining its independence. This allowed both sides to crush the rebellions in their respective territories, and ended direct conflict between them for the next seventeen years. The Portuguese were also able to conquer the Vanni chieftains in 1621.
The uneasy peace was eventually broken by the intervention of the Dutch East India Company in 1638, who sought to exploit the situation to take over Portuguese possessions as part of the Dutch–Portuguese War. The Dutch formed an alliance with Kandy; together they won several battles against the Portuguese, most notably the siege of Galle in 1640. However, the Dutch-Kandyan alliance broke down and the three remaining powers fought each other in triangular warfare for a time. The Dutch and Kandyans renewed their alliance in 1649 to drive the Portuguese from the island. The Portuguese stronghold at Colombo was conquered in 1656, but once this was done the Dutch immediately betrayed their Kandayn allies, taking over the Portuguese possessions.
By the end of the war in 1658 all Portuguese forces had been expelled from the island. The Kingdom of Kandy was the only surviving indigenous polity, ruling almost half of Sri Lanka.[5] The Dutch were left in control of the major population centres.