| Sinhalese–Portuguese War | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The Portuguese army at Kandy during the campaign of Danture, by Philippus Baldaeus | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of Sitawaka Kingdom of KandySupported by: File:Royal Flag of the Jaffna Kingdom.svg Kingdom of Jaffna  Dutch East India CompanyZamorin of Calicut |
Supported by:  Kingdom of Kotte Lascarins | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| High | High | ||||||
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The Sinhalese–Portuguese War was a series of conflicts waged from 1527 to 1658 between Sinhalese kingdoms and their allies against the Portuguese Empire[1] as an indigenous resistance to the Portuguese expansion in Sri Lanka.
Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505[2] and established trade relations with the Kotte kingdom.[3] During the early 16th century their intentions were directed towards defending their trading interests.[4] However, with time this policy gradually changed to territorial ambitions with the objective of outright conquest.[5] Island resources, Sri Lanka's strategic location for both trade and naval security and rise of Mughal empire in India were influencing this change.[6][note 1]
In 1521, tripartite division of the Kotte kingdom during the “Spoiling of Vijayabahu” and the subsequent rivalries among these new kingdoms gave the Portuguese an opportunity to get involved in internal politics.[7][8] During the initial encounters, the Portuguese lend their assistance to the Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte to defend against the attacks from Sitawaka.[9] Their influence over the Kotte grew with the military aid they provided.[4] In 1551, this uneasy alliance came to an end with the death of Bhuvanekabahu VII as a result of a shot fired by a Portuguese soldier which claimed to be an accidental discharge of the weapon.[10][11] Following his death his young grandson was established on the Kotte throne under the protection of the Portuguese. Later his conversion to Christianity and becoming a vassal of Portuguese emperor[12] sparked a series of campaigns between the Portuguese and the Sinhalese[13] who were led first by the kingdom Sitawaka and then by the kingdom of Kandy.
See also[]
- Portuguese Ceylon
Notes[]
References[]
- ↑ Ring, Trudy (1996). International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania. Taylor & Francis. pp. 443. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=vWLRxJEU49EC&pg=PA443&dq=Sinhalese%E2%80%93Portuguese+War&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fG7zUteeA4vEkQWj14HYAQ&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Sinhalese%E2%80%93Portuguese%20War&f=false.
- ↑ S.G. Perera p 8.
- ↑ S.G. Perera p 11.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Gaston Perera p 144.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gaston Perera p 145.
- ↑ Gaston Perera p 145 - 146.
- ↑ Rajavaliya p 77.
- ↑ S.G. Perera p 20.
- ↑ S.G. Perera p 18 - 23.
- ↑ Paul E. Peiris p 115 - 116.
- ↑ Rajavaliya p 79.
- ↑ S.G. Perera p 37 - 44.
- ↑ Queyroz p 326 - 341.
Bibliography[]
- B. Gunasekara, The Rajavaliya. AES reprint. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, 1995. ISBN 81-206-1029-6
- C. Gaston Perera, Kandy Fights the Portuguese – A Military History of Kandyan Resistance. Vijithayapa Publications: Sri Lanka, June 2007. ISBN 978-955-1266-77-6
- Paul E. Peiris, Ceylon the Portuguese Era: Being a History of the Island for the Period, 1505–1658, Volume 2. Tisara Publishers: Sri Lanka, 1992. (Link). OCLC 12552979.
- da Silva, O. M. (1990). Fidalgos in the kingdom of Kotte, Sri Lanka, 1505-1656: the Portuguese in Sri Lanka. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Harwoods Publishers.
- S.G. Perera, A History of Ceylon For Schools – The Portuguese and Dutch period. The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon: Sri Lanka, 1942. (Link). OCLC 10531673.
- Winius, George D. (1971). The fatal history of Portuguese Ceylon; transition to Dutch rule. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-29510-0.
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The original article can be found at Sinhalese–Portuguese War and the edit history here.