Portuguese Ceylon (; ; ) is the name given to the territory on Ceylon, modern-day

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, controlled by the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire was a colonial empire that existed between 1415 and 1999. In conjunction with the Spanish Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, controlling vast portions of the Americas, Africa ...

between 1597 and 1658. Portuguese presence in the island lasted from 1505 to 1658. Their arrival was largely accidental, and the Portuguese sought control of commerce, rather than territory. The Portuguese were later drawn into the internal politics of the island with the political upheaval of the Wijayaba Kollaya, and used these internal divisions to their advantage during the Sinhalese–Portuguese War, first in an attempt to control the production of valuable cinnamon and later of the entire island. Direct Portuguese rule did not begin until after the death of Dharmapala of Kotte, who died without an heir, and had bequeathed the

Kingdom of Kotte The Kingdom of Kotte (, ), named after its capital, Kotte, was a Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Founded by Parakramabahu VI with the help of the Ming, the Kingdom managed to conquer the Jaffna ki ...

to the Portuguese monarch in 1580. That allowed the Portuguese sufficient claim to the Kingdom of Kotte upon Dharmapala's death in 1597. Portuguese rule began with much resistance by the local population. Eventually, the

Kingdom of Kandy The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the Sri Lanka, island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century. Initially a client kingdom ...

sought help from the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

, with whom they initially entered into agreement. After the collapse of the Iberian economy in 1627, the

Dutch–Portuguese War The Dutch–Portuguese War (; ) was a global armed conflict involving Dutch forces, in the form of the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch West India Company, and their allies, against the Iberian Union, and after 1640, the Portuguese Empire. Beg ...

saw the Dutch conquest of most of Portugal's Asian colonies – Ceylon included, between 1638 and 1658. Nevertheless, elements of Portuguese culture from this colonial period remain in Sri Lanka.

History

Arrival and establishment of the Portuguese (1505–1543)

Portuguese knew Sri Lanka by the name ''Seylan''. In 1505 King of Portugal instructed General Dom Francisco de Almeida to find the island of ''Seylan'' when he was appointed as the emperor of the East by the Portuguese. When the Portuguese were trying to establish relations with Ceylon, Dom Lourenço de Almeida, son of Dom Francisco de Almeida, and others arrived by chance in 1505 AD. So, the first contact between Sri Lanka and the Portuguese was established by Dom Lourenço de Almeida in 1505. It was largely accidental and it wasn't until 12 years later that the Portuguese sought to establish a fortified trading settlement.

The Kingdom of Kotte as a Portuguese entrance (1543–1597)

Annexation of Kotte and war with Kandy (1597)

Direct Portuguese rule began after the death of Dharmapala of Kotte who bequeathed the

to the Portuguese monarch. By 1600 the Portuguese had consolidated the main centers of rebellion, the Kelani and Kalu ganga basins, leaving the border regions to Sinhalese resistance.De Silva (1981), p. 115

Conquest of Jaffna (1619)

Dutch conquest (1638–1658)

Political cities and their kings in Sri Lanka at the time of arrival of the Portuguese

Administration

Administrative structure

Administrative divisions

Taxation

Military

Demographics and ethnicities

Economy

Cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

and

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

were main spices exported by Portuguese.

Legacy

Food

There are many foods of Portuguese influence that are still popular in Sri Lanka. For example, lingus and pastries.

Language

Sinhala words for certain types of Western attire/ furniture/ food & drink are derived from the Portuguese. Some examples are below: Click here for more examples.....

References

* *C. Gaston Pereira, ''Kandy fights the Portuguese''. Sri Lanka: Vijitha Yapa Publications, July 2007. *Channa Wicremasekera, ''Kandy at War''. Sri Lanka: Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2004. *Michael Roberts, ''Sinhala Consciousness in the Kandyan Period''. Sri Lanka: Vijitha Yapa Publications, 2004. , * * *
Senaka Weeraratna, Repression of Buddhism in Sri Lanka by the Portuguese (1505 - 1658)

External links

Ceylon and the Portuguese, 1505–1658
y Paulus Edward Pieris (American Ceylon Mission Press, 1920)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Portuguese Period In Ceylon Kingdom of Kotte Former Portuguese colonies Former countries in South Asia States and territories established in 1597 States and territories disestablished in 1658 1597 establishments in Asia 1658 disestablishments in Asia 16th-century establishments in Sri Lanka 17th-century disestablishments in Sri Lanka 1597 establishments in the Portuguese Empire 1658 disestablishments in the Portuguese Empire Transitional period of Sri Lanka