Portuguese Ceylon

**Portuguese Ceylon**  is the name given to the part of Ceylon, modern-day Sri-Lanka, controlled by the Portuguese Empire between 1597 and 1658.

The first contact  was established by Dom Lourenço de Almeida in 1505–6. It was largely accidental and it wasn't until 12 years later that the Portuguese sought to establish a fortified trading settlement.

The Portuguese wanted to  control  commerce, not territory. They were later drawn into the internal politics of the island with the political upheaval of the Wijayaba Kollaya. They used this to their advantage during the Sinhalese–Portuguese War, first in an attempt to control the production of  cinnamon. 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 to the Portuguese monarch in 1580. That allowed the Portuguese a 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 sought help from the Dutch East India Company, with whom they entered into agreement. After the collapse of the Iberian economy in 1627, the Dutch–Portuguese War saw the Dutch conquest of most of Portugal's Asian colonies - Ceylon included, between 1638 and 1658. Elements of Portuguese culture from this colonial period remain in Sri Lanka.

## Infobox (country)

- **native name**: _Ceilão Português_ (Portuguese language, Portuguese)
පෘතුගීසි ලංකාව (Sinhalese language, Sinhalese)
போர்த்துக்கேய இலங்கை (Tamil language, Tamil)
- **title leader**: King of Portugal
- **title representative**: List of captain-generals of Portuguese Ceylon, Captain-Generals
- **year representative2**: 1656–1658
- **year representative1**: 1597–1614
- **representative2**: António de Amaral de Meneses
- **representative1**: Jerónimo de Azevedo
- **year leader5**: 1656–1658
- **year leader4**: 1640–1656
- **year leader3**: 1621–1640
- **year leader2**: 1598–1621
- **year leader1**: 1597–1598
- **leader5**: Afonso VI of Portugal, Afonso VI
- **leader4**: John IV of Portugal, John IV
- **leader3**: Philip IV of Spain, Philip III
- **leader2**: Philip III of Spain, Philip II
- **leader1**: Philip II of Spain, Philip I
- **religion**: Roman Catholicism in Sri Lanka, Roman Catholicism
- **flag p2**: Nandi_flag.png
- **p2**: Kingdom of Jaffna
- **common languages**: Portuguese Language, Portuguese
Sinhalese language, Sinhalese
Tamil language, Tamil
- **conventional long name**: Portuguese Ceylon
- **year end**: 1658
- **event pre**: Portuguese arrival
- **date event1**: 1633
- **event1**: Luso–Kandyan Treaty
- **date end**: June
- **event end**: Surrender of Jaffna
- **year start**: 1597
- **date start**: 27 May
- **event start**: Death of Dharmapala of Kotte
- **empire**: Portugal
- **status**: Defunct
- **era**: Colonialism
- **common name**: Ceilão Português
- **date pre**: 1505
- **capital**: Colombo
- **image map caption**: Extent of Portuguese rule in Ceylon
- **image map**: Portuguese Ceylon 2.0.jpg
- **image coat**: Brasão de armas do reino de Portugal (1485).svg
- **p1**: Kingdom of Kotte
- **image flag**: Flag Portugal (1640).svg
- **flag s1**: Flag of the Dutch East India Company.svg
- **s1**: Dutch Ceylon
- **flag p1**: Flag of Kotte.svg