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.De Silva (1981), p. 114 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.De Silva (1981), p. 100

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.

 References 

Category:History of Sri Lanka
Category:Portuguese Empire
Category:Former colonies in Asia