The Tamils and the Kandyan Kingdom collaborated and conspired with the Dutch rulers of Batavia (today's Jakarta in Indonesia). The Dutch invasion from Batavia brought religious freedom for Tamils and Muslims.The Dutch and the later colonial English ruler reigned approximately 3 centuries in length with each ruling for approximately 150 years.

The Dutch were republicans and brought the ideals of republic to Ceylon. The Dutch involvement in Ceylon was to have a united battle front against the Hispanic Challenge facing the world at that time. The Spanish rule in Amsterdam and other Dutch cities have resulted in a massacre of millions who were protestants. The Dutch were out to weed out the Catholic menace faced by the rest of the world.

But Asia was facing the Muslim invasion from the West and Mongol invasion from the East. Ceylon was under the protection of China and Sinhalese Kings were paying 'Kappam' just befrore Portuguese came. Portuguese presence was a blessing in disguise as they hunted down and wiped out the Muslims throughout the island and the Chinese parasitism on Ceylon came to a halt.

Dutch were not aggressors and they were invited by the Ceylonese to liberate the country from the Portuguese aggression and forced conversions. They followed the Laws of the Nations by signing the Kandyan Treaty of 1638 with Rajasinghe and soon embarked on a war against their common enemy. As such the Dutch had the legal right to be on the island as a protector of the country.

Soon the people in the island liked the Dutch and Rajasinghe approached the French and offered them the Trincomalee fort as a balance of power against the Dutch. The Dutch captured Trinco from the French and controlled all the maritime provinces of the island. Rajasinghe and the Dutch were both playing a double game trying to outwit each other. They never implemented the treaty of 1638. Dutch ruled all the Tamil provinces and brought Tanjore Tamil slaves to work in the Cinnamon gardens in the Western Province. Their capital of Dutch India was in Pulicat and they brought needed manpower from the Indian colonies. Languages Tamil Religions Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Jainism Related ethnic groups Dravidian people Brahui people Kannadigas Malayalis Tamils Telugus Tuluvas Gonds The Tamil people are an ethnic group from the Indian subcontinent with a recorded history going back more than two millennia. ... Look up Batavia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Jakarta (also Djakarta or DKI Jakarta), formerly known as Sunda Kelapa, Jayakarta and Batavia is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... The King of Kandy , who had arrived at Batticaloa with his army on the 14th May, had in the mean- time several interviews with Westerwold, and after the fort was taken, they entered into a treaty by which the King and the Dutch entered into a firm alliance against their... Pulicat is a town which lies in the nellore District, in the state of andhra Pradesh, India. ...

SENARAT had divided his kingdom between his own son Rajasinha, to whom were allotted the `Five Countries above the mountains,' practically the modem Kandy District, with the title of king, and the other sons of Dona Catharina, Kumarasinha and Vijayapala, who obtained Uva and Matale respectively. Kumarasinha was poisoned by Rajasinha before Senarat's death, which took place in 1635, and the youngest prince became sole king as Rajasinha II. (A.D. 1635-1687). The treaty of 1634 was not very strictly observed, and the new sovereign speedily called in the assistance of the Dutch in 1636, offering them a fort at Kottiyar or Batticaloa and guaranteeing the expenses of the fleet. The authorities of the East India Company at Batavia, who already had their eyes on the Lanka cinnamon trade, seized the opportunity and instructed their Admiral, Adam Westerwold, who was setting out to blockade Goa, to call at Lanka on his return voyage. Meanwhile envoys were sent to Rajasinha, at whose court they arrived in 1637. After some negotiations they in company with three Sinhala went on to join Westerwold off Goa, and were witnesses of an action between the Dutch and Portuguese fleets, in which the latter was worsted in January 4, 1638. The Admiral then decided to send in advance of himself the Vice-Commandeur Coster with a small squadron, which arrived at Trincomalee on April 3.[1]

The Dutch Conquest

The islands of Palk Straits were renamed during Dutch rule in Dutch as Leiden, Kayts and other cities of the Netherlands. Dutch priest Rev Philippus Baldeus has written a great historical record similar to Mahavamsa on the Jaffna people and their culture and it was immediately published in Dutch and German with several beautiful pictures. Still at the Point Pedro Market Square a granite stone inscription marks the place where Rev Baldeus has preached to the Tamils under a big tamarind tree. This tamarind tree was uprooted during the cyclone of 1964. Father Philippus Baldeus was a Dutch priest. ... Father Philippus Baldeus was a Dutch priest. ...

Dutch were firmly established in Java at the time when Portuguese were firmly established in Ceylon during the 16th Century. Portuguese brought the western culture into Ceylon. The Kandyan Kings were educated by the Portuguese teachers. The Kandyan Royal Court had Portuguese ministers as advisers. But the King Rajasinghe was not happy with the Portuguese. The Portuguese came to trade with Ceylonese. Because of the foolishness of the natives Portuguese became their masters. The trade commodities like spices were bought at minimum possible prices and Portuguese made a huge profit selling the spices at European markets.

The Ceylonese were unhappy about loosing their freedom and lands to Portuguese and they were totally distressed at seeing a government from Lisbon hijacking the country. A beautiful country and culture being vandalised by the Portuguese and Catholicism and Portuguese language being forced down their throats. They wanted religious freedom and political freedom from Portugal. They wanted Holland, a powerful enemy of Portugal to come to their aid. Eventhough Denmark offered to help King of Kandy wanted the help of the Dutch as there was a Dutch-Portuguese War raging on. Combatants ° Kingdom of Portugal (under Spanish Crown) ° Kingdom of Spain ° Kingdom of Cochin ° Maranhao Tupis ° Republic of the Seven United Provinces ° Kingdom of England ° Sultanate of Johore ° Kandyan Kingdom ° Kingdom of Kongo ° Kingdom of Ndongo-Matamba ° Rio Grande Tupis ° Nhandui Tarairiu Tribe ° Potiguar Tribe Commanders * Viceroy Pedro da Silva * High...

Dutch ships came and landed in Batticaloa and communicated with the King of Kandy for allied action against Portuguese. Rajasinghe immediately seized the opportunity to remove the Portuguese out of Sri Lanka.

Dutch ships and their captains came several times and expanded their friendship with the King of Kandy and jointly plotted plans to liberate the forts around the coasts of Ceylon. The treaty signed between the Ceylonese and Dutch (Kandyan Treaty of 1638) paved the way for new horizons in their relationships. After the treaty Dutch attacked and captured Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Negombo and Galle. The King of Kandy , who had arrived at Batticaloa with his army on the 14th May, had in the mean- time several interviews with Westerwold, and after the fort was taken, they entered into a treaty by which the King and the Dutch entered into a firm alliance against their...

Double Game of the Dutch and the Nayake Rulers

Rajasinha is well known to us from his correspondence with the Dutch edited by the late Mr. Donald Ferguson, and from the account of the Kandyan kingdom written by the Englishman Robert Knox, detained there with his fellows as a captive froth 1659 to 1679. He was a strong ruler and united his dominions, rectifying the disastrous division made by his father by poisoning one hall-brother and driving out the other. Despotic and tyrannical, suspicious yet farseeing, he kept his chiefs as hostages at Court, and had no remorse in ravaging and depopulating his subjects' lands when it seemed to his political advantage. He was a master in craft and double dealing, but met his equal in diplomacy in the Dutch, who found it impossible to act otherwise with so shifty an ally. He was acquainted with Portuguese, and probably had a somewhat wider outlook than his successors, who firmly believed that they were the greatest sovereigns on earth and their little kingdom the centre of the world. He had no consception of the law of nations, detaining and even im prisoning ambassadors, apparently regarding such lucks less Europeans as fell into his hands as curiosities, much in the same way as the lion and other animals sent him by the Dutch. In military matters he was in no wise the equal of his namesake of Sitawaka, whom he wished to emulate; his troops, excellent at guerilla warfare, were unfitted for fighting in the open or for siege work, and their presence at Colombo rather hindered the Dutch than otherwise. The Sinhala proverb, ` I gave pepper and got ginger,' illustrative of a bad bargain, was applied to his ousting the Portuguese by means of the faithful Hollanders,' and his invitation of a strong power only resulted in the isolation of his kingdom and its removal from all progressive influences.[2]

Dutch-Portuguese War

There was always a 'Hispanic Challenge' facing the world from the time Christopher Columbus discovered America. Spain and Portugal went on to conquer the Amereicas and the rest of the world without any serious challenges. Not only Ceylon, India and Indonesia but also the Netherlands were conquered by Spain. Dutch people were massacred in their tens of thousands because they switched over religions.. Spain condemned the whole Dutch nation to death. Thus the Dutch were the first to fight against a global religious terrorism campaign unleashed by the Spanish king. For this the Dutch went around the World and formed alliances with similarly affected people. Thus Ceylon and the King of Kandy were natural allies and welcomed the intervention of the Dutch against the terror campaign waged by the King of Spain. At that time Portugal was ruled by Spain and the Portuguese colonies became an easy target for the Dutch. Dutch signed a treaty (Kandyan Treaty of 1638)with the King of Kandy and the treaty approved the Dutch to wage war against the Portuguese and all the expenses to be paid by the King of Kandy. The King had not enough money or spices to pay off the expenses and finally the Dutch kept the forts and the lands they have captured to compensate for the balance of payments. Combatants ° Kingdom of Portugal (under Spanish Crown) ° Kingdom of Spain ° Kingdom of Cochin ° Maranhao Tupis ° Republic of the Seven United Provinces ° Kingdom of England ° Sultanate of Johore ° Kandyan Kingdom ° Kingdom of Kongo ° Kingdom of Ndongo-Matamba ° Rio Grande Tupis ° Nhandui Tarairiu Tribe ° Potiguar Tribe Commanders * Viceroy Pedro da Silva * High... The King of Kandy , who had arrived at Batticaloa with his army on the 14th May, had in the mean- time several interviews with Westerwold, and after the fort was taken, they entered into a treaty by which the King and the Dutch entered into a firm alliance against their...

From 1580 to 1640, the throne of Portugal was held by the Habsburg kings of Spain resulting in the biggest colonial empire until then (see Iberian Union). In 1583 Philip I of Portugal, II of Spain, sent his combined Iberian fleet to clear the French traders from the Azores, decisively hanging his prisoners-of-war from the yardarms and contributing to the "Black Legend". The Azores were the last part of Portugal to resist Philip's reign over Portugal. Events March 1 - Michel de Montaigne signs the preface to his most significant work, Essays. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ... Iberian Union is modern day term that refers to the historical political unit that governed all of the Iberian peninsula south of the Pyrenees from 1580-1640. ... 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... Philip II of Spain Philip II (Spanish: Felipe II de Habsburgo; Portuguese: Filipe I) (May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598) was the first official King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, King of Naples and Sicily from 1554 until 1598, King of England (as King-consort of Mary I) from... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... The Black Legend (Spanish: La Leyenda Negra) is the depiction of Spain and Spaniards as bloodthirsty and cruel, intolerant, greedy and fanatical. ...

With two global empires to rule, and with the competition of the Dutch, English and French, the Habsburg kings neglected the protection of some of the portuguese possessions around the world. In this period Portugal lost a great number of lands to the new colonial rivals.

In the Americas, the Portuguese expansion continue beyond the west side by the meridian set by the Treaty of Tordesillas. Portugal was able to mount a military expedition, which defeated and expelled the French colonists of France Équinoxiale in 1615, less than four years after their arrival in the land. On April 30th of 1625, the fleet under the command of Fadrique de Toledo recovered the city of Salvador de Bahia to the Dutch. The square was composed by 22 Portuguese ships, 34 Spanish ships and 12,500 men (three quarters were Spanish and the rest were Portuguese). Equinoxial France was the contemporary name given to the colonization efforts of France in the 17th century in South America, around the line of Equator, before tropical had fully gained its modern meaning: Equinoctial means in Latin of equal nights, i. ... Events June 2 - First Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France. ... Events March 27 - Prince Charles Stuart becomes King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. ... Flag of Bahia See other Brazilian States Capital Salvador Largest City Salvador Area 564 273 km² Population   - Total   - Density 13 070 250 23. ...

A map of the lands of the Habsburg kings in the period of personal union of Portugal (violet) and Spain (red/pink/brown) (1580-1640)

However, 1627 saw the collapse of the Castilian economy. The Dutch, who during the Twelve Years’ Truce had made their navy a priority, devastated Spanish maritime trade after the resumption of war, on which Spain was wholly dependent after the economic collapse. Even with a number of victories Spanish resources were now fully stretched across Europe and also at sea protecting their vital shipping against the greatly improved Dutch fleet. Spain's enemies, such as the Netherlands and England, coveted its overseas wealth, and in many cases found it easier to attack poorly-defended Portuguese outposts than Spanish ones. The Spanish were simply no longer able to cope with naval threats. Thus the Dutch-Portuguese War came into being. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 38 KB) // Summary Map of the Spanish Empire from Image:BlankMap-World. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1357x628, 38 KB) // Summary Map of the Spanish Empire from Image:BlankMap-World. ... Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ... A personal union is a relationship of two or more entities that are considered separate, sovereign states, which, through established law, share the same person as their respective head of state. ... Events A Dutch ship makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Combatants ° Kingdom of Portugal (under Spanish Crown) ° Kingdom of Spain ° Kingdom of Cochin ° Maranhao Tupis ° Republic of the Seven United Provinces ° Kingdom of England ° Sultanate of Johore ° Kandyan Kingdom ° Kingdom of Kongo ° Kingdom of Ndongo-Matamba ° Rio Grande Tupis ° Nhandui Tarairiu Tribe ° Potiguar Tribe Commanders * Viceroy Pedro da Silva * High...

Between 1638 and 1640 the Netherlands came to control part of Brazil's Northeast region, with their capital in Recife. The Portuguese won a significant victory in the Second Battle of Guararapes in 1649. By 1654, the Netherlands had surrendered and returned control of all Brazilian land to the Portuguese. Events March 29 - Swedish colonists establish first settlement in Delaware, called New Sweden. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... Nickname: Veneza Brasileira (Brazilian Venice) and Mauricéia (after the Dutch colonization) Motto: Ut luceat omnibus Latin: That it may shine on all (Matthew 5:15) Location in Brazil Founded March 12, 1537 Incorporated (as village) 1709 Incorporated (as city) 1823  - Mayor João Paulo Lima e Silva (PT) Area... Battle of Guararapes Conflict Date February 18, 1649 Place Pernambuco, Brazil Result Portuguese victory The Second Battle of Guararapes was a conflict between Dutch and Portuguese forces in 1649 at Pernambuco that ended in a resounding Portuguese victory and was one of the final nails in the coffin of Dutch... // Events January 30 - King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is beheaded. ... Events April 5 - Signing of the Treaty of Westminster, ending the First Anglo-Dutch War. ...

Although Dutch colonies in Brazil were wiped out, during the course of the 17th century the Dutch were able to occupy Ceylon, the Cape of Good Hope, and the East Indies, and to take over the trade with Japan at Nagasaki. Portugal's Asiatic territories were reduced to bases at Macau, East Timor and Portuguese India. A map showing the territory that the Netherlands held at various points in history. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ... The Indies, on the display globe of the Field Museum, Chicago The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term used to describe lands of South and South-East Asia, occupying all of the former British India, the present Indian Union, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and... Nagasaki (Japanese: 長崎市, Nagasaki-shi  , long peninsula) is the capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. ... Portuguese India (Portuguese: or Estado da Índia) was the aggregate of Portugals colonial holdings in India. ...

Dutch Capture Portuguese Forts

Forts in Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Negombo and Galle were liberated with the help of Ceylonese Army and Dutch Navy. In reality these forts were in marginal areas where Kotte Kingdom did not exist at that time. It was Tamils who lived around these forts except in the case of Galle fort. as such the Portuguese were unable to defend it with the mercenaries whom they have recruited from Cormandel and western Indian coasts.

As such these forts became the property of the Dutch East India Company. King Rajasinghe wanted to demolish all of them. But Dutch were not paid off their dues against the war against Portuguese and as a result the Dutch did not want to demolish them. The Dutch Sinhalese treaty had conditions where the Sinhala king has to maintain and support the Dutch forces as they were waging war on behalf of the Ceylon/Kandy King against the Portuguese.

The treaty had 2 copies and the Dutch copy had a clause for the Dutch to own and operate the seaports. The Kandyan copy did not have this clause. The King was not abiding by the treaty as heis copy was interpreted as the ports will come back to the King of Kandy. King was fulfilling his part of the obligations. Dutch took all the ports and forts and rest of the lands and replaced the Portuguese. As such the Dutch never left Ceylon and replaced Portugal and started ruling the parts where they seized power as the agents of the king. The people were Tamils and they accepted their new ruler without much reservations.Only in Galle and Negombo the chance of a Portuguese attack remained a real threat.

Rajasinghe always wanted to get rid of both the Portuguese and the Dutch by setting one against another. At times when the Dutch officers or commanders offended him he ordered their assassination. At times he massacred a ship load of Dutch for minor misbehaviors of their captain. This kind of cruel and crafty behavior made the Dutch to keep the forts and vast amount of land they captured.

Rajasinghe and his courtiers were paranoid and did not offer the help they should have offered to an ally. As such most of the battles were waged by the Dutch and the Dutch suffered heavy losses. But when it came to shre the loot from the captured forts like Galle, Kandyan king and his forces were there for the occasion and the Dutch gave half the war assets to Kandyan king.

The war with Portugal is against their ruler the King of Spain. Once Portugal obtained its freedom from Spain the Netherlands settled for peace with Portugal. Then they divided the occupied areas of Ceylon amicably under a treaty signed in Goa.

Slowly the Dutch became the rulers of Ceylon and Indonesia and the Portuguese were left with small pieces of territory compared to the Dutch and the English.

Portuguese rule was always in the maritime provinces and the people whom they converted into their religion were fisherman. These were their backbone of their power. Rest of the Ceylon remained in the Buddhist-Hindu religion. They wanted the multicultural Dutch more than anybody.

The Dutch entry brought cultural and linguistic freedom for the people who were not with the Portuguese rulers. Dutch were the first to trial a republic in Europe long before France. Their main attitude was more democratic than any other European country. They tolerated a King of Kandy who carried out brutal assassinations against their commanders whenever he felt offended or suspected disrespect.

They tolerated one of the worst enemies they fought in the battle - the Portuguese. Thus they were able to capture Ceylon without any resistance from the natives.

Treachery in Kandy

After capturing the Galle Fort Coster, the Dutch Commander went to Kandy and met Rajasinghe. The paranoid King and his advisers plotted to assassinate Coster. He wanted the King to pay for the wars waged against Portuguese, but the Kandy did not have the gold to pay for that war. The Kingdom has entered into a tricky treaty which would bankrupt the Kingdom. The Fort: View of the lighthouse Galle (ගාල්ල in Sinhala; காலி in Tamil) (pronounced as one syllable, rhyming with Gaul in English, in Sinhalese, IPA /gaːlːə/) is a town situated on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, 119 km from Colombo. ... Coster may mean: Charles De Coster, Belgian novelist Laurens Janszoon Coster, Dutch printer Francis Coster (1532-1619), theologian Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744-1818), French painter Salomon Coster, clockmaker Elizabeth Coster, New Zealand swimmer Nicolas Coster, actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, actor Tom Coster, musician Stan Coster (1930-1997), Australian country musician...

The meeting with the King of Kandy was a disappointment for Coster. None of his demands were met by the King. The King became very angry that he wanted to do away with Coster. King plotted and planned with some Mudaliyars to assassinate Coster on his return journey. Coster accompanied them without any suspicion, as they showed friendly; but the next day, arrived at the village Niligala, when he was in the act of entering a hut for rest and refreshment, he was suddenly and stealthily attacked from behind with some two score lances and spears. He fell, and then one of the men cut off his head. Those of his suite who attempted to defend him were also killed, eight persons in all, including the surgeon. The rest were disarmed, stripped, bound, and cruelly beaten. They were eventually released and sent over to the Dutch in Batticaloa . Thus died Coster, a brave and victorious general and an able administrator, the victim of treacherous and murderous assassins. It is difficult to conceive how such an act could be justified even by the pitiful attempt to prove that his temper was violent and his character open to question. But Coster deserved a better fate at the hands of the Sinhalese. He had given up Trincomalee to the King, although it had been conquered without his help, and he transferred to him his rights to the lands surrounding Galle and Matara, which he might have retained by right of conquest. [3] Batticaloa (මඩකළපුව in Sinhala, மட்டக்களப்பு in Tamil) was the provincial capital of the eastern province of Sri Lanka. ... Coster may mean: Charles De Coster, Belgian novelist Laurens Janszoon Coster, Dutch printer Francis Coster (1532-1619), theologian Anne Vallayer-Coster (1744-1818), French painter Salomon Coster, clockmaker Elizabeth Coster, New Zealand swimmer Nicolas Coster, actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, actor Tom Coster, musician Stan Coster (1930-1997), Australian country musician... Trincomalee District Map Trincomalee (Tamil: (Thirukonamalai, hist: Sirigonakanda); Sinhala: (Thirikunamalaya)) is a port city on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka, about 110 miles northeast of Kandy. ...

Implications of the Dutch Rule in Ceylon

Dutch were used by thje Sinhala King to seek revenge on the Portuguese who wanted to expand their rule. Coming of the Dutch ensured that the Portuguese had two enemies to deal with. as such finally Portuguese were forced to sign a treaty with the Dutch and come into terms with the open economy of the free world. Finally Portuguese left Ceylon and ended up in the scrap heaps of history.

Dutch started ruling and expanding their areas. Now the King of Kandy searched for another European power to do the dirty war. for this they approached France. Finally England replaced Holland by diplomatically taking over Dutch colonies during the Napoleonic wars.

Dutch settled several Malay soldiers and policemen in Ceylon as a method of ruling the native population.

The Batavian government was more popular among the Dutch population than was the prince of Orange. This was apparent during the British-Russian invasion of 1799.

As a French vassal state, the Batavian Republic was an ally of France in its wars against Great Britain. This led to the loss of most of the Dutch colonial empire and a defeat of the Dutch fleet in the Battle of Camperdown (Camperduin) in 1797. The collapse of Dutch trade caused a series of economic crises. Only in the second half of the 19th century would Dutch wealth be restored to its previous level.

Future of Dutch Diaspora in Ceylon

Main article: Burgher People

The Dutch Diaspora in Ceylon has already migrated in large numbers to Australia and America. The rest of the Dutch Burghers who are left over here like to go to Netherland or some Germanic country so that they can propagate and enjoy the Dutch culture. Like in South Africa some of them have large plantations and may not leave the country unless situation turn entirely worse. The Burghers are a Eurasian ethnic group, historically from Sri Lanka, consisting for the most part of male-line descendants of European colonists from the 16th to 20th centuries (mostly Portuguese, Dutch and British) with local Sinhalese ancestry. ...

The Netherlands has a lot of Tamil refugees now and they are permanently settled as citizens of the Netherlands.

References

Dutch in Ceylon
Dutch Ceylon

Main article: Jaffna Kingdom

Main article: Jaffna Nagas

Main article: Chandrabhanu

Main article: Arya Chakravarti

Main article: Portuguese Ceylon

Main article: British Ceylon

Jaffna Kingdom was a historically important regional power in medieval Sri Lanka. ... The Northern part of the Indian Oceans Island(todays Sri Lanka)throve during the Naga Kingdom from 6th century BC to the middle of the 3rd century AD. Naga people were of Tibeto-Burman origin, a Mongoloid race and migrated to India in 4000 BC, driven by some... During the thirteenth century, the declining Sinhalese kingdom faced threats of invasion from India and the expanding Tamil kingdom of northern Sri Lanka. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The first Portuguese visiting Ceylon was Dom Lourenço de Almeida in 1505 or 1506. ... The British started their rule in 1798. ...

Colonialism
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