This article is about the specific polity Portuguese Ceylon and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
Were the possessions of Portugal in modern-day Sri Lanka. Portugal begun to conquer territories on the island in 1517. By the early XVI century, Portugal controlled most of of the coast of the island. By 1658 the Portuguese possession were conquered by the Dutch.
Establishment
January 1518: Portoguese conquest of Colombo.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Was a succession crisis caused by the death of the King of Portugal without heirs. The conflict saw two main claimants to the Portuguese throne: António, Prior of Crato, proclaimed in several towns as King of Portugal, and his first cousin Philip II of Spain, who eventually succeeded in claiming the crown, reigning as Philip I of Portugal.
October 1580: Philip II of Spain succeeded in claiming the Portuguese crown, reigning as Philip I of Portugal.
Were a series of wars between the native kingdoms of modern-day Sri Lanka and the Portuguese Empire.
2.1.Growth of the Sitawaka kingdom
Were a series of military campaigns by the Sinhalese Kingdom of Sitawaka to expand its territories.
June 1587: Siege of Colombo 1587-1588.
February 1588: A large Portuguese fleet of eighteen galleys commanded by Manuel de Sousa Coutinho arrived in Colombo, after raiding Sitawakan shores in northwestern Ceylon.
2.2.Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom
Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom.
October 1560: The Portuguese invasion of Jaffna kingdom in 1560 AD was the first expedition against the Jaffna kingdom by the Portuguese Empire. It was led by Viceroy Dom Constantino de Bragança. The Portuguese conquered northern Jaffna kingdom including Nallur, and the island of Mannar. The king of Jaffna escaped in the interior (Vanna).
January 1561: The king of Jaffna, Cankili I, managed to escape and regained the capital through a pact that he made with the Portuguese. He subsequently incited a peoples' rebellion against the Portuguese, resulting in their withdrawing their forces from Nallur.
October 1591: The Portuguese, led by André Furtado, mounted a military campaign against the Jaffna kingdom from Mannar.
2.3.Low intensity conflict of Portugal with Kandy
Were a series of minor conflicts between the Portuguese Empire and the Kingdom of Kandy.
January 1617: Parts of Sabaragmuwa and Matara were conquered by Senarat.
January 1617: In December 1616 a much greater revolt broke out in eastern Seven Korales, led by a disgraced grain measurer who claimed to be the grandson of Rajasinha, late prince Nikapitiya Bendara.
February 1617: Despite initial cordiality, Senarat quickly grew distrustful of Nikapitiyas' success and attitude towards Kandy. Fearing a future rival, he withdrew all his aid and ordered Kuruvita Rala to suspend operations while he attempted to gain a truce with the Portuguese.
October 1617: With the coming of favourable winds in March 1617, important Portuguese reinforcements had arrived in Colombo. In June, developments in Jaffna favoured the Portuguese as Cankili I usurped the throne through a coup and in exchange for Portuguese recognition, agreed to prevent supplies and weapons from reaching the rebels from there. Between July and September the Portuguese were able to recapture the Seven Korales.
Was a global conflict between the Portuguese Empire and the Dutch Empire. The conflict primarily saw the Dutch companies invading Portuguese colonies in the Americas, Africa, and the East Indies.
3.1.Operations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans
Were the military operations of the Dutch in the Pacific and Indian Oceans during the Dutch-Portuguese War.
May 1638: Dutch Admiral Adam Westerwolt (1580-1639) conquered the Portuguese fort at Batticaloa on Ceylon.
March 1640: Galle conquered by netherlands.
January 1657: The Dutch, led by Admiral Gerard Pietersz Hulft, were able to capture Colombo in 1656 from the Portuguese, establishing Dutch control over the territory of Dutch Ceylon.
Was a revolution organized by the Portuguese nobility and bourgeoisie sixty years after the crowning of Philip I (Philip II of Spain), the first "dual monarch", that ended the Iberian Union.
November 1640: A revolution organized by the nobility and bourgeoisie on 1 December 1640, sixty years after the crowning of Philip I (Philip II of Spain), the first "dual monarch", ended the Iberian Union between Portugal and Spain.
January 1598: Direct Portuguese rule in Kotte 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 sufficient claim to the Kingdom of Kotte upon Dharmapala's death in 1597.
January 1622: Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom.
August 1630: A disastrous defeat at the battle of Randeniwela on 2 August 1630 in which Portuguese captain-general Constantino de Sá de Noronha was killed resulted in large parts of Portuguese Ceilao being overrun by the Kandyans.
January 1631: The Portuguese strengthened their position throughout the 1620s, building forts at Kalutara, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and in Sabaragamuwa.
January 1636: The Kandyans, led by King Senarat, briefly controlled lowland Sri Lanka in the 1630s. However, internal instability weakened their hold, allowing the Portuguese to regain control by the time of Senarat's death in 1635.
March 1640: In February 1640 the Portuguese fort of Negombo, a short distance North of Colombo was captured by Philip Lucasz.
January 1657: The Dutch-Portuguese War saw the Dutch conquest of most of Portugal's Asian colonies, Ceylon included, between 1638 and 1658.
Disestablishment
January 1659: Jaffna is taken by the Dutch in 1658.
Selected Sources
Fernández Álvarez, M. (1998): Felipe II y su tiempo, cuarta edición, p. 523
de Oliveira Marques , A. H. R.(1972): History of Portugal, Columbia University Press, p. 322-325
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Portuguese Ceylon
