Kingdom of Kotte (Portugal)

This article is about the specific polity Kingdom of Kotte (Portugal) 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

Was a Sinhalese kingdom in Sri Lanka that was able to unite the entire island under its control. The Kingdom soon fragmented in various kingdoms and what remained of Kotte was made a vassal of Portugal in 1551.

Establishment

January 1552: The portuguese assisted and protected the kingdom of Kotte against the growing influence of the kingdom of Sitawaka.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. Sinhalese-Portuguese War

Were a series of wars between the native kingdoms of modern-day Sri Lanka and the Portuguese Empire.

1.1.Growth of the Sitawaka kingdom

Were a series of military campaigns by the Sinhalese Kingdom of Sitawaka to expand its territories.

January 1566: By 1565 the Portuguese were unable to hold the capital city of Kotte. They abandoned Kotte and moved to Colombo (which was guarded by a powerful fort and the Portuguese navy) with their puppet King Dharmapala.

January 1566: Areas annexed by Sitawaka from the Kotte Kingdom by 1565.

January 1588: Areas annexed by Sitawaka from the Kotte Kingdom by 1587.

1.2.Protectorate on Kotte

The Sinhalese Kingdom of Kotte became a Portuguese protectorate.

2. War of the Portuguese Succession

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.

3. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

January 1566: Mayadunne and Tikiri Bandara launched a two-pronged attack on Kotte in 1564, laying siege to both Kotte and Colombo. Portuguese forces were forced to retreat from Kotte, leaving Sitawaka in control of much of the kingdom. Major Sitawakan garrisons were established at Wattala, Nagalagama and Mapane. However a thin coastal strip, running from Negombo to Galle and including the fort in Colombo, was kept provisioned from the sea by the Portuguese.

January 1588: The Kingdom of Sitawaka annexed areas from the Kotte Kingdom by 1587.

January 1595: Resistance eventually coalesced around Konnappu Bandara, son of Wirasundara, who had fled to Portuguese lands following his father's murder by agents of Rajasinghe. Between 1591 and 1594, he returned to the area, seized the Kandyan throne under the name Wimaladharmasuriya I and married Dona Catherina. Victories over the Sithawakans and the Portuguese (who occupied Kandy briefly in 1592) secured his position.

January 1595: Sitawaka disintegrated soon after the death of its last king Rajasimha I in 1593. After the downfall of Sitawaka in 1594, these areas were re-annexed to the Kotte kingdom.

Disestablishment

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.