Lascarins
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Lascarins
Lascarins ( si, ලස්කිරිඤ්ඤ, translit=laskiriñña'','' or Lascareen, Lascoreen and Lascarine) is a term used in Sri Lanka to identify indigenous soldiers who fought for the Portuguese during the Portuguese era (1505–1658) and continued to serve as colonial soldiers until the 1930s. The lascarins played a crucial role not only in the colonial armies, but also in the success of the campaigns of the local kingdoms.The Portuguese in Ceylon: Before the war with the Dutch
- Colonial Voyage Web. Accessed 2015-11-25

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Campaign Of Danture
The Danture campaign comprised a series of encounters between the Portuguese and the Kingdom of Kandy in 1594, part of the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. It is considered a turning point in the indigenous resistance to Portuguese expansion. For the first time in Sri Lanka a Portuguese army was essentially annihilated, when they were on the verge of the total conquest of the island.C. Gaston Perera. p. 197. A 20,000-strong Portuguese army, led by Governor Pedro Lopes de Sousa, invaded Kandy on 5 July 1594. After three months, severely depleted by guerilla warfare and mass desertions, what remained of the Portuguese army was annihilated at Danture by the Kandyans under King Vimaladharmasuriya. With this victory, the Kingdom of Kandy emerged as a major military power; it was to retain its independence, against Portuguese, Dutch, and British armies, until 1815.Channa W'singhe, p. 16. Victory at Danture notwithstanding, only the mobile section of the Portuguese army in Ceylon was ann ...
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Jerónimo De Azevedo
Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo ( Estate of Barbosa, Entre-Douro-e-Minho, Portugal, ''circa'' 1560 – Lisbon, 1625) was a Portuguese fidalgo, Governor (captain-general) of Portuguese Ceylon and viceroy of Portuguese India. He proclaimed in Colombo, in 1597, the King of Portugal, Philip I, as the legitimate heir to the throne of Kotte, thus substantiating the Portuguese claims of sovereignty over the island of Ceylon. Early life He was born Jerónimo de Azevedo de Ataíde e Malafaya, one of the thirteen children of Dom Manuel de Azevedo, Comendador of the monastery of São João de Alpendurada. He was thus a half-brother of the Jesuit martyr, Blessed Inácio de Azevedo. Not being the firstborn son, he did not inherit his father's estate, that included the lordship of the medieval '' honras'' of Barbosa and Ataíde, each with an estimated annual income of 100 thousand reais, a considerable sum in 16th century Portugal. Dom Jerónimo was thus compelled to follow the example of ma ...
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Battle Of Randeniwela
The Battle of Randeniwela was a battle fought on 25 August 1630 in the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. It was fought between Portuguese Empire and King Senarth's youngest son Prince Maha Astana, who would later become Rajasinghe II against Portuguese forces commanded by then Governor Constantinu De Sá de Noronha.Rasin Deviyo
- Chandra Tilake Edirisuriya (Ceylon Today) Accessed 2015-12-13
It was fought at Randeniwela near , a place close to the town of . The battle broke off when Constantino de ...
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Muhandiram
Muhandiram ( si, මුහන්දිරම්, ta, முகாந்திரம்) was a post in the native headmen system in the lower-country (coastal districts) of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) during the colonial era. It was awarded as a title of honor until suspension of Ceylonese honours in 1956. History The post originated from the Portuguese colonial administration in the 17th century by enlisting natives of different castes from the coastal areas. The post continued throughout the Dutch East India Company administration and the British colonial administration until the abolition of the native department in the 1930s. It was awarded as a title of honor until the suspension of Celonese honors in 1956. During the British administration official and titular appointments were made by the government agent of the district to a korale which was a revenue district; a muhandiram had several vidane arachchies that may come under his supervision. He would report to the mudaliyar of t ...
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Kingdom Of Kotte
The Kingdom of Kotte ( si, කෝට්ටේ රාජධානිය, Kottay Rajadhaniya), named after its capital, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Kotte, was a Sinhala kingdom, Sinhalese kingdom that flourished in Sri Lanka during the 15th century. Kotte, under the rule of Ming dynasty, Ming-backed Parakramabahu VI, conquered the Jaffna kingdom and the Vanni chieftaincies, Vanni principalities, and brought the country under one flag. It led to a punitive invasion against the Vijayanagar dynasty and Kingdom of Kotte#Military, captured a port, which was converted to a trade route. The Kotte Kingdom was largely dissolved during the Sinhalese-Portuguese War, as it faced attacks from rival Sinhalese kingdoms, the Kingdom of Sitawaka and Kingdom of Kandy. Dharmapala of Kotte, Dom João Dharmapala handed it over to the Portuguese, thus leading to the formation of Ceylon. The remainder was annexed into Sitwaka and Kandy. Etymology The term ''Kotte'' is said to have derived from the Si ...
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Lascar
A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland, or other land east of the Cape of Good Hope, who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the middle of the 20th century. Etymology The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that the word has two possible derivations: :Either an erroneous European use of Urdu ''lashkar'' army, camp .. or a shortened form of its derivative ''lashkarī'' ..In Portuguese ''c''1600 ''laschar'' occurs in the same sense as ''lasquarim'' , i.e. Indian soldier; this use, from which the current applications are derived, is not recorded in English. The Portuguese adapted this term to "lascarins", meaning Asian militiamen or seamen, from any area east of the Cape of Good Hope, including Indian, Malay, Chinese and Japanese crewmen. The English word "lascarins", now obsolete, referred to Sri Lankans who fought in the colonial army of the Portuguese until the 1930s. The ...
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Karaiyar
Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne trade. They fish customarily in deep seas or on shore, and employ gillnet and seine fishing methods. The Karaiyars were the major maritime traders and boat owners who among other things, traded with pearls, chanks, tobacco, and shipped goods overseas to countries such as India, Myanmar and Indonesia. The community known for their maritime history, are also reputed as a warrior caste who contributed as army and navy soldiers of Tamil kings. They were noted as the army generals and navy captains of the Aryacakravarti dynasty. The Karaiyars emerged in the 1980s as strong representatives of Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism. The nuclear leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have background in the wealthier enterprising section of th ...
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Karava
Karava () is a Sinhalese speaking ethnic group of Sri Lanka, whose ancestors from ancient times migrated from the Coromandel coast, claiming lineage to the Kaurava royalty of the old Kingdom of Kuru in Northern India. The Tamil equivalent is Karaiyar. Both groups are also known as the Kurukula (Kuru clan). The last mass migration to Sri Lanka happened in the 15th century from Tamil Nadu to fight against the Mukkuvar confederation as mentioned in the Mukkara Hatana. They have also given great importance to trade and commerce. The elite families are involved in entrepreneurial activities including the development of plantation agriculture such as coconut, tea and rubber. Etymology The origins of the term ''Karava'' are still debated. The name might be a modified version of the Tamil ''Karaiyar'', where "Karava" has the same root word ''kara'' or ''karai'' meaning "coast" or "shore" in Tamil. The name "Karava" has also been proposed to be a corruption of the Sanskrit name ''Kaur ...
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Portuguese Conquest Of The Jaffna Kingdom
The Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom occurred after Portuguese traders arrived at the rival Kotte Kingdom in the southwest of modern Sri Lanka in 1505. Many kings of Jaffna, such as Cankili I, initially confronted the Portuguese in their attempts at converting the locals to Roman Catholicism, but eventually made peace with them. By 1591, the king of Jaffna Ethirimanna Cinkam was installed by the Portuguese. Although he was nominally a client, he resisted missionary activities and helped the interior Kandyan kingdom in its quest to get military help from South India. Eventually, a usurper named Cankili II resisted Portuguese overlordship only to find himself ousted and hanged by Phillippe de Oliveira in 1619. The subsequent rule by the Portuguese saw the population convert to Roman Catholicism. The population also decreased due to excessive taxation, as most people fled the core areas of the former kingdom. Initial contact Portuguese traders reached Sri Lanka in 150 ...
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Arachchi
Arachchi ( si, ආරච්චි) was an influential post in the native headmen of Ceylon, native headmen system in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) during the colonial era. Appointed by the Government Agent (Sri Lanka), Government Agent, the holder had much control over the people of the area and wielded quasi-judicial powers since he was responsible to keep the peace, carry out revenue collection and assist in judicial functions. Appointments were non-transferable and usually hereditary, made to locals, usually from wealthy influential families loyal to the British Crown. Arachchi was the additional term used to refer to the Peon, Senior Peon in a supervisory role of a government office such as a Kachcheri or a District Court. History The post was in existence before the Colonial Rule of Sri Lanka (Ceylon). After the coastal areas were taken over by the Colonial Rulers i.e. Portugal, Portuguese, Netherlands, Dutch colonial rule and finally the United Kingdom, British, they retained the post ...
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Ceylonese Mudaliyars
Mudali (or Mudaliyar) was a colonial title and office in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) which was part of the native headman system. The Portuguese colonials created the Mudaliyar class in the 17th century by enlisting natives of different castes from the coastal areas. The Dutch continued the practice of the Portuguese. This class used the ''Mudali'' as a hereditary title, however the British re-established a Mudaliyar class, with appointments that had the title of Mudali, this process was stopped in the 1930s when the Native Department of the British government of Ceylon was closed down. All official and titular appointments of Mudaliyars were made by the Governor of Ceylon. Appointments were non-transferable and usually hereditary, made to locals from wealthy influential families loyal to the British Crown. The members of this group formed a unique social group called the Sri Lankan Mudaliyars and associated with older Radala caste. At present, the post of Court Mudliar remain in ...
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