The Battle of Randeniwela was a battle fought on 25 August 1630 in the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. It was fought between

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

and King Senarth's youngest son Prince Maha Astana, who would later become Rajasinghe II against Portuguese forces commanded by then

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Constantinu De Sá de Noronha.Rasin Deviyo
- Chandra Tilake Edirisuriya (Ceylon Today) Accessed 2015-12-13 It was fought at Randeniwela near

Wellawaya Wellawaya ( si, වැල්ලවාය, translit=Vællavāya; ta, வெல்லவாய, translit=Vellavāyā) is a town located in Monaragala District, Uva Province of Sri Lanka. History On 25 August 1630 a major battle took place near We ...

, a place close to the town of

Badulla Badulla ( si, බදුල්ල, ta, பதுளை) is the capital and the largest city of Uva Province situated in the lower central hills of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Uva Province and the Badulla District. Geography Badulla is ...

. The battle broke off when Constantino de Sá launched the invasion via

. The Portuguese army suffered a complete rout subsequent to a mass defection by its Lascarin (local militia) contingent.The Portuguese in Ceylon: Before the war with the Dutch
- Colonial Voyage Web. Accessed 2015-11-25The Historic Tragedy of the Island of Ceilāo
- J. Ribeiro (AES) p 20, 91-92

Background

Battle

At Randeniwela the entire Lascarin contingent joined the Kandyan forces. This was followed by a rain of arrows and bullets, in the night, against which it was impossible for the Portuguese to erect any protection. Into the bargain the torrential rain that poured down drenched the Portuguese army for several hours rendering the

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, carbon (in the form of charcoal) and potassium nitrate (saltpeter). ...

and matches of their

arquebus An arquebus ( ) is a form of long gun that appeared in Europe and the Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. An infantryman armed with an arquebus is called an arquebusier. Although the term ''arquebus'', derived from the Dutch word ''Haakbus ...

es useless. Dom Cosmo, one of the four Lascarin captains who eventually rebelled against the Portuguese, is said to have begun the native revolt by 'striking off the head of a Portuguese and holding it aloft on his lance'. For this service, Dom Cosmo was awarded several Nindagams (tributary villages) and the Katugaha

Walauwa Walauwa or walawwa is the name given to a feudal/Colony, colonial manor house in Sri Lanka of a Native headmen of Ceylon, native headmen. It also refers to the feudal social systems that existed during the colonial era. The term walauwa is derive ...

by King Senarath. His daughter married (Binna) from a prominent family in the area. Keppetipola Dissawa is believed to be a direct descendant of his.

Aftermath

The

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

suffered a devastating defeat in this battle.

References

External links

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From prof Mendis Rohanadheera

{{DEFAULTSORT:Randeniwela, Battle of Battles involving Portugal Battles involving Sri Lanka Conflicts in 1630 Military history of Sri Lanka Wars involving Sri Lanka 17th century in Sri Lanka 1630 in Asia