Phillippe de Oliveira or Filipe de Oliveira (died 1627) was the conqueror of the Jaffna Kingdom in northern modern day

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

on behalf of the

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 ...

in 1619. He stayed behind as the

captain-major A donatary captain was a Portuguese colonial official to whom the Crown granted jurisdiction, rights, and revenues over some colonial territory. The recipients of these grants were called (donataries), because they had been given the grant as a ( ...

of the conquered kingdom until his death in 1627. His instructions were to collect the tribute due from the last indigenous king of the Kingdom

Cankili II Cankili II ( ta, சங்கிலி குமாரன், translit=Caṅkili Kumāraṉ; died 1619) was the last king of the Jaffna kingdom and was a usurper who came to throne with a palace massacre of the royal prince and the regent A ...

but a chance encounter lead to a sharp but brief battle that led to the defeat of Cankili II. By his order, Cankili II was killed by hanging and Cankili's remaining soldiers were executed by decapitation. His rule over the Jaffna Kingdom is remembered both for the destruction of over 500

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

and the

forced conversion Forced conversion is the adoption of a different religion or the adoption of irreligion under duress. Someone who has been forced to convert to a different religion or irreligion may continue, covertly, to adhere to the beliefs and practices which ...

of the natives to the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

religion as well as for his efforts in controlling and moderating the desire of colonial officials in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

and

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

to incessantly increase taxes on the local population. After his death, the taxation policy followed by the Portuguese colonial rulers led to the de-population of the Jaffna peninsula.Gunasingam,''Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism '',p.68

Notes

References

* * Conquistadors Christianization Jaffna kingdom Portuguese people of Jewish descent Portuguese colonial governors and administrators 1627 deaths 17th-century Portuguese people 16th-century Portuguese people Year of birth unknown 17th century in Sri Lanka 17th-century Sri Lankan people {{Portugal-bio-stub