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The Portuguese conquest of the
Jaffna kingdom The Jaffna Kingdom ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாண அரசு, si, යාපනය රාජධානිය; 1215–1624 CE), also known as Kingdom of Aryachakravarti, was a historical kingdom of what today is northern Sri Lanka. It came i ...
occurred after Portuguese traders arrived at the rival Kotte Kingdom in the southwest of modern
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 ...
in 1505. Many kings of Jaffna, such as Cankili I, initially confronted the Portuguese in their attempts at converting the locals to
Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, 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 South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...
. 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 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 ...
in 1505; their initial forays were against the southwestern coastal Kotte kingdom, which enjoyed a lucrative
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
on the spice trade, which was also of interest to the Portuguese. The Jaffna kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese officials in Colombo for multiple reasons, which included their interference in
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 letter ...
missionary activities (which was assumed to be supporting Portuguese interests), the lucrative markets and strategic benefits of Jaffna's
Vannimai The Vanni chieftaincies or Vanni principalities was a region between Anuradhapura and Jaffna, but also extending to along the eastern coast to Panama and Yala, during the Transitional and Kandyan periods of Sri Lanka. The heavily forested la ...
chieftaincies, and their support of anti-Portuguese factions within the Kotte kingdom, such as the chieftains from
Sitawaka Avissawella, ( si, අවිස්සාවේල්ල, ta, அவிசாவளை) is a township in Sri Lanka, governed by an Urban Council, situated on the A4 route from Colombo to Ratnapura, Colombo District, Western Province, Sri Lanka, ...
. By the late 16th century, Portuguese influence strengthened in the courts of the Kandyan and Kotte kingdoms and some of Jaffna's Vannimai chieftaincies were subdued by these kings. The Jaffna kingdom functioned as a logistical base for the Kandyan kingdom, located in the central highlands without access to any seaports. They gained access to the seaports of
Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...
and
Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the ...
in the east, but the Jaffna peninsula proved more convenient as an entry port for military aid arriving from
South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...
.De Silva, ''Portuguese Encounters with Sri Lanka and the Maldives''
p. 95, 110, 111 & 137
Furthermore, it was feared by the Portuguese that (due to its strategic location) the Jaffna kingdom might become a beachhead for Dutch landings.Abeysinghe, T. ''Jaffna Under the Portuguese'', p. 2 It was king Cankili I who resisted contacts with the Portuguese, and even massacred six to seven hundred Parava
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in the island of Mannar. These Catholics had been brought from India to Mannar to take over the lucrative pearl fisheries extending to Puttalam from the Jaffna kings.


Client state

The first expedition, led by Viceroy Dom Constantino de Bragança in 1560, failed to subdue the kingdom but captured Mannar Island.Vriddhagirisan, ''Nayaks of Tanjore'', p.80-1,91-2
/ref> Although the circumstances are unclear, by 1582 the Jaffna king was paying a tribute to the Portuguese of ten
elephants Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...
or an equivalent in cash. In 1591, during the second expedition, led by André Furtado de Mendonça, King Puvirasa Pandaram was killed and his son Ethirimanna Cinkam was installed as the monarch. This arrangement gave the Catholic missionaries freedom of action and monopoly in
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...
export to the Portuguese, which the incumbent king, however, resisted. He helped the Kandyan kingdom under kings Vimaladharmasuriya I and Senarat (1604–35) during the period 1593–1635 with the intent of securing help from South India to resist the Portuguese. He, however, maintained autonomy of the kingdom without overtly provoking the Portuguese.Abeysinghe, T. ''Jaffna Under the Portuguese'', p.3de Silva, A. ''History of Sri Lanka'', p.166


End of the Kingdom

With the death of Pararasasekaran in 1617, Cankili II, an usurper, took control of the throne after killing the regent nominated by the Ethirimanna Cinkam. Unable to secure Portuguese acceptance of his kingship, Cankili II through Migapulle Arachchi invited military aid from the Thanjavur Nayaks and the Karaiyars, and allowed them to use a base in
Neduntivu Neduntheevu or Nedunthivu ( ta, நெடுந்தீவு, translit=Neṭuntīvu; ) (also known by its Dutch name Delft) is an island in the Palk Strait, northern Sri Lanka. This island is named as Delft in the Admiralty Chart unlike the other ...
, hence posing a threat to Portuguese shipping routes through the Palk Strait.De Queyroz, ''The Temporal and Spiritual Conquest of Ceylon'', p. 51 & 468 The Portuguese accounts refer to six attempts made by rebels to install a local prince on the Jaffna throne in the years 1620 and 1621. At first, the chief of Karaiyars rose in revolt and offered resistance to the Portuguese, with the help of a large troops of Thanjavur Nayaks. Phillippe de Oliveira is said to have defeated him near Nallur. By June 1619, there were two Portuguese expeditions: a naval expedition that was repulsed led by the Varunakulattan, also known as ''Khem Nayak'', and a land expedition by Phillippe de Oliveira and his army of 5000 was able to defeat Cankili. Cankili, along with every surviving member of the royal family, was captured and taken to Goa, where he was hanged. Jaffna prisoners were beheaded. The remaining captives were asked to become monks or nuns in the holy orders, and as most obliged, their celibacy avoided the production of further claimants to the Jaffna throne. Although the Portuguese attempted to eliminate the Jaffna royal family through celibacy, a number of families of
Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern ...
origin claim descent from the royal family today.


Portuguese and the Kandyan kingdom

According to the ''Description of the Isle of Ceylon'' (Amsterdam 1672) by the Dutch Rev. Phillipus Baldeus, who travelled in Sri Lanka in the 17th century. the Kingdom of Jaffnapattinam consisted of the Jaffna Peninsula, the islands off Jaffna, and the Island of Mannar. But in dealing with the limitations of the kingdom, Queirós, an historian of Portuguese origin, says: which indicated the kings of the kingdom just prior to capitulation to the Portuguese had jurisdiction over an area corresponding to the modern Northern Province of Sri Lanka and parts of the northern half of the eastern province and that the Portuguese claimed these based on their conquest. At the time, the mainland south of Elephant Pass was claimed by the
King of Kandy The Kandyan monarchs ruled the Kingdom of Kandy on the island of Sri Lanka from 1469 to 1815. The Kingdom was first established by Senasammata Vikramabahu, a royal from the Kingdom of Kotte, when he led the secession of the Kande uda pas rata ( ...
, Senerat; he and his troops were consistently harassing the Portuguese in the Jaffna Peninsula. His wife's two sons, Vijayapala and Kumarasinghe, were also married to princesses from Jaffna. After the fall of Jaffna to the Portuguese, Senarat dispatched a 10,000 strong army to Jaffna under the command of Mudaliyar Attapattu. The Portuguese withdrew and the Kandyan army occupied Jaffna. The Portuguese General Constantino de Sá de Noronha later attacked with reinforcements from
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 defeated Mudaliyar Attapattu's army and seized Jaffna. According to Portuguese and Dutch publications, the last battle for Jaffna was fought between the King of Kandyan kingdom and the Portuguese, and the Europeans seized Jaffna from the Kandyan king. Following Portuguese defeat by the Dutch, the Jaffna Mannar islands and most of Jaffna's Vannimai lands had been reincorporated into the Tamil Coylot Wannees Country by the 18th century.


Consequences

Over the next forty years, starting from 1619 until the Dutch capture of Jaffna fort in 1658, there were three rebellions against Portuguese rule. Two were led by Migapulle Arachchi,Sabaratnam, ''Sri Lankan Tamil Struggle,'' Chapter 5
/ref> during that period, Portuguese destroyed every Hindu
temple 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 church (building), churches), Hindui ...
and the ''Saraswathy Mahal'' library in Nallur, the royal repository of all literary output of the kingdom. Due to excessive taxation, population decreased and many people moved to Ramanathapuram in India and the Vanni Districts further south. External commerce was negatively impacted, though elephants, Jaffna's principal export, were traded for saltpetre with various kingdoms in India and sent to Lisbon. Thus, decline in trade made it difficult to pay for essential imports, and such items ceased to be imported. In the words of Fernão De Queirós, the principal chronicler of Portuguese colonial exploits in Sri Lanka, the people of
Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th mos ...
were "reduced to the uttermost misery" during the Portuguese colonial era.Abeysinghe, T. ''Jaffna Under the Portuguese'', pp. 58–63.Gnanaprakasar, S. ''A critical history of Jaffna'', pp. 153–72.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * Accessed 25-02-2016 {{good article Former countries in South Asia Portuguese Ceylon Wars involving Portugal Battles involving the Jaffna kingdom