The action of 23 March 23 1654 was a naval battle which took place near

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 m ...

, Ceylon, when a force of 5

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 ...

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...

s which were escorting 5 merchant

galliot A galiot, galliot or galiote, was a small galley boat propelled by sail or oars. There are three different types of naval galiots that sailed on different seas. A ''galiote'' was a type of French flat-bottom river boat or barge and also a flat- ...

s to

, fought its way through a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

blockading squadron of 3 ships. 2 of the Dutch ships were captured, but the Portuguese in the confusion of having their 2 top officers killed, these ships were recaptured. They ran aground but were refloated.

Ships involved

Portugal

*''Nazaré'' 42 (flag, António Pereira) *''São João'' 38 (second flag, Álvaro de Novais) *''Santo António de Mazagão'' 36 (António Sottomaior) *''São José'' 34 (Francisco Machado Deca) *''São Filipe e Santiago'' 24 (António de Abreu)

Netherlands

*''Windhond'' (flag?) *''Renoçer'' (Rhinoceros) (second flag?) *''Drommedaris'' (yacht) ''Renoçer'' and probably ''Windhond'' were the captured ships.

1654 Events January–March * January 6– In India, Jaswant Singh of Marwar (in what is now the state of Rajasthan) is elevated to the title of Maharaja by Emperor Shah Jahan. * January 11– In the Battle of Río Bueno in sout ...

Action of 1654-03-23 Naval battles involving Portugal 1654 in Asia Conflicts in 1654 1654 in the Dutch Empire 1654 in the Portuguese Empire Naval battles involving the Dutch Republic {{battle-stub