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Dutch Arrival in Ceylon and the Dutch-Portuguese Conflict (1638)
In 1638 a VOC fleet under Adam Westerwolt reached Ceylon, allied with King Rajasinha II of Kandy against the Portuguese, and won the Battle of Battic…
Timeline
- 1638East coast of Ceylon, Batticaloa · Sri LankaThe VOC sent Adam Westerwolt with a fleet to Ceylon, making contact with King Rajasinha II of the inland Kingdom of Kandy. Long troubled by Portuguese control of the coast, Rajasinha II saw the Dutch as potential allies, and the two sides negotiated joint action against Portugal.
- 1638Off Batticaloa · Sri LankaThe Dutch fleet engaged an arriving Portuguese fleet off Batticaloa and won a decisive victory, badly damaging Portuguese naval power. This was the first major Dutch military action challenging Portuguese hegemony in Ceylon's waters, proving the Dutch could confront Portugal head-on in the Indian Ocean.
- 1638Kandy · Sri LankaThe VOC and the Kingdom of Kandy signed an alliance treaty: the Dutch pledged to help expel the Portuguese, while Kandy granted the Dutch a monopoly on cinnamon and other spices and agreed to reimburse Dutch military expenditures. The treaty established the Dutch foothold in Ceylon, laying the legal and strategic groundwork for gradually replacing the Portuguese over the following decades.
Sources
- The Dutch East India Company and the Economy of Bengal, 1630–1720 — Om Prakash (1985)
- Ceylon under the British — Lennox A. Mills (1933)