Dutch-Portuguese conflict and the Dutch takeover of Ceylon (1650s)

Timeline

1. 1651–1654Ceylon (whole island) · Sri Lanka (Ceylon)From 1638 the Dutch East India Company allied with Kandyan king Rajasinha II against Portugal. By the early 1650s the VOC controlled ports such as Galle in southwestern Ceylon and kept pressing toward Colombo. Dutch naval blockades cut Portuguese sea supply lines, laying the strategic foundation for the eventual capture of Colombo.
2. 1655–1656Colombo · Sri Lanka (Ceylon)In 1655 Dutch admiral Gerard Hulft led a fleet and army in the siege of Colombo. Hulft was killed during the siege, and the Dutch continued it under a successor commander. After exhausting their ammunition and supplies, the Portuguese garrison surrendered to the Dutch on 12 May 1656, and Colombo, the core stronghold of Portuguese Ceylon, changed hands.
3. 1658Jaffna · Northern ProvinceAfter the loss of Colombo, Portugal held only the northern stronghold of Jaffna. In 1658 Dutch forces captured Jaffna, the last Portuguese stronghold on the island. Portugal's colonial rule of over 150 years since its first arrival in 1505 came to an end, and the VOC took full control of Ceylon's coastal cinnamon regions and strategic ports.