The Portuguese and Seizure of Batticaloa Fort

Abstract

It was quite interesting to know about the Portuguese relations in the history of Eastern part of Sri Lanka. Though the principal policy of Portuguese was to capture the monopoly of the spice trade flourished in Sri Lanka, they considered for the capturing of maritime regions of Sri Lanka specially the Eastern part of Sri Lanka. Their policy towards Kandy was also high important for their Batticaloa relationship. The Portuguese captain general in Sri Lanka Constantino – de – Sa was quite keen to capture Batticaloa. This idea was taken by the Conselho da Fazenda in Portugal as reflected in the letters of the king to the viceroy during this period (1626 – 1628). The relationship between the Portuguese and the Kandyan king Senarath was also another historical factor for the Portuguese control over Batticaloa region. The findings shows that the capture of Batticaloa was an important strategical location for the Portuguese to rule in this region. The main objective of this research article is to find the reasons and the results of Portuguese intruding in the Eastern Province to capture Batticaloa. The Secondary sources like books, journals and other articles are referred to provide the information to write this research article.