Ceylon And The Portuguese 1505-1658

The author written this book by keeping an interest in Ceylon and a desire to understand her people at the time when Portuguese landed. The storey of the Portuguese in Ceylon is of more than local interest, for it depicts a characteristic phase of the beginning of European expansion in the East. When they first landed they were expelled from the country. The Sinhalese at that time a broken race, with their ancient civilization brought to the verge of ruin, and their scheme of life well-nigh destroyed. Portuguese presence in the island lasted from 1505 to 1658. Their arrival was largely accidental, and the Portuguese sought control of commerce, rather than territory. The Sinhalese–Portuguese War was a series of conflicts waged from 1527 to 1658 during the Transitional and Kandyan periods in Sri Lanka between the Sinhalese kingdoms and their allies, against the Portuguese Empire. The book is the product of extensive study of these conflicts.