Dutch Ceylon

Dutch Ceylon was a Dutch East India Company colony controlling parts of Sri Lanka’s coast from the 17th century until Britain took it in 1796.

Dutch East India Company: A Dutch chartered company that traded in Asia and exercised governmental and military powers from 1602 to 1799. It governed the colony and pursued its profitable cinnamon trade.
Portuguese Ceylon: The Portuguese colonial presence on parts of Sri Lanka’s coast from the 16th century until the Dutch conquest. It was the coastal regime the Dutch sought to replace.
Roman-Dutch law: A legal system formed from Roman law and Dutch law, influential in former Dutch territories. Its principles remain part of Sri Lanka’s legal system.
Battle of Gannoruwa: A 1638 battle near Kandy in which Kandyan forces defeated a Portuguese army. The Kandyan victory weakened Portugal before Dutch coastal expansion.
Cinnamon trade in Sri Lanka: The commerce in Ceylon cinnamon, a major export controlled by successive colonial powers. Cinnamon revenue was central to the Company’s control of the coast.
Siege of Colombo (1655–1656): The Dutch siege that captured Colombo from the Portuguese in 1656. Its outcome secured the Dutch takeover of Portugal’s principal Sri Lankan stronghold.
Sri Lankan Portuguese creole: A Portuguese-based creole historically spoken in Sri Lanka by Burgher and coastal communities. Dutch rule followed Portuguese rule but did not erase the creole’s local influence.
Dutch conquest of Ceylon: The Dutch campaign that captured Portuguese-held coastal settlements in Sri Lanka during the mid-17th century. It marks the transition from Portuguese to Dutch coastal dominance.
Galle Fort: A fortified coastal settlement in southwestern Sri Lanka, extensively developed under Dutch rule. Its defenses anchored Dutch control of a major southern port.
Raja Sinha II: The Kandyan king who ruled from 1635 to 1687 and allied with the Dutch against Portugal. His military partnership enabled the Dutch conquest, while disputes later strained relations.

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