Portuguese Period (1505 AD
- 1658 AD)
The first Portuguese, Lorenco
de Almeida, arrived in Colombo in 1505 AD. He established a
friendly relationship with the king of Kotte and gained the
monopoly on the spice and cinnamon trade for Portugal. The
original trading relationship later turned in the direction of
aiding the king fighting the neighboring kingdoms that threatened
the island integrity. Help and protection of the Portuguese soon
resulted in Portugal taking over and ruling Kotte and, by 1597 AD,
other parts of the island excepted for the areas of the kingdom of
Kandy in the central highlands. As the highlands were remote and
inaccessible, the king of Kandy was always able to defeat, and on
several occasion, able to drive the Portuguese back to the coast. |
