Portuguese Conquest of The Jaffna Kingdom - Initial Contact

Initial Contact

Portuguese traders reached Sri Lanka in 1505; their initial forays were against the southwestern coastal Kotte kingdom, which enjoyed a lucrative monopoly on the spice trade, which was also of interest to the Portuguese. The Jaffna kingdom came to the attention of Portuguese officials in Colombo for multiple reasons, which included their interference in Roman Catholic missionary activities (which was assumed to be supporting Portuguese interests), the lucrative markets and strategic benefits of Jaffna's Vannimai chieftaincies, and their support of anti-Portuguese factions within the Kotte kingdom, such as the chieftains from Sitawaka. By the late 16th century, Portuguese influence strengthened in the courts of the Kandyan and Kotte kingdoms and some of Jaffna's Vannimai chieftaincies were subdued by these kings. The Jaffna kingdom functioned as a logistical base for the Kandyan kingdom, located in the central highlands without access to any seaports. They gained access to the Tamil seaports of Trincomalee and Batticaloa in the east, but the Jaffna peninsula proved more convenient as an entry port for military aid arriving from South India. Furthermore, it was feared by the Portuguese that (due to its strategic location) the Jaffna kingdom might become a beachhead for Dutch landings. It was king Cankili I who resisted contacts with the Portuguese, and even massacred six to seven hundred Parava Catholics in the island of Mannar. These Catholics had been brought from India to Mannar to take over the lucrative pearl fisheries extending to Puttalam from the Jaffna kings.