Dutch Ceylon
Dutch Ceylon (Sinhala: ලන්දේසි ලංකාව, romanized: Landesi Lankava; Tamil: ஒல்லாந்த இலங்கை, romanized: Ollanda Ilankai) was a governorate established in present-day Sri Lanka by the Dutch East India Company. Although the Dutch managed to capture most of the coastal areas in Sri Lanka, they were never able to control the Kingdom of Kandy located in the interior of the island. Dutch Ceylon existed from 1640 until 1796.
Governorate of Ceylon Nederlands-Ceylon ලන්දේසි ලංකාව ஒல்லாந்து சிலோன் | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1640–1796 | |||||||||||||
Flag
Coat of arms
| |||||||||||||
| Anthem: Het Wilhelmus ("The William") | |||||||||||||
Dutch control areas (1689–1796)
The Kingdom of Kandy | |||||||||||||
| Status | Governorate of the Dutch East India Company | ||||||||||||
| Capital | Galle (1640–1658) Colombo (1658–1796) | ||||||||||||
| Common languages | Dutch (official) Sinhala Tamil | ||||||||||||
| Government | Colonial government | ||||||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||||||
• 1640 | Willem Jacobszoon Coster | ||||||||||||
• 1794–1796 | Johan van Angelbeek | ||||||||||||
| Historical era | Imperialism | ||||||||||||
• Established | 13 March 1640 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 16 February 1796 | ||||||||||||
| Currency | Dutch Guilder | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
In the early 17th century, Sri Lanka was partly ruled by the Portuguese and partly by Sri Lankan (primarily of Sinhalese origin) kingdoms, who were constantly battling the Portuguese. Although the Portuguese were not winning the war, their rule was oppressive to the people of those areas controlled by them. While the Portuguese were engaged in a long war of independence from Spanish rule, the Sinhalese king (the king of Kandy) invited the Dutch to help defeat the Portuguese. The Dutch interest in Ceylon was to have a united battle front against the Iberians at that time.