Polity Jaffna Kingdom (Portugal)

This article is about the specific polity Jaffna Kingdom (Portugal) and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.

If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here: All Statistics

Was a historical kingdom in Sri-Lanka. It had several periods of Portuguese domain.

Establishment

  • December 1591: The Portuguese captured the kingdom of Jaffna, killed the king, and installed Ethirimana Cinkam as the new ruler.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. Sinhalese-Portuguese War

Were a series of wars between the native kingdoms of modern-day Sri Lanka and the Portuguese Empire.

1.1. Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom

Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom.

  • December 1591: The Portuguese captured the kingdom of Jaffna, killed the king, and installed Ethirimana Cinkam as the new ruler.
  • January 1618: With the death of Pararasasekaran in 1617, Cankili II, an usurper, took control of the throne after killing the regent nominated by the Ethirimanna Cinkam.
  • July 1619: By June 1619, there were two Portuguese expeditions: a naval expedition that was repulsed led by the Varunakulattan, also known as Khem Nayak, and a land expedition by Phillippe de Oliveira and his army of 5000 was able to defeat Cankili. Cankili, along with every surviving member of the royal family, was captured and taken to Goa, where he was hanged. Jaffna was annexed to the Portuguese Crown.

2. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

  • January 1595: Resistance eventually coalesced around Konnappu Bandara, son of Wirasundara, who had fled to Portuguese lands following his father's murder by agents of Rajasinghe. Between 1591 and 1594, he returned to the area, seized the Kandyan throne under the name Wimaladharmasuriya I and married Dona Catherina. Victories over the Sithawakans and the Portuguese (who occupied Kandy briefly in 1592) secured his position.

Disestablishment

  • January 1622: Portuguese conquest of the Jaffna kingdom.