Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
II
t2 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (SRI LANKA) VoI. XVII, (New Series), t973
THE POLITICS OF SURVIVAL 13
largely unexplored territory. The present pap,er seeks to analyse the
ext-ernal relations of the kingdom of Kandy during the period covered
,r"nrs o{ close contact wit}r the Portuguese troops had led to the^ adop-
by the documents, within the context of the external threats to its i,^l f.r, it,", Slt"*ut a armed forces o[ new techniques of warlare in
security in the 16th century. the use of ,artillery'e The usual
il'#"4-the forrner, principallyresources
Under Parakranrabahu VI (1412-1467), the Kandyan territories Jir*""il"io which such increased and improved techniques
had been a part of the kingdom of Kotte, and their secession during ,"o"ia fr."" been directed by the Sitawaka ruler was the war against
the turmoilthat followed that ruler's death was an act of rebellion. ni! niottt.r, but certain circumstances made its continuation no longer
To reverse its result, and to re-establish their authoritv over the ,rr"-iti"e. chief iimong these were the recent defeats suffered by the
Kandyan lands became, there{ore, a principal object of the later it*ra" ind thc troopi of tire Samorin, the ruler o[ Calicut' MSVa;
Kotte rulers, and during the next four decades, their fcrces made ;;t;;;'; patron and helper:, at the hands o{ the Portuguesc at Vedalai
two expeditions to the hill country for this purpose. On both occasions, ir.ncl putialam in 1538-9 and the estrangement oI the Samorrn trom
the Kotte forces proved overwhelmingly superior to the Kandyans, il,tavaa""'ru on the latter's giving in to Portuguese demancls for the
and its ruler was forcecl io acknowiedge the Kotte king's suzerainty, i.da.i .t the Samorin's genJrals,-who had come to Sitarvai<a's 1relp.e
on one occasion even paying iiim a war-indemnity.a Kandy, it was rvitl, t-ro 1-ri:ospect of aid trom calicut to counterbalance the support
shown, could not match the resources of Kotte. Its only hope of that Bhuvatr"kabahu r,vas getting {rom the Portuguese, ther-e^was
survival, it followed, lay in weakening Kotte, and to this end its little point in continrring the hosailities, and llavadunne,ca1led forthea
subsequent efforts were directed. ir.i.".'rf periocl ol ddtunle, and eveniimitecl_co-operation between
An opportunity to in the Kotte
encourage divisive tendencies i*u Irotir".s {or specific purposes, succeeded, destined to last until
kingdom came to Kandy inKotte ruler a"t the ti,ne, Vija-
1521. The at,out 1547.10 The competlng, multi-state system was in abeyance,
yabahu (1509-1521) sought to disinherit his three nephews-sons and this signalled danger for Kandy.
of the polyandrous marriage of his elder brother and himself to the First Bhuvanekabahu and then 1\'Iayadunne lr.arboured expan-
same wife-in favour of a prince who wa.sprobablyhisown son.5 The sionist designs on Kandy. In November t5+9, the former wrote-to the
three princes thereupon fled from the Kotte lands and the youngest, Infante lo"tl Luis of Fortugal argr-ring that since formerly Kandy
I\fayAdunne, sought the help of the king of Kandy against their unc]e. had been subject to the Kotfe kingdom, he had a legal right to the
The ruler of Kandy readily agreed. to help, ostensibly because the Kandyan territories and asking for Port'guese assistance to recover
three princes were his wife's relatives,o but really to ensure his own r,vhat'was his.11 But as no Portirguese assislance was fortticoming, he
independence by fomenting rebellion within the Kotte kingdom. made no move to annex it by himself , preferring instead to join forces
On the success of the coup, three kingdoms sprang up where previously with his brother, and making available to him both men and money'
there was one. Fi\'e years later, a bitter contest between two of the MS.yadunne's preparations {oi an expedition to $andy seems to have
princes, Bhuvanekabahu and Mayadunne, began. The single-state begun in 1542, though the attack was not launched until about October,
polity of the Kotte kingdom had been replaced by a multiple-state 15I5 under ttre genJralship of Mayadunne's minister, Arya.1z
polity; these states were often in conflict, and in their absorption in
these qriarrels, the Kandyan kingdom found peace and security. Kancly's reaction to this threat w'as tr'vo-fold. Firstly its. rriler
callcci in tire Portuguese at Goa to red.ress the balance of {orces in thc
In the 1540s, dark clouds began to gather on the horizon for island. Secondly he sought to detach Bhuvanekabahu frori the ofien-
I(andy. In the closing years of the previous decade, one oJ the three sive alliance against iiim. gottr objeclives, it rvi1l be noted, relied
Kotte princes had died, and by the incorporation of his kingdom heavily on foreign policy to rescue the kingdom.
Sitawaka had had an accession of strength.T At the same time, over ten
To the question why Kandy dicl not look to its own resources
Epigraphia Zeylanica vol. IV pp. t6-26. to ensurc its- securitv th-e answer is found in the internal situation
4.
The Rajaualiya, edited by Gunasekara (Colombo 19z6) pp. 5o-5r.
5. Rajaaaliya pp. 49-50, 52. Schurlrammcr and Voretzsch, op. c'it,I p. t73.
6. Ibid.P.53. \). Queyroz, ap. cit. pp. zt8, zz5.
I,he Journal oJ the Ceglon Branch oJ the Royal Asiatic gociety. vol. XX p. 72.
JCBRAS r.o1. XX pp. 9r-2, to4, to6-7"
Queyroz, The Temporal and Spiritwal Conquest of Ceylon (Colombo i93o)
p. 203' IO. Qneyroz, of . ci,t. p. z3o.
7. Queyroz, oP.cil. P. zzo. II. Sclrurlrarmner and Voretzsch, op. cit.I p. rz3.
' 'ICBRAS vol. XX P. 99. 12, lbitl. pp. r6o-r. r65-6, \7o, r72, 175, r99.
Rajataliyap.53.
rq JOURNAL, R.A.S, (SRI LANKA) Yot. XYII, (Nea Scriesl, rs73 TTIE POLITICS OF SURVIVAL r5
the oieces of artiilerv that Barreto had left behind in Kandy. were nrore Dliant than the king, the Portuguese-hoped to esp.ouse Ihe son's
f-"t..'."iuin"d io tlre'Portuguese, with a handsorne financial subven- ;:;;;;;a thercby obtainiscendancy over thc kingdom'3r
of events ended
ii"".f fi,OOO pardaos to c&er expenses,ze this seriesfriendly
;it; fi;"t;;; pJtioa a"ti"g which K.andl' had sought relations After de{eating Mayadunne, D. Jorge de Castro asked for Bhu-
;]til, ;":Ju.,i'ed assistanie from, the Portuguese as a counterweight uorr"Lut,otru's assislance to lead an eipedition to the Kandyan king-
to the Sitawaka king's clesigns on Kandy, sometitnes in assoclatlon al"i. tjfr"""nekabdhu was in a dileinma: he was obliged to the Por-
*lith hi, brother, thJ ruler o"{ I(otte. Of ihe three Portuguese expedi- ;;;,'";" {or their help, but rvas allied to the Kandyan royal house'
-expedition
tions d"uring these years, one hacl failecl-to establish contact with the iii |ru,.,f to stall thc by adr'ising strongly against_it. But
Tlhuvanekatdhu into
ii;";t ; kirg, u',oih",. had a"rri-..ed irr Kan6y too late, rvhile the third 0". Cnrtro rl-isregarded tLe ad!ice-ancl dragged
also liad arrivetl rvhen it was no longer neecled. Thc main difficultlt o" allLnce against Kanr11', in rvhich ihcy agree_d ft.' rnake
;;A P;tttg,rcse aicl,. I(and1' hard rtrilized"during this.lreriod' was "f."rir,.
*rr,,n Kan.i1',lritl drVidc its tcnrilorios and lt'rLsulc:* ellralh- Scttillg
that it
-never
rvas availablc wlnn hr s'antetl it nor in ttre quantunr or,it ir., ir.t. Mirch 1550, Castro arrived at the head oi the joint Portu-
suf&cient for his Purposes. sucse Ko1-te forces u,ithin a fcrv miles o{ thc Kandyan ca;--,itai. }dere
i'h. Kandvan lnrccs attack,'C, killing off nea|i1 200 ].' 'rtuguese,
on hearing of the d6bacle o{ .antonio Moniz Barreto's-experli-
{elt that iniuring ,]:l"utv *ot", antl capturing all arms and baggage'32 Portuguese
tionaif i"r." t? iiandy, the portuguese authorities at Goa insincere "ni,,itt.lrt rva"s sh,,v,'n, c,ir;id n,r more lrt,r[
Ka.ndy {lrcn tlleir friendship
thev liad been cleceiveld into embaiking on a mission rvith assistln its deiences.
pioit-tit.t. They thercfore willingly entertained friendly overtures
irorn ltav,fdunne, who had alread! won over Barreto lvhen the iatter Bhuvanekabihu had sent his men to invade Kandv and this
d;;;;;d'hiGii ona his armv to tne Sitawaka lands, latigued and should have strained the Kandy-Kotte alliance' BuL there is uo
i"tr"iEft"a, uit.t folced march from Kandy' .Mayadunne
sought to eviclence that it irernranently damaged the rcLationship. For one
uuitd ut.l offensive" alliance against Kandv on this foundation, and sent thing, the Kotte iuler had helped the -P.ortuguese-under duress; in
an to Goa with'gifts--ior. tire viceroy, o$c.ri1S-.lo bg a fact somc Portuguese attributed the failure of the expedition to
"*b"rsy
vassal of Portugal, He also suggestetl a lo,lnt SltawaKa-
of tire king Bhuvanekabahu's lukelvann support, if not machinations. And his
fort"g""t. force"to take K"andy, 19- b" rr'tied thereafter by one of contribution to the expeditiorr had been minimal. For another, if
his sons in the name of the king of Portugal and the equal division
of Kanclv were to brake off relations with Kotte on this or any other
ground, it rvould be left witliout a single friend or_ally. This knowledge
the treasures o{ the king of KJndy.3o Though the Portuguese autho- iushioned the alliance ag,ainst stresses, and friendship with Kotte was
rities at Goa did not act"on the proposals from M5.yd.dunne, that they a cornerstone of Kandy's foreign relations during these years.
were willing to entertain them shows that their role vis-),-vis Kandy
was changing, frorr, erstwhile friend to open enemy' The death of Bhuvanekabahu in 1551, and the period of political
uncertainty and instability that followed in Kotte required readjust-
Though the Portuguese were unwilling to act on Mayadunne's ment in Kandyan policy. There was a real chance that Vidiye Randara
ihey
proposal,'B"t felt thal some punishment- should be meted out to might einerge as Kotte's strong man, ruling as regent to the late
ii"rlay. punitive expedition could be contemplated unless king's grandson and defying both Mayadunne's claims to the Kotte
"o troops and porters were available, and for that
native auxiliary throne and Portuguese attempts to dominate Kotte's internal politics.
the support of a local-ruler was essential. In 1549 that problem was Kandy therefore supported him, offering him aid in his struggle
solved, ivhen late that year Mayadunne resumed the struggle against against Sitawaka, and at one stage even a base of operations. But
Kotte. On Bhuvanekatahu's ippeal to Goa, the authorities there when support for Vidiye began to erode, and it hppeared unlikely
decided to send Dom .Jorge de castro with considerable forces to
t.t. tn" field against itayadontre. Dom jtJorge was also instructed Schurhammer and Voretzsch, op. cit. II pp" 546, 54g, 55o,559-60,
to toot< into the iroblem of Kandy, where, rvas reported, the prince JCBRAS vol. XX pp. T33-4.
pueyroz, op. eit.p. z75fI.
XarJ6yaaae Bandara had fallen out with the king his_father, and
Schurhammer and Voretzsch, op. cit.II pp. 55o, 56r-3.
*uging war against him from Uva' As this prince was known to be
32.
*"t JCBRAS vol. XX pp. r4o-2.
gueyroz, op. cit. pp. z7z-3,278.
Some Portuguese documents make it out that D. Jorge de Castro only
29. Schurhammer and Voretzsch, op. citr.II pp. 495-496. wanted to find out whether the king of Kandy wishedlo be a Christian.
JCBRASvol.XXP' r3r' But this is an improbable story, as"the expeditionary force consisted of
II pp' 476-8, 6oo Portuguese soidiers,
30" Schurhammer and Voretzsch, op. cil. 498'
20 JOURNAL, R.A'S. (SRI LANKA) Vot' XVII, (New Series)' 1973
THE POLITICS OF SURVIVAL
that he would fulfil the promises held out earlier, Kandy withdrew
support and returned to th'e traditional alliance with Kotte's legitimate ]I)wlalld.s,andontlrisheconcentratedhisenergiesforthenextten
ruler.33 l"-'f r"r";"e Kandv alone. But he made an attempt to secure a
in the 1540s been sealed 'K'#ei;;;.1t"...., pt6rr"ltv to advance a claim to the throne o{ Kandy
Just as the Kotte-Kandy friend.ship 4?d ;;;;'il; right.'But the KanclSran-ruler re{usei the marliage offer'
in a"marriage between the ioyal hgqses, it was now renewed with a
.i*;tu. allia-"nce. When Dharmapala's queen died, in -1573 another ii"f"]rl"*: t. giie the princess to the Kotte r[ler.38 To him, Sitawaka's
Kandvan princess was brought down to-take her place.3a BeJore-that ir-rrrri..."*uoi. un*eico,r'e as its open hostility'
ho#.,ro., another linli betwcen lhe two -royal houses.h.ap b-een InlsT4,RajasinhaattackcdKandy,withinconclusiveresults.
l.,rsed. In 1557, Dharmapala had embraced the Catholic faith. The
"""nli t.-^,rr rrears later. anotlier attack r,vas lairnched, the Sitawaka forces -
li"'g Lf kandv had also been baptised, thought at what date is *ot irt',di;, g";"-*ti to th. kir'gd' in. Balana' Tlrc king of.K.andy ci'lled
known.35 ,,r.nll." iiori ugttest'allie" for-help rrid a force of 150 so]dicrs went to
the late 15,10's ancl early years of the next deca'li.s, Kandy-had
ln ii"^"at. in"t k"ingd"m saved itself on this ()ccasion too,Inbut not'
n"nt oI
beenlnlv little less hostile to lnb Portuguese than to Sitarvaka. Now ;i;r;;i."t., .iu,l ir', n. pxsl linnS ,I the Portrrgucsemobtltzed.
troops'31'
;h;;"";t ; new tilt in Kandyan foreign relations-to friendship il,cs" at rar.ks rvere liajasirrha's {ull rcsources SuclI an
.ri,"diri"n, throwirg into tl,c lray a n,rssi'c iorco estimaled at 30.000
and dependence on the Portuguese, as in the early 1540s' had recupe-
;l;,-;; i;,.lerrakei only in lSSi or 1582. aftcrtoSitar,ia.ka
what brought about this change? chiefly a change in the relative ;;;;,11[- th.long draw*-out siege it had laidlorce Colombo in 1579-80.
nositions of Sit-awaka ancl Kotte. Rhuvanekabahrr had managed to X.rrfii:'"aa. {acef, Rajasinha with a bigger at Balana' but was
iontain Sitarvaka, tliough r,vith diffrc.ltv at times. His successor ;;;;;,4.'ihe Sitawaka monarchy flnally consummated its 40-year
Dh";pil was unable io do this. In the 1560s, t1e Kotte kingdom
rvent ota-"*t,iiion and occupied thc hill count.ry' 1'lre Kandyan.royai
city of Kotte under
shrank ancl even its capital Jayarn'ardana Ian,ilt. lled to Trinco,nalt.e, and altcr a bricl.sojo.urn ln tne vannl
;ii; Sii;"k" ruler. Sitarvaka, began to dominate the polit(s of Ceylon
,i"rt""g *1,l.fi it tried-.unsuccessfully--to enlist t1e support o{ the
;;;th ;l ih; becl'ru Oya as KottJbecame ectipsed, forcing Dharqapdla i-r;i chiefs, finally took re{uge wlih ttre Portuguese at Mannar.ao
io l".o-. nn unwilling guest of the Portuguese at Colombo' Kandy
h;Jt;; to maiitiin its anti-Portuguese stance so long.as it In retrospect, it is seen that the essential condition for the sut-
"ble
tt"J U""n supported by a strong Kotte. But.rvithout that,support, it was viouiof the lianclyan kingdom as an independent entity in the 16th
the south
;;";irr' *"* tn" illvision J{ th" -rop-ower and resources ofcompeting
fr-.d to leiri on the Portuguese once again. The ruler there embra.cing
tn" b.li,"fi. faith had rem6ved a point- of friction. The two Cathoiic and solrtlr-westcrn sector ol'thc island among a number o[
;ii[.;-"] k""ay and Kotte-formed a" natural a"lliance, with their itut"*. \Vhenever this sector was wholly-dr almost wholly-under
Foii"guit" pnttJtt. joining-in !o 1$e it.a. triple partnership' As with pnuti.*l authority, Kandyan_indepetrdett." was in danger. Kotte's
the 19"th .yit"- o{ subsidiary alliances in India, a company "n. on it prior to iSZt, a"nd Sitav,aka's attacks in 1580-81, botit
"ttnii.r
.i-frrt"g""se ioldiers was stationed in Kandy.30 This guaranteed,
".tit.ttr, bore this out.
,*org oiher things, that its external affairs would be conducted on A inultiple-state polity in tire area, ho\^'cver, did not automatically
lines acceptable to the Portuguese. conter imm'nitv o, Kandi . Thc states had, within iimits, to be evenl,'
Naturally the alliance involved obligations' Thus when Dhar- llalanced in their militarv'and othcr resorlrces' Where one state could
mapala and. his Portugrrese protectors werchard-pressed by Rajasinha dominate the otirer, as sitai,vaka did in the rnid-1540s, it still corrld
.i*Sit.*"f.u in l565,"the Kandyan king attacked Sitawaka's flank: present a serious threat to the hiil countrv, and exact tribute. But
t" across the Seven korales and struck at Chilaw, on the outer kancllt l,ard off the danger to its ind-ependence h-v. allying rvith
cor-rlcl
""i
perimeter of Rajasinha's domains.3T the l(otte kingdorn, Sitawaka's enemy.
The Sitawaka monarch did not hit back at Kandy inimediately.
In its externeil relations, Kandy had no permanent enemies
or fricncls. Kotte, Sitau'aka and the Portuguese rvere in turn its enemy
His main concern was tbe destruction of Portuguese power in the or friencl. In lian<ly's ever-shifting, er.;er-changing relations with
external po\\rers, tlie- only perrnanent element was its unchanging
J.t. RajaualiYaPP. 59-6o. obiect--thc cryest for survival.
;d;;il";tifi'"iao aerratad'os e Concevtos d'e pazes I(Lisbon r88r)p' zz5 ff"
34.
15. CBRAS vol. XX P. 233.
CBRAS vol. XX PP.233-4. 38. Queyroz, op. cit. p. 424,
36.
39" Il:id,. p. q3o.
37. bid.pp.234-5. .1o. Rujaualitta pp.63-64.
Qnc-vroz, op. ci.t. pp. 433-9.