The Fatal History of Portuguese Ceylon : Transition to Dutch Rule

Preface his suggestion I investigated Diogo do Couto, a prophet of Portuguese imperial doom, and this led to the realization that, as of 1960, no monograph had been written in modern times about the decadencia of Asia Portuguesa in the seventeenth century. I soon made other discoveries. Among the first was that no historian had written about Portuguese Ceylon under Dutch attack, save in connection with tracing the estabhshment of the victor's power. The three modern writers who told of the Dutch conquest, Wilham van Geer, in his De Opkomst van het Nederlandsch Gezag over Ceylon (1895), Karunadasa W. Goonewardena, in his Foundation of Dutch Power in Ceylon, 1638-1658 (1959), and Richard G. Anthonisz, in his The Dutch in Ceylon (1929), treated Portugal as no more than a shadowy foe. This was partly because, as their titles suggest, Dutchmen and not Portuguese were their chief concern, but it was perhaps equally due to their lack of information about the Portuguese. Van Geer knew nothing about them, while Goonewardena and Anthonisz had access to two contemporary sources in translation-the seventeenth-century accounts of Frei Fernáo de Queiroz and of Captain Joâo Ribeiro-and to a synthesis based almost solely upon these-Sir P. E. Pieris' Ceylon: The Portuguese Era, published in Colombo in 1914. Pieris' work, however, suffered from its limitation to only two sources and from an even more local interest in Ceylon than that of his informants in the seventeenth century. One could not get much idea from either of these early writers, and consequently from Pieris, of Ceylon's relationship to the rest of the Portuguese cosmos. Goonewardena admitted that he wished to know much more about the Portuguese than he knew when he wrote his book. The work of Dr. Goonewardena especially indicated to me the need for a counterpart that would describe the loss of Portuguese Ceylon. He had made the Dutch conquest meaningful by Unking it with circumstances and command decisions in Batavia and in Amsterdam. This suggested that the fundamental approach to writing a modern account of the Portuguese defeat should be to connect Portuguese activities on the island itself with corresponding events in Goa and Lisbon. The result is that The Fatal History of Portuguese Ceylon closely parallels his account, but considers many of the same events from the Portuguese rather than the Dutch vantage point. There are, however, some significant differences. While its original model was Dr. Goonewardena's work, its subsequent deхг Preface might have helped me gain more insight into the 1653 mutiny in Goa against the Count-Viceroy of Obidos. It turned out, unfortunately, not to exist. AU scholars know the value of such "negative research"-and I am exceedingly grateful to them. I also extend my gratitude to Professor Francis M. Rogers, of Harvard University, who has given unstintingly of his time to make corrections and valuable suggestions, all of which I have tried to incorporate. Dr. K. W. Goonewardena, now vice-chancellor of the Vidyalankara University of Ceylon at Kelaniya, whom I met for the first time only last month, has graciously allowed me to incorporate into my own maps of Portuguese and Dutch Ceylon the results of his painstaking research into the location of boundaries dividing the antagonists. Dr. T. B. H. Abeyasinghe, of the University of Ceylon at Colombo, also made his contribution to this book, in the form of many helpful criticisms, and I am happy to be in his debt as well. A final acknowledgment is due Professor Charles R. Boxer, Professor of the History of the Expansion of Europe Overseas at Yale University. It is scarcely possible to cite him for every instance where his correspondence as well as his incredibly voluminous research has suggested the whereabouts of material or the advisability of emendations, or where his consolations and personal kindnesses have smoothed the way. Preface Illustrations Contents Part 1. The Military Predicament I. Ceylon / The Cartography of a Dilemma, 1594-1629 II. Ceylon / The Last Stand of Dom Constantino de Sá, 1630 III. Ceylon / Stalemate and Dutch Intervention, 1630-1641 Part 2. The Abortive Negotiations IV. Lisbon, Goa, The Hague, Brazil, Angola / A Crown in Crisis, 1641-1643 V. Goa, Batavia, and Ceylon / A Matter of Principle, 1643-1644 Part 3. The Disordered Polity VI. Goal The Vicious Circle, about 1610-1650 VII. Goa, Ceylon, The Hague, and Lisbon/ In Time of Truce, 1645-1652 VIII. Goa and Ceylon / War and Two Revolts, 1652-1655 IX. Goa and Ceylon / The Debacle, 1655-1656 Retrospect Appendix, Notes, Bibliography, and Index Appendix. Viceroys and Governors of Portuguese India and Captains-General of Ceylon, 1594-1656 Notes Bibliography Index George Winius is the first historian in 300 years to tell the story of the Dutch takeover of Ceylon from the viewpoint of the vanquished Portuguese. Drawing on official Portuguese records, he has woven a suspenseful, fast-moving tale which will interest both historian and history buff. Ceylon was part of a far-flung empire troubled by military and diplomatic intrigues, maneuverings and alliances, misgovernment and betrayal. This is the first book in any language to probe the reasons for the period of imperial decline and decay known as the Portuguese decadéncia. Winius’s theory is that Portugal’s interest shifted from Asia to South America during the wars of the Restoration period, and that Portugal, convinced that Brazil was more valuable than Ceylon, all but deliberately let it go.