Dutch Ceylon: Map & History
Dutch Ceylon was a governorate established in present-day Sri Lanka by the Dutch East India Company.
Wikipedia Encyclopedic Compendium
Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
Dutch Ceylon 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.
Modern Countries Once Part of Dutch Ceylon
At its mapped extent, Dutch Ceylon covered territory in 1 present-day country. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Dutch Ceylon's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Dutch Ceylon in Depth
History
The Dutch were invited by the Sinhalese to help fight the Portuguese. They signed the Kandyan Treaty of 1638 with Rajasinghe II and soon embarked on a war against their common enemy. As such the Dutch were appointed as a protector of the country.
Meanwhile, however, Rajasinghe II approached the French and offered them the Trincomalee fort as a check against Dutch power. The Dutch captured Trincomalee from the French and controlled all the maritime provinces of the island. Rajasinghe and the Dutch were both playing a double game trying to outwit each other, and the treaty of 1638 was never implemented. The Dutch ruled all the Tamil provinces and brought Tanjore Tamil workers to work in the cinnamon gardens in the Western Province and tobacco farms in Jaffna.
Legacy
Many of the Dutch Burghers migrated to Australia after British rule ended in 1948 to take advantage of the White Australia policy due to their European descent.
The islands of the Palk Strait were renamed during Dutch rule in the Dutch language as Kayts, Delft and other cities of the Netherlands. The Dutch priest Philippus Baldeus has written a great historical record similar to Mahavamsa on the Jaffna people and their culture and it was immediately published in Dutch and German with several beautiful pictures. At the Point Pedro Market Square, a granite stone inscription still marks the place where Rev. Baldeus preached to the Tamils under a big tamarind tree. This tamarind tree was uprooted during the cyclone of 1964.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Dutch Ceylon (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dutch Ceylon Map Over Time
Dated world maps on which Dutch Ceylon appears, with the other states of the time.
Dutch Ceylon Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 44,235 km² in 1728 CE.
Dutch Ceylon: Frequently Asked Questions
When did Dutch Ceylon exist?
Dutch Ceylon is dated to 1687 CE – 1795 CE, in the Early Modern & Age of Discovery era.
What was the capital of Dutch Ceylon?
The capital of Dutch Ceylon was Galle (1640–1658), Colombo (1658–1796).
How large was Dutch Ceylon at its peak?
At its peak in 1728 Dutch Ceylon covered about 44,235 km².
Other Sovereign Realms
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Söğüt, Bursa, Edirne, Constantinople
Industrial Era • Capital: London
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Agra, Fatehpur Sikri, Lahore, Delhi
Early Modern & Age of Discovery • Capital: Raigad