‘A Modest Arsenal: Gunpowder Weapons in Sri Lanka 1500 – 1820’ by Channa Wickremesekera published by TAP publishers in Colombo. This is the first in-depth look at the history of gunpowder weapons in Sri Lanka and fills void in the historiography of the region. The book can be purchased online from https://slbooks.lk/
Paper edition book of my research “The History of Trincomalee during Portuguese and Dutch rule”. The bay, called by the Portuguese “Baia dos Arcos”, where is situated the city of Trincomalee on the island of Sri Lanka (Ceylon) has always been considered as one of the best ports of the world. Its highly strategic position […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. Photos by Dirk Holtschlag. Tangalle is a small coastal town located a few kilometers east of the city of Matara, in the extreme south of the island of Ceylon. At the time of the Dutch occupation of Ceylon, Tangalle, thanks to its natural harbor, was used by them as an important anchorage. […]
Written by Phil Abernethy. Enid Ursula Andree was born on the 28 Oct 1928 in KL Malaysia my father Fredrick Alexandra Abernethy (Freddy) die on the 23 May 1979 in Perth WA, they had 2 Children, myself – Philip Andrew Abernethy born 23 June 1960 in KL Malaysia and Anna Agnes Abernethy born 22 Jul […]
Written by Marco Ramerini SRI LANKA: WEST COAST (North of Colombo) Colombo: (Colombo, Columbo, Calamba, Kolombo, Colombe) (6°56′ N – 79°51′ E) Hultsdorf: (Hulffsdorp, Hulfsdorp, Hulftsdorp, Hulsdorp, Hulstsdorp) Kasteel Netherlands: 12 May 1656 – 16 Feb 1796 British: 16 Feb 1796 – Sources: Brohier “Links between Sri Lanka and The Netherlands: a book of Dutch […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. SRI LANKA (CEYLON): Portuguese: 1518 – 1597 the Kingdom of Kotte is tributary to Portugal. Portuguese: 1597: the whole of the territory of the Kingdom of Kotte is under the control of the Portuguese, they control four Provinces or Disawani: Matara (along the sea coast from Kotte to Walawe […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. DUTCH EMPIRE: CEYLON (SRI LANKA) CEYLON-SRI LANKA: – Various Authors “History of Ceylon” Vol. 1, parts 1 & 2: “Pre-Colonial Period” University of Ceylon, 1959/60, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Vol. 2: “History of Sri Lanka vol. II (1500-1800)”, 614 pp., edited by K.M. de Silva, University […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. PORTUGUESE EMPIRE: SRI LANKA (CEYLON) MALDIVES: – Bell, H. C. P., “The Portuguese on the Maldives” in: “Excerpta Maldiviana”, Ceylon Royal Archeological Society Journal” vol. XXXII, 1931 SRI LANKA (CEYLON): – Various Authors, “History of Ceylon”, vol. I, parts 1 & 2: “Pre-Colonial Period” ?, […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. THE DUTCH GOVERNORS OF CEYLON Willem Jacobsz COSTER 1640 Jan THIJSSEN 1640 – 1646 Joan MAETSUYCKER 1646 – 1650 Jacob van KITTENSTEYN 1650 – 1653 Adriaan van der MEIJDEN 1653 – 1662 Rijcklof van GOENS 1662 – 1663 Jacob HUSTAERT 1663 – 1664 Rijcklof van GOENS 1665 – 1675 Rijcklof van […]
Written by Marco Ramerini For more information on the Journal of the Dutch Burgher Union of Ceylon you can contact: Victor Melder at: VICTOR MELDER SRI LANKA LIBRARY 7, Benambra Street Broadmeadows, Vic 3047 Australia Web site: www.vmsl-library.com The library has the entire set of the Dutch Burgher Union Journals, published from 1908 to date and […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. DUTCH AND PORTUGUESE REMAINS IN NORTHERN SRI LANKA JAFFNA The Portuguese built the fortress Nossa Senhora dos Milagres in 1560. Jaffna was the last place in Portuguese hands in Ceylon. They lost it in 1658. The Dutch strengthened the fort around 1680. The old Dutch […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. The first Portuguese visiting Ceylon was Dom Lourenço de Almeida in 1505 or 1506. Accidentally, after a storm, adverse winds drove him to the island’s coast near Galle. In the last months of the years 1505 or 1506 Dom Lourenço’s fleet anchored off Colombo. A […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. The history of the Dutch in Ceylon began during the command of Admiral Joris van Spilbergen on 31 May 1602, when the first Dutch ships, which visited Ceylon, anchored off the port of Batticaloa. The Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque started right from the beginning […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. COLOMBO: The city of Colombo, the main city of today’s Sri Lanka, was founded by the Portuguese. The first Portuguese attempt to settle in Colombo was done in 1518, when the Viceroy Lopo Soares de Albergaria landed in Colombo with a large fleet. Here the […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. Continued from: The first British occupation and the definitive Dutch surrender 9.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY CONSULTED MATERIAL You can also look for the sources quoted in the notes. SOURCES: – Various Authors “Livro das plantas, das fortalezas, cidades e povoações do Estado da Índia Oriental”, 1991 Codex […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. Continued from: The consolidation of the Dutch presence 8.0 THE FIRST BRITISH OCCUPATION AND THE DEFINITIVE DUTCH SURRENDER In December 1780 the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland declared war to The Netherlands. The news reached Ceylon in June 1781 and some preparations were […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. Continued from: The French attempt 7.0 THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE DUTCH PRESENCE This period of instability resulted in a remarkable decrease of the volume of commerce, dealt with Trincomalee. The figures of this decline are inconsistent, but it seems that in the first ten years […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. Continued from: The new Dutch occupation and the reconstruction of the Fort 6.0 THE FRENCH ATTEMPT A new threat encumbered on the Dutch possessions of Ceylon, it materialized in March 1672 in the shape of a great French fleet, that of admiral de la Haye. […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. Continued from: The Dutch conquest and the abandonment of the Fort 5.0 THE NEW DUTCH OCCUPATION AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF THE FORT During the subsequent years it is likely that the Dutch maintained only a small fortified outpost in Kottiyar Bay 1, but also this […]
Written by Marco Ramerini. English text revision by Dietrich Köster. Continued from: The arrival of the Danes, the Dutch and the construction of the Portuguese Fort 4.0 THE DUTCH CONQUEST AND THE ABANDONMENT OF THE FORT The first attack of the Dutch on the Portuguese forts of Ceylon was directed towards the eastern coast of […]