In 1594 the Portuguese undertook the Campaign of Danture against the native Sri Lankan Kingdom of Kandy.
This effort was led by "conquistador" Pedro Lopes de Sousa (governor of Portuguese Ceylon), who commanded a force of about 1000 Portuguese, 15,400 Lascarins (catholic Sri Lankan militiamen) and a number of indigenous mercenaries. The purpose of the expedition was to deppose the usuper king Vimaladharmasūriya of Kandy and install the catholic-educated princess Kusumāsana Devi (baptized Dona Catarina ) as the new ruler.
Ultimately, the expedition was unsuccessful due to the inability of the Portuguese to maintain the trust of their native allies (almost all Lascarins had defected by the end). If it had succeeded, then, assuming the conquest of the Kingdom of Jaffna is completed as per OTL, the Portuguese would have established loyalty over the entirety of Ceylon, unlike IOTL where the Kingdom of Kandy subsisted and eventually invited the Dutch in.
Assuming the Portuguese manage not to hostilize their allies to the point of causing defections and the Campaign succeeds, how will Portuguese Ceylon develop?
Of course the Dutch will still be a problem in the future, but, without a strong and organized native ally, I'd argue that their chances of taking over the island should be much lower.
This effort was led by "conquistador" Pedro Lopes de Sousa (governor of Portuguese Ceylon), who commanded a force of about 1000 Portuguese, 15,400 Lascarins (catholic Sri Lankan militiamen) and a number of indigenous mercenaries. The purpose of the expedition was to deppose the usuper king Vimaladharmasūriya of Kandy and install the catholic-educated princess Kusumāsana Devi (baptized Dona Catarina ) as the new ruler.
Ultimately, the expedition was unsuccessful due to the inability of the Portuguese to maintain the trust of their native allies (almost all Lascarins had defected by the end). If it had succeeded, then, assuming the conquest of the Kingdom of Jaffna is completed as per OTL, the Portuguese would have established loyalty over the entirety of Ceylon, unlike IOTL where the Kingdom of Kandy subsisted and eventually invited the Dutch in.
Assuming the Portuguese manage not to hostilize their allies to the point of causing defections and the Campaign succeeds, how will Portuguese Ceylon develop?
Of course the Dutch will still be a problem in the future, but, without a strong and organized native ally, I'd argue that their chances of taking over the island should be much lower.
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