The Battle of Gannoruwa was the final engagement between Portuguese and Sinhalese forces, ending Portuguese military ambitions in the Kingdom of Kandy.
Key Facts
- Date
- 28 March 1638
- Portuguese survivors
- 33 soldiers
- Portuguese Captain General
- Diogo de Melo de Castro
- Sinhalese King
- Rajasinghe II
- Location
- Gannoruwa, District of Kandy, Sri Lanka
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
After three failed attempts to capture the Kingdom of Kandy, the Portuguese grew alarmed when King Rajasinghe II began negotiating with the Dutch for military assistance. Portuguese Captain General Diogo de Melo de Castro sought to provoke the Sinhalese, seizing an elephant gifted by the king, which escalated tensions and prompted him to march his forces toward Kandy.
On 28 March 1638, the Sinhalese army ambushed the Portuguese force at Gannoruwa as it retreated from Kandy, which had been evacuated and sacked. The Portuguese were surrounded with all escape routes blocked. The Sinhalese attack was decisive, leaving only 33 Portuguese soldiers alive; the heads of the fallen were brought before King Rajasinghe II.
The battle ended Portuguese military efforts to subjugate the Kingdom of Kandy and was the last battle fought by the Kingdom of Kandy itself. Soon afterward, the Dutch, allied with the Sinhalese, drove the Portuguese entirely from the island, ending Portuguese rule in Sri Lanka.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Rajasinghe II.
Side B
1 belligerent
Diogo de Melo de Castro.