A decisive Kandyan victory over Portuguese forces, secured partly by mass defection of local militia, halting Portuguese expansion into the Kandyan interior.
Key Facts
- Date
- 25 August 1630
- Location
- Randeniwela, near Wellawaya and Badulla
- Portuguese Commander
- Governor Constantino de Sá de Noronha
- Kandyan Commander
- Prince Maha Astana (later Rajasinghe II)
- Key factor
- Mass defection of Portuguese Lascarin (local militia) contingent
- Outcome
- Complete rout of the Portuguese army
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Governor Constantino de Sá de Noronha launched a Portuguese invasion into the Kandyan kingdom via Badulla, seeking to extend Portuguese control over the interior of Ceylon and suppress Kandyan resistance during the ongoing Sinhalese–Portuguese War.
On 25 August 1630, Portuguese forces under Governor Constantino de Sá de Noronha clashed with Kandyan forces led by Prince Maha Astana, youngest son of King Senarth, at Randeniwela near Wellawaya. During the fighting, the Portuguese Lascarin militia contingent defected en masse, decisively undermining the Portuguese position.
The defection of the Lascarin contingent caused a complete rout of the Portuguese army. Prince Maha Astana, who later became King Rajasinghe II, emerged as a prominent Kandyan military leader, and the battle significantly checked Portuguese ambitions in the Kandyan interior.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Prince Maha Astana (later Rajasinghe II).
Side B
1 belligerent
Governor Constantino de Sá de Noronha.