Touring the Colonial battlefields: Colombo

Colombo Fort, the beating heart and commercial Capital of Sri lanka; home to the biggest Businesses, Hotels, etc and so much lively activity that many of us do not know that Colombo has a dark dark history, filled with conspiracies, murder, plague, and death; Colombo Fort was home to the bloodiest and deadliest battlefield in the history of pre-independence Sri Lanka. This is an account of Sithavaka Rajasinghe’s 3rd and Final Siege of the Portuguese Fort of Colombo.

“It is the year 1587, our King His Majesty King Rajasinghe the Great had assembled all soldiers from all the Dissawas to the majestic City of Sithawakapura, once all of us had assembled he addressed us and briefed us about the campaign, he was planning to storm the Portuguese Castle of Colombo with deadly force. Once we were organized into our respective Dissawas, we were further divided into the Koraless which in turn grouped into smaller companies and had our own colours and banners to be easily recognizable in the battlefield. The Arachchies or captains in charge of the companies kept on motivating us and building strong moral among us. Many of us including myself were battle hardened men already trained in the art of war and having taken part in the previous campaigns against Colombo and Kanda Uda Rate. All together the Sithawaka army consisted of 187 companies. The whole horde consisted of 50,000 soldiers, 150 pieces of artillery, 2200 war and service elephants, and a massive work force of around 60,000 men consisting of Black smiths, Gun smiths, Carpenters etc along with a large amount of material of wood, stone, bricks, etc. On the 29th May 1587 we set off from Biyagama Army Head Quarters, crossed the Kanyani Nadee and moved through Mulleriyawa to Kelanimulle, whence after a halt of two days we advanced to Kotuwila. I was in the second company of the vanguard led by Wijayakon Mudaliyer, our job was to clear the road so that the rest of the army may move swiftly while the first company gave us fire cover incase the enemy turned up. Six days were employed in constructing a bridge over the Nagalagan nadee, and on the 04th of June 1587 the entire army crossed the stream and encamped at Dematagoda watta. We then opened a spacious ditch round our arrayal and fortified it with tanquieras of two faces lined with mats, all of which were executed with great speed. Then the workmen continued the excavation to drain the lake which they had begun in the last siege. The siege began; as I was marching towards the wall when all hell broke loose, the Portuguese guns firing down on us, our artillery bombarding the walls while the elephants roared and rammed the walls; lost in the din of war I closed my eyes for one moment”

When I opened my eyes it is the year 2014. I’m standing in front of Fort Railway station; but what’s this, no fort, no armies but people happily walking about! What a contrast the past and the present is.
This is the most accessible historic battle site in Sri Lanka, get into any Bus that says Colombo and get off at the final stop; there you are, standing in the middle of the battlefield.

Following is taken from the Book Ceylon the Portuguese era Vol.I by Paul E. Peiris and Ceylon and here people by N. E. Weerasuriya

First great assault – 4th August 1587

On a very dark night (4th August) the sentinels in a bastion saw a sort of black mass in sight. Raja Singhe’s first great assault had begun to the beat of the kettle drums; his forces had arrived at three bastions and placing ladders began to climb them while his quarrymen began to undermine and breach the walls. They were met with a storm of artillery from the bastions and the battle

was joined. The bastion of San Gonsalo was attacked by the greatest body of troops and the largest number of elephants.

Death did not deter the assailants from their efforts, for the living replaced the dead. “Those that were climbing up the ladders strove all they could to get to the top, without heeding those that fell down from close beside them cut to pieces but rather the number of those ascending increasing they threw on the top so much fire that the bastion became a mass flame”. From the description it is evident that it was a gallant defence and a brave attack.
Similar struggles and encounters occurred at every bastion; the assailants endeavoured to ascend or break down the walls; the defendants to destroy the enemy or to avert the breach of the walls. The extremity to which the Portuguese was put was great at all aprts but perhaps it was at the bastion of Sao Miguel that it was very great, because on it were concentrated the chief forces of the enemy. The Sinhalese were beaten back; the stress lasted in all parts nearly one hour.

Raja Singhe kept himself informed of and was watching the whole engagement; he had hoped to take the fort by storm and was much distressed by the failure. His troops retired some twenty paces when he made a last and final bide for victory; he commanded that five strokes of the drum be beaten which was an order that the whole army should advance. In obedience to his bidding another desperate assault was made.

His Mudaliyas and his guard rushed again on the bastions but without success. Once again the order flashed for a third attempt as the king never for a moment relaxed in his determination; again his men offered themselves to death but realizing that their efforts were of no avail he gave the signal to retire; almost simultaneously the morning dawned on the battlements littered with the dead. But Raja Singhe pressed on the siege; he endeavoured to bring the war equipment closer to the bastonsand commanded to lay several mones underneath the walls; he also cut off provisions to the city; he even fitted and manned 10 ships to attack the Portuguese vessels at sea but they were overpowered by the superiority of the Portuguese naval strength

Second great Assault – 20th August 1587

This attack which he commenced was both by land and sea. On the five strokes of the kettle drums the whole army advanced; at the same time the King’s fleet moved towards a small bay behind the bastion of Sao Francissu where was stationed the magazine of ammunitions. The advance was, however, detached and the Portuguese artillery opened fire on the assailants who had set up their ladders and were ascending the battlements of the bastions. The first entered the bay whereupon it was tacked both by land and sea.

A fierce assault was made on the bastions and posts; there rained a deluge of bullets and arrows and a determined effort to affect an entrance followed by both land forces and the fleet of Raja Singhe but without success. The King gave the order to retire and the assault ceased. About the same time a Portuguese armada arrived (23th August) bringing succor to the garrison.

The failure of the main assaults brought little respite to the besieged city since the inhabitants were always kept in suspense by continuous attacks and attempts to mine the bastions.

A great naval engagement

Raja Singhe caused to be assembled in his ports all the ships that he had and commanded them to be armed and furnished with the beat artillery and men that he had, and filled out 18 beaked ships, 4 calemutes and18 large tons. This fleet moved out on the 4th of October in three squadrons flying their flags.

An account is given by De Counto of the battle that ensured at sea and the defeat of Raja Singhe’s fleet with the loss of four ships, two captured and two sunk. It was not expected that Raja Singhe could in the course of a campaign convert a nation of agriculturists into sailors and engage a seafaring race in a successful naval combat. But his effort affords further evidence of his determination and resource with which he pressed on with the siege.

Third and final assault- 27th January 1588

This was delivered with great force ,” the onset was one of great determinations and accompanied by such great reverberations, shouts and screams of the elephants, that it seemed as if the world was being dissolved”- De Counto.
The elephants came to the walls of the bastion of Sao Gonsalo which was of mud and threw their trunks on them to pull them down but withdrew burnt by the fire that was dropped on the bodies. “On the bastion of Sao Sebestiao the attack was greater because it was taken in hand by the captain of the Atapata of the King’s guard with all the troops under his command who were picked men with Raju’s banners. Here the trouble was great because our lascarins on seeing near the bastion those banners and devices immediately lost heart and began to retire” – De Counto

The situation was however saved and the bastion retrieved by the timely arrival of Portuguese captains. The battle lasted two hours and when the day dawned the whole plain was seen again strewn with the bodies of the dead.
The preasure on the city was so strong that it is more probable that the Viceroy would have recommended the abandonment of Colombo as he had done with Kotte because the revenue was far exceeded by the cost of its military establishment and its administration for Ceylon had become a wasting asset to the Portuguese but the timely arrival of fleets from Malacca and Goa came to the forts assistance and they also raided the coastal towns. Raja Singhe knew the game was up and so he raised the siege on the 21st of February 1588 .A.D.

The terrific final siege of Colombo evaluated the respective strength of the combatants; never was the fury of the Sinhalese and their courage or the military genius of their imperious commander more in evidence.
Thus concluded the greatest military campaign in pre-independence Sri Lanka.

The Fort of Colombo was finally captured in the year 1656 by the combined armies of Rajasinghe II and the Dutch.

I walk the ramparts of Colombo fort every day as I work in the World Trade Centre, every morning I peer out through the glass from level 18 trying to picture that great siege, the gallant defense by the Portuguese and the brave attack by the Sri Lankans.

Siege of Colombo 1587 by Mr. Prasanne Weerackody

Siege of Colombo 1587 by Mr. Prasanne Weerackody

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Dutch Fort of Colombo

Early Portuguese Castle of Colombo

In front a 20th cen. Building, on the left a 19th cen. Building, on the right a 17th cen. Building all built on the site of a 17th cen. Dutch fort in turn on a 16th cen. Portuguese Fort, on the site of a 14th cen. Moorish village ! Colombo, so deep in history.

Bristle Street

“I do not see the fort any where? Wait! is that tall building the 21st century fort ???”

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