Forts in Sri Lanka date back thousands of years, with many being built by Sri Lankan kings. These include several walled cities. With the outset of colonial rule in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was occupied by several major colonial empires that from time to time became the dominant power in the Indian Ocean. The colonists built several western-style forts, mostly in and around the coast of the island. The first to build colonial forts in Sri Lanka were the Portuguese; these forts were captured and later expanded by the Dutch. The British occupied these Dutch forts during the Napoleonic wars.
Most of the colonial forts were garrisoned up until the early 20th century. The coastal forts had coastal artillery manned by the Ceylon Garrison Artillery during the two world wars. Most of these were abandoned by the military but retained civil administrative officers, while others retained military garrisons, which were more administrative than operational. Some were reoccupied by military units with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War; Jaffna fort, for example, came under siege several times.
Image | Name | Founded | Abandoned | Location | Condition | Controlled by | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vijithapura | 5th Century BC Anuradhapura Kingdom | Central Province | Fortress City | [N 1] [1] | ||||
Sigiriya | 5th Century by Kashyapa I | 495 CE | Dambulla, Central Province | Ruined | Government of Sri Lanka | Citadel | [N 2] | |
Mapagala fortress | Central Province | [N 3] |
Image | Name | Founded | Abandoned | Location | Condition | Controlled by | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sitawaka fort | Avissawella, Western Province | |||||||
Hanwella Fort | Hanwella, Western Province | Destroyed | Defence | [2] |
Image | Name | Founded | Abandoned | Location | Condition | Controlled by | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Balana fort | Balana, Central Province | Ruined | Defence | [3] | ||||
Hunnasgiriya Fort | Hunnasgiriya, Central Province | Ruined | Defence | [4] | ||||
Welanhinna Ancient Fort | Diyatalawa, Uva Province | Destroyed | [5] |
Image | Name | Founded | Abandoned | Location | Condition | Controlled by | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fort Hammenheil | 1618 | - | Jaffna Peninsula, Northern Province | Good | Government of Sri Lanka | Defence | ||
Koddiyar fort | 1622 | Muttur, Eastern Province | Destroyed | Defence | ||||
Katuwana Fort | 1646 | - | Katuwana, Southern Province | Good | Government of Sri Lanka | Defence | ||
Kalpitiya fort | 1667–76 | - | Kalpitiya, North Western Province | Good | Government of Sri Lanka | Defence | [N 14] | |
Mullaitivu fort | 1715 | Mullaitivu, Northern Province | Ruins | Defence | [N 15] | |||
Star fort | 1763–65 | - | Matara, Southern Province | Good | Government of Sri Lanka | Star fort | ||
Fort Beschutter | Elephant Pass, Northern Province | Destroyed | Government of Sri Lanka | Defence | ||||
Fort Ostenburg | Trincomalee, Eastern Province | Ruins | Government of Sri Lanka | Defence | [N 16] | |||
Fort Pyl | Elephant Pass, Northern Province | Ruins | Government of Sri Lanka | Defence | ||||
Point Pedro fort | Point Pedro, Northern Province | Destroyed | Defence | [N 17] | ||||
Tangalle fort | Tangalle, Southern Province | Good | Government of Sri Lanka | Defence | [N 18] |
Image | Name | Founded | Abandoned | Location | Condition | Controlled by | Type | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Martello tower | 1801-03 | Hambantota, Southern Province | Good | Government of Sri Lanka | Defence tower | |||
Fort MacDowall | 1803 | Matale Central Province | [N 19] |
The Kandyan Wars refers generally to the period of warfare between the British colonial forces and the Kingdom of Kandy, on the island of what is now Sri Lanka, between 1796 and 1818. More specifically it is used to describe the expeditionary campaigns of the British Army in the Kingdom of Kandy in 1803 and 1815.
Fort Fredrick, also known as Trincomalee Fort or Fort of Triquillimale, is a fort built by the Portuguese at Trincomalee, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, completed in 1624 CE, built on Swami Rock-Konamamalai from the debris of the world-famous ancient Hindu Koneswaram temple. The temple was destroyed by the Portuguese colonial Constantino de Sá de Noronha under Phillip III, occupier of the Jaffna kingdom and Malabar country on the island. On the Konamalai cape was also built a new village of Portuguese and Tamil people, 50 Portuguese soldiers and inside the fort, a church named after "Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe". The Fort of Triquillimale was dismantled and rebuilt by the Dutch in 1665, renamed Fort Fredrick.
Pandara Vanniyan was a Tamil Chieftain who ruled in Vanni Nadu in 18th century AD. He is referred to by some as the last Tamil king in Sri Lanka, who also rose to revolt against the British Ceylon empire and Dutch Ceylon empire, who died battling the British colonial rule on the island. He was officially declared a National Hero of Sri Lanka in 1982.
Dutch Ceylon was a governorate established in present-day Sri Lanka by the Dutch East India Company. Although the Dutch managed to capture most of the coastal areas in Sri Lanka, they were never able to control the Kingdom of Kandy located in the interior of the island. Dutch Ceylon existed from 1640 until 1796.
Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka. It was introduced to the island in first century. Traditionally, after Thomas the Apostle's visit in Kerala in AD 52, Christianity is said to have been introduced to Sri Lanka because of its close geographical and commercial ties.
The Kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy on the island of Sri Lanka, located in the central and eastern portion of the island. It was founded in the late 15th century and endured until the early 19th century.
The kingdom of Sitawaka was a kingdom located in south-central Sri Lanka. It emerged from the division of the kingdom of Kotte following the Spoiling of Vijayabahu in 1521. Over the course of the next seventy years it came to dominate much of the island. Sitawaka also offered fierce resistance to the Portuguese, who had arrived on the island in 1505. Despite its military successes, Sitawaka remained unstable, having to contend with repeated uprisings in its restive Kandyan territories, as well as a wide-ranging and often devastating conflict with the Portuguese. Sitawaka disintegrated soon after the death of its last king Rajasimha I in 1593.
Lascarins is a term used in Sri Lanka to identify indigenous soldiers who fought for the Portuguese during the Portuguese era (1505–1658) and continued to serve as colonial soldiers until the 1930s. The lascarins played a crucial role not only in the colonial armies, but also in the success of the campaigns of the local kingdoms.
Portuguese Ceylon is the name given to the territory on Ceylon, modern-day Sri Lanka, controlled by the Portuguese Empire between 1597 and 1658.
Jaffna Fort is a fort built by the Portuguese at Jaffna, Sri Lanka, in 1618 under Phillippe de Oliveira following the Portuguese invasion of Jaffna. The fort is located near the coastal village of Gurunagar. Owing to numerous miracles attributed to the statue of the Virgin Mary in the church nearby, the fort was named as Fortress of Our Lady of Miracles of Jafanapatão. It was captured by the Dutch under Rijcklof van Goens in 1658, who expanded the structure. In 1795, it was taken over by the British, and remained under the control of a British garrison until 1948. As the only large military fort in the country, because of the presence of only government and military buildings within its ramparts, it was garrisoned by a detachment of the Ceylon Army.
The Edirimanne Corea Family Union (ECFU) is a group set up to 'foster interaction' among the members of the powerful Corea family in the island of Sri Lanka. The Corea family is one of the leading families of Sri Lanka. They trace their ancestry to Dominicus Corea also known as Edirille Rala who was crowned King of Kotte and Sitawaka in Sri Lanka - Dominicus Corea was born in Colombo in 1565.
Fort Hammenhiel is a fort built around a small island between the islands of Kayts and Karaitivu of Jaffna Peninsula in Northern Sri Lanka.
The Christian Reformed Church of Sri Lanka is the oldest Protestant church on the island.
Sinhalese–Portuguese conflicts refers to the series of armed engagements that took place from 1518 AD to 1658 AD in Sri Lanka between the native Sinhalese and Tamil kingdoms and the Portuguese Empire. It spanned from the Transitional to the Kandyan periods of Sri Lankan history. A combination of political and military moves gained the Portuguese control over most of the island, but their invasion of the final independent kingdom was a disaster, leading to a stalemate in the wider war and a truce from 1621. In 1638 the war restarted when the Dutch East India Company intervened in the conflict, initially as an ally of the Sinhalese against the Portuguese, but later as an enemy of both sides. The war concluded in 1658, with the Dutch in control of about half the island, the Kingdom of Kandy the other half, and the Portuguese expelled.
Mannar Fort is located on Mannar Island, Sri Lanka. It was built by Portuguese in 1560 and christened São Jorge. The fort fell to the Dutch in 1658, and they rebuilt the fort in 1696. In 1795 the British occupied the fort following the surrender by the Dutch.
Negombo Fort was a small but important fort in Negombo, approx. 30 km (19 mi) north of Colombo, that was built by the Portuguese to defend Colombo.
Ratnapura Portuguese fort was built by the Portuguese in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka.
Kalutara fort was built by the Portuguese in 1622. It was located in Kalutara, Sri Lanka.
Hanwella fort was located in Hanwella, Colombo, on the banks of the Kelani River. Hanwella, which means 'skin sands', was the site of an ancient ferry route across the river. Malwana fort was situated about 15 km (9.3 mi) on the other side of the Kelani River.
This is a bibliography of works on Sri Lanka.