Conquest of Koneswaram Temple

Colonail controntation between the portuguese and danish
8°34′57″N 81°14′44″E / 8.58250°N 81.24556°E / 8.58250; 81.24556Result Portuguese victoryTerritorial
changes Trincomalee conquered by the Portuguese[1][2]Belligerents
  •  Portuguese Empire
    •  Portuguese Ceylon
 Kingdom of KandyCommanders and leaders Portuguese Ceylon Constantino de Sá
Portuguese Ceylon Baretto[1]
Portuguese Ceylon Cabral[1] Danish India Erich GrubbeStrength Unknown Unknown[note 1]Casualties and losses Unknown 14 artillery pieces[1][4]
Multipel guns[4]
2 Ships
  • v
  • t
  • e
Danish colonial conflicts
12th century

13th century

14th century

16th century

17th century

  • Cape Verde
  • Trincomalee
  • Bengal
  • Cape Coast
  • Osu
  • Christiansborg 1

18th century

19th century

20th century


  • v
  • t
  • e
Portuguese colonial campaigns
15th century
16th century
17th century
18th century
19th century
20th century

The Conquest of Koneswaram Temple, also known as the Destruction of Koneswaram Temple, was the destruction of the Hindu temple of Koneswaram, at Trincomalee by the Portuguese governor of Ceylon, Constantino de Sá de Noronha in April, 1622.[4] Koneswaram was at the time of conquest a Danish fortress.[2]

Background

  Portuguese Ceylon (1597-1619)
  Jaffna Kingdom and area annexed Kingdom of Sitawaka in (1594-1619)

Since the early phases of the Crisis of the Sixteenth Century, the Portuguese Empire had started to intervene in internal Sinhalese politics by taking advantage of the rivalries and animosities among the Sinhalese kingdoms, to further their own interests.[5] By placing puppets on the various Sinhalese kingdoms, the Portuguese slowly extended their control over the island. After the annexation of Jaffna, the kingdom of Kandy as the last independent Sinhalese kingdom[6]

In 1611, the Portuguese captured Kandy and torched the city.[7] In response, king Senerat of Kandy desperately sent courier Marchells Michielsz Boschouver to Europe for negotiating an alliance-treaty with the Dutch East India Company.[8] This diplomatic mission proved a failure, and instead Boschouver went to Denmark and concluded an un-ratified treaty with Christian IV of Denmark.[8] Denmark sent five vessles and 300 soldiers, at the command of Ove Gjedde, to Ceylon on the purpose of establishing the promised terms in the treaty.[8]

Dano-Sinhalese negotiations and treaty

On May the 18th the Danish expedition reached the coastal city of Trincomalee.[3][9] The Sinhalese king's reaction to the Danish arrival was anticlimatic. He had made peace with the Portuguese three years prior,[10] and did therefore not necessarily need Danish military assistance. The Sinhalese were still interested to know if the Danes, if necessary, were strong enough to defeat the Portuguese.[3][8] Prolonged negotiations between the Danes, who wanted the promised monopol on European trade on ceylon described in the treaty made by Boschouver, and the Sinhalese who wished to have a treaty with less Danish influence.[3][10] In the end, Senarat agreed to cede Trincomalee to the Danes[3][8][10]

Action

Failed Danish fortification

After the final treaty, Ove Gjedde left parts of his expeditionary army in Ceylon to build a fort at Trincomalee, and he himself left for India.[10][3] Gjedde left Erich Grubbe in charge of the construction of the fort.[8] When Gjedde visited again in March, 1621, he was surprised that little to nothing had been done with the fort and left disappointed[8][9]

Portuguese attack

Portuguese soldiers in Asia in the 17th century, painted by André Reinoso

The Portuguese quickly observed this new Danish interference in the affairs of the island, and promptly responded.[1] On April 14, 1622 (Tamil New Year's Day), the Koneswaram temple, known by the Portuguese as the Temple of a Thousand Pillars,[11] was attacked by the Portuguese general and governor of Portuguese Ceylon, Constantino de Sá de Noronha.[12][9][2] During a religious procession, the shrine was destroyed and the main statue was taken to the town. Concurrently, Portuguese soldiers disguised as Iyer priests entered the temple and looted its treasures. In an act of religious zeal, the temple was pushed over the edge and into the sea. Fleeing priests resorted to burying some of the temple's statues in the surrounding area.[13] The Danes were forced to hastly escape, which resulted in the loss of two Danish vessels[1][14]

Aftermath

Following the Danish incursion, the Portuguese recognized the necessity of establishing a fortified base on the eastern coast of Ceylon to enhance their control over the goods in the region.[1] That is why the construction of a new triangular fort called Fort of Triquillimale was quickly established by the Portuguese.[15] The guns and artillery taken from the Danish, now served as protection of the new fort[14]

Notes

  1. ^ The Danish expeditionary force was set to be 300 men, but much of the crew died during the voyage and another additional number of men left for Tranquebar.[3] Includingly 697 Sinhalese men were promised to help build fortifications at the temple, yet its undocumented how many Danes or Sinhales participated in the confrontation[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Ramerini, Marco (2005). The History of Trincomalee during Portuguese and Dutch rule. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  2. ^ a b c Rodrigues, Joaquim (2019). AS PRIMEIRAS FORTIFICAÇÕES EUROPEIAS NO SRI LANKA [THE FIRST EUROPEAN FORTIFICATIONS IN SRI LANKA] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Faculdade de Arquitetura e Escola Politécnica da UFBA: International go. pp. 620–635.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Lauring, Kåre. Marchells Michielsz Boschouver — imperiebygger eller svindler [Marchells Michielsz Boschouver — Empire builder or imposter] (in Danish).
  4. ^ a b c Bocarro, A. "Livro das plantas das fortalezas cidades e povoacois do Estado da India Oriental", p. 238.
  5. ^ S.G Perera pp 8-11
  6. ^ Gaston Perera p. 144
  7. ^ Codrington, H.W, "7", A Short History of Sri Lanka.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g P. E., Pieris (1920). Ceylon and the Portuguese (PDF). The University of California Los Angeles. pp. 197–206.
  9. ^ a b c Lach, Donald (2022). Asia in the Making of Europe, Volume III. University of Chicago Press. p. 90.
  10. ^ a b c d Stow, Randolph (1979). Denmark in the Indian Ocean, 1616-1845 An Introduction. p. 13.
  11. ^ Sivaratnam, C (1964). An outline of the cultural history and principles of Hinduism (1 ed.). Colombo: Stangard Printers. OCLC 12240260. Koneswaram temple. Tiru-Kona-malai, sacred mountain of Kona or Koneser, Iswara or Siva. The date of building the original temple is given as 1580 BCE. according to a Tamil poem by Kavi Raja Virothayan translated into English in 1831 by Simon Cassie Chitty...
  12. ^ Olsen, op. cit. (n. 274) pp. 42-79
  13. ^ Rasanayagam, M.C. (1926). Being a research into the history of Jaffna, from very early times to the Portuguese period. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services (republished: 1993). p. 378. OCLC 249907591.
  14. ^ a b Queyroz (1987). "The temporal and spiritual...". Nature. II (6150): 727, 737. Bibcode:1987Natur.330..705C. doi:10.1038/330705a0.
  15. ^ Bocarro, A. "Livro das plantas das fortalezas cidades e povoacois do Estado da India Oriental", p. 238.