Publication Date
2009
Categories
Related entries
(Colombo in current official spelling), 6° 50' N, 79° 50' is the principal port city of Ceylon, present-day Sri Lanka. Columbo owed its prosperity to the economic and political development of the kingdom of Kotte, in the southeast of the island, since the end of the 14th century. Circa 1500, Columbo (Kolontota at the time) was a cosmopolitan and multi-religious commercial outpost where the principal goods of Ceylon (cinnamon, betel nut palm, precious stones, and elephants) were exchanged for numerous imported goods (fabric and rice, among others). The arrival of Dom Lourenço de Almeida in 1506 had no significant impact on the city. In 1518, Lopo Soares de Albergaria undertook the construction of the first Portuguese fortress in Ceylon, in the area of Columbo (see figure 1). Named Santa Barbara, the fortress was situated in the extreme north of the uninhabited, rocky point of Galbokka, the easternmost point of the Bay of Columbo. It was a fort and trading post for dispatching the cinnamon that the kings of Kotte had promised to furnish the Portuguese crown, in a treaty also dated from 1518.
Given the impossibility of assuring the regular arrival of cinnamon at the royal outpost, criticism of this official presence would increase during the early 1520s and would lead to the dismantlement of the fort in 1524. Some of the soldiers dispersed along the lowlands of Ceylon, while many of these men would regroup in support of Bhuvanekabāhu VII, king of Kotte (1521-1551). Only one trading post remained in Columbo and, in 1525, Bhuvanekabāhu would demand its dismantlement, in exchange for a fixed tax to be paid each year when the official fleet arrived. Faced with the growing threat posed by the powerful king of Sitawaka and the mappilas, who had been expelled from the kingdom of Kotte because of the pressure of the Portuguese, Bhuvanekabāhu would request the installation of a small Portuguese garrison in Columbo in 1528.
This request was not met, but the Portuguese military presence would be reinforced during the 1530s and 40s. The community of soldiers in Columbo and Kotte, who had very diverse interests, grew from a few dozen to perhaps one hundred. During the 1540s, the uninhabited area west of the old city-center of Columbo gave rise to a new 'Portuguese neighborhood,' with a Franciscan convent, a customs house and various inhabited streets. In 1551, a new garrison was installed in the western part, and in 1554 the entire city, including the old eastern half, was encircled by a wall. In 1565, troops of the kingdom of Sitawaka forced the Portuguese and the king they were protecting in Kotte, Dom João Dharmapsal (1551-1594), to abandon the old capital and transfer the seat of power to Columbo. In this way, the city would gain a new political and military dimension, becoming one of the largest fortresses of maritime Asia.
The new city of Columbo was composed of two sections, separated by a stream and connected by one or two small bridges (see figure 2). Surrounding the dwellings and a few palm groves was a wall with fortresses that was easily defended due to the existence of a large lake south and east of the city. The existence of cliffs to the west made a wall unnecessary in this direction. The entrance to the bay was controlled by a fortress located on the bridge north of Galbokka, approximately in the same location of the first fortress, built in 1518. After the second half of the 16th century, numerous new buildings would reflect the social and institutional development of the city. At least since 1585, a city hall existed, with officials who were elected annually to represent a community of independent merchants who were given special privileges in the commercialization of cinnamon by Dom João Dharmapala. The interests of this group naturally collided with the interests of the captain, who also enjoyed privileges in the commercialization of this spice, granted by the Portuguese crown. A royal letter of 1589 also mentions a judge and a "proctor of the city of Columbo."
This scenario would become more complicated with the creation, in 1594, of the captaincy-general of Ceylon, meant to fill the void left by the death of the Senegalese king Dharmapala. Before 1600 and the demise of the kingdom of Sitawaka, what was left of the court and the center of power that had been transferred from Kotte to Columbo would be transferred, once again, to a symbolic center in Malwana, on the banks of the Kelani River. This was where the captain-general of Ceylon lived during the first decades of the 17th century, while the treasury office, created in 1599, remained in Columbo. In 1602, the citizens of Columbo requested the privileges of the city of Évora, but received those of Cochin. At this time, Columbo was the economic and political - although not symbolic - of one of the vastest territories controlled by the Portuguese in Asia; it attracted significant land rental revenue and a large part of the external commerce of Ceylon.
Columbo was also a very important religious center. The Franciscans founded their convent in 1543 and were joined, at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, by the Jesuits (after a first appearance in 1552), Augustans and Dominicans. Each order made its contribution by constructing churches, convents and other buildings which gave a new and greater dimension to the city. In 1656, after being surrounded for a long period of time, Columbo fell under the control of the Dutch Company of the East Indies (VOC), allied to the king of Kandy. As a result, the Portuguese empire lost one of its largest possessions. During the following years, however, Dutch illustrators would create the only images that permit the study of Portuguese Columbo today.
The relative urban disorder of that Columbo becomes more evident when contrasted to the plans developed and executed by VOC after 1660-80, when most of the houses and churches were demolished in order to create a new street plan, rigorously aligned in a checkerboard pattern. VOC control also entailed a clear segregation between areas inhabited by European officials (in the highly fortified western part, known today as the Fort District), by predominantly white or mestizo officials (in present-day Pettah), and by a mixed or purely Ceylonese population (outside the fortified area, in the outskirts of Wolfendahl). Today there are no physical vestiges of the Portuguese presence in Columbo, except for a stone monument from the early 16th century and the foundations of historical buildings perhaps. Part of the former residence of the Dutch governor, dating from the time of the Portuguese, is preserved in Saint Peter's Church in the port area. With over 2 million inhabitants, Columbo is one of the most populous cities of Asia that were once controlled by the Portuguese. It has an important Catholic community which began with the Portuguese missions, although the community was renewed by the Oratorian order of Goa, at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century.
Bibliography:
BIEDERMANN, Zoltán, 'Colombo versus Cannanore: Contrasting Structures of Two South Asian Port Cities in the Early Modern Period,' in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (planned publication in 2009). BROHIER, Richard Leslie, Changing Face of Columbo (1505-1972), Covering the Portuguese, Dutch and British Periods, Columbo, Lake House Investments, 1984. RABEN, Remco, Batavia and Columbo. The Ethnic and Spatial Order of Two Colonial Cities 1600-1800, unpublished doctoral thesis, Leiden, 1996.
Given the impossibility of assuring the regular arrival of cinnamon at the royal outpost, criticism of this official presence would increase during the early 1520s and would lead to the dismantlement of the fort in 1524. Some of the soldiers dispersed along the lowlands of Ceylon, while many of these men would regroup in support of Bhuvanekabāhu VII, king of Kotte (1521-1551). Only one trading post remained in Columbo and, in 1525, Bhuvanekabāhu would demand its dismantlement, in exchange for a fixed tax to be paid each year when the official fleet arrived. Faced with the growing threat posed by the powerful king of Sitawaka and the mappilas, who had been expelled from the kingdom of Kotte because of the pressure of the Portuguese, Bhuvanekabāhu would request the installation of a small Portuguese garrison in Columbo in 1528.
This request was not met, but the Portuguese military presence would be reinforced during the 1530s and 40s. The community of soldiers in Columbo and Kotte, who had very diverse interests, grew from a few dozen to perhaps one hundred. During the 1540s, the uninhabited area west of the old city-center of Columbo gave rise to a new 'Portuguese neighborhood,' with a Franciscan convent, a customs house and various inhabited streets. In 1551, a new garrison was installed in the western part, and in 1554 the entire city, including the old eastern half, was encircled by a wall. In 1565, troops of the kingdom of Sitawaka forced the Portuguese and the king they were protecting in Kotte, Dom João Dharmapsal (1551-1594), to abandon the old capital and transfer the seat of power to Columbo. In this way, the city would gain a new political and military dimension, becoming one of the largest fortresses of maritime Asia.
The new city of Columbo was composed of two sections, separated by a stream and connected by one or two small bridges (see figure 2). Surrounding the dwellings and a few palm groves was a wall with fortresses that was easily defended due to the existence of a large lake south and east of the city. The existence of cliffs to the west made a wall unnecessary in this direction. The entrance to the bay was controlled by a fortress located on the bridge north of Galbokka, approximately in the same location of the first fortress, built in 1518. After the second half of the 16th century, numerous new buildings would reflect the social and institutional development of the city. At least since 1585, a city hall existed, with officials who were elected annually to represent a community of independent merchants who were given special privileges in the commercialization of cinnamon by Dom João Dharmapala. The interests of this group naturally collided with the interests of the captain, who also enjoyed privileges in the commercialization of this spice, granted by the Portuguese crown. A royal letter of 1589 also mentions a judge and a "proctor of the city of Columbo."
This scenario would become more complicated with the creation, in 1594, of the captaincy-general of Ceylon, meant to fill the void left by the death of the Senegalese king Dharmapala. Before 1600 and the demise of the kingdom of Sitawaka, what was left of the court and the center of power that had been transferred from Kotte to Columbo would be transferred, once again, to a symbolic center in Malwana, on the banks of the Kelani River. This was where the captain-general of Ceylon lived during the first decades of the 17th century, while the treasury office, created in 1599, remained in Columbo. In 1602, the citizens of Columbo requested the privileges of the city of Évora, but received those of Cochin. At this time, Columbo was the economic and political - although not symbolic - of one of the vastest territories controlled by the Portuguese in Asia; it attracted significant land rental revenue and a large part of the external commerce of Ceylon.
Columbo was also a very important religious center. The Franciscans founded their convent in 1543 and were joined, at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, by the Jesuits (after a first appearance in 1552), Augustans and Dominicans. Each order made its contribution by constructing churches, convents and other buildings which gave a new and greater dimension to the city. In 1656, after being surrounded for a long period of time, Columbo fell under the control of the Dutch Company of the East Indies (VOC), allied to the king of Kandy. As a result, the Portuguese empire lost one of its largest possessions. During the following years, however, Dutch illustrators would create the only images that permit the study of Portuguese Columbo today.
The relative urban disorder of that Columbo becomes more evident when contrasted to the plans developed and executed by VOC after 1660-80, when most of the houses and churches were demolished in order to create a new street plan, rigorously aligned in a checkerboard pattern. VOC control also entailed a clear segregation between areas inhabited by European officials (in the highly fortified western part, known today as the Fort District), by predominantly white or mestizo officials (in present-day Pettah), and by a mixed or purely Ceylonese population (outside the fortified area, in the outskirts of Wolfendahl). Today there are no physical vestiges of the Portuguese presence in Columbo, except for a stone monument from the early 16th century and the foundations of historical buildings perhaps. Part of the former residence of the Dutch governor, dating from the time of the Portuguese, is preserved in Saint Peter's Church in the port area. With over 2 million inhabitants, Columbo is one of the most populous cities of Asia that were once controlled by the Portuguese. It has an important Catholic community which began with the Portuguese missions, although the community was renewed by the Oratorian order of Goa, at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century.
Bibliography:
BIEDERMANN, Zoltán, 'Colombo versus Cannanore: Contrasting Structures of Two South Asian Port Cities in the Early Modern Period,' in Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient (planned publication in 2009). BROHIER, Richard Leslie, Changing Face of Columbo (1505-1972), Covering the Portuguese, Dutch and British Periods, Columbo, Lake House Investments, 1984. RABEN, Remco, Batavia and Columbo. The Ethnic and Spatial Order of Two Colonial Cities 1600-1800, unpublished doctoral thesis, Leiden, 1996.