portugese un eddi meegamuwa, airpot thiyana pathi thanikara thambi allan hitiye. dan lankawe inna indian ancestory thiyana thambi nemei kelinma indonesia allagatta thambi. ita passe kotte king portugese un ekka deal ekak gahuwa thambi elawala dunnoth lankawe spices unta wikunanawa and colombo wala fort ekak gahaganna idak denawa kiyala (ada colombo fort). ita passe portugese unge fleet eka meegamuwa lagoon ekata bassala thambinwa massacre kala. kaapu para lankawata aai awema na. indonesia, malaysia wage ratawal akramanaya kala. wadi wisthara methana thiyanawa kiyawala balanna
Good Morning Friends, (Post n°5)
***) Keep it going from my (1°) “fb” post on Lorenço de Almeida, of May 13, 2021 and of the (2°) May 19, 2021 - (3°) June 17 - (4°) September 6
During this long maritime war between the Portuguese and Mappillas and the Ottomans in the Ceylon Sea and the Indian Ocean, which began in 1524 with the involvement from 1527 of the Kingdom of Sitawaka allied with the Mappillas and the Kingdom of Kotte allied with the Portuguese, many important clashes do occur but basically the strategy of the Muslims is; Mappilllas fleet south of the Indian Sea and the Ceylon Sea and the Ottoman fleet in the north-central Indian Sea.
The Mappillas support for the Kingdom of Sitawaka was not very large, small number of soldiers, some cannons, some spingardas, arquebuses, fuses, gunpowder and other war material, but the supply was always constant, and the first attack of the joined forces Mappillas and Sitawaka occurred in 1528, and was repulsed by Kotte's army with the support of the Portuguese.
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During the war the King of Kotte Bhuvanaikabahu VII granted the Portuguese to entice them to keep their naval cover to his Kingdom, the most important and convenient contract for the purchase of Cinnamon, for the Portuguese signed by the Kingdom of Kotte in 15 October, 1533 (which I attach but is in Portuguese) In those times the naval war was very uncertain and on the sea the Portuguese trembled.
Unexpectedly in 1534 the Sultan of Gujarati Bahadur Shah asked the Portuguese for naval military support because he was attacked by the Mughal Empire, who in return they got permission to build a fortress on the island of Diu in 1535, a master stroke for the unusual alliance and that it lasted a short time; but the Portuguese base in the northern Indian Sea was now built, efficient and powerful.
The Fleet of the Ottoman Empire was strengthened and with the dispatch of numerous powerful ships and about 2300 soldiers, placed the Fort of Diu under a terrible siege in 1538 but after 4 months the fleet lifted the siege and left for the Red Sea, because now short of supplies and provisions not knowing that of the original four hundred and twenty defenders of the Fort, alive and efficient they remained only about forty.
Shortly after the departure of the Ottomans, the Fort was besieged with the Forces of the Sultan of Gujarati at the same moment in which the Mappillas Fleet entered the sea of Ceylon under the orders of Admiral Pate Marakkar to give a great and decisive help to King Mayadunne, this naval expedition was formed by 51 warships, carrying 500 cannons,, 200 soldiers a large quantity of bullets of all kinds, gunpowder in quantity, and other war material but they clashed in Vedalayi with the Portuguese fleet of Goa under the orders of the Admiral. Martin Alfonso de Sousa, who won the victory, that prevents the Mappillas from continuing naval action to support of Mayadunne.
Admiral Martin Alfonso de Sousa paid a brief visit to Kotte, to bring the news of the narrow escape but then immediately left for Diu to support the Fort which was under siege.
Admiral Pate Marakkar reunited with the fleet of his brother Kunjali Marakkar and with this great fleet they moved to give the coup de grace to the Portuguese forces in the Ceylon Sea.
But the Mappillas, did not know that other powerful ships had arrived from their homeland to the Portuguese and that, together with those that were in the Ceylon Sea, and they had well reinforced the fleet under the command of Admiral Miguel Ferreira.
The Mappilas fleet on its way to Colombo was intercepted in Negombo by the Portuguese fleet, which surprisingly won this battle by destroying and capturing the Mappilas ships, no one was saved and took prisoners the two admirals Mappillas Pate and Kunijali Marakkar, it was January 1539
The news of this unexpected Portuguese victory made King Bhuvanaikabahu VII rejoice and in Kotte parties and receptions were organized for the heroes of the fleet, on the contrary King Mayadunne of Sitawaka who had strengthened his Kingdom with the annexation of the Principality of Raigama in 1538, he could not believe this defeat and asked his brother Bhuvanaikabahu VII to prove the defeat of the Mappillas fleet by sending him the heads of the two Marakkar admirals he knew were prisoners, and King Mayadunne's request was granted, and the beheaded heads that arrived in Sitawaka.
The two immediate results of the victory, were the truce with the Kingdom of Sitavaka and the abandonment of the Mappillas of the Gulf of Puttalam and surrounding areas, which returned under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Kotte. The fleeing Mappillas took refuge mainly in the Kingdoms of Jaffna.
These events push Muslims out of Ceylon's input door as a Naval and Military force but this was happened only in Ceylon, the indomitable and powerful Muslims, Army and Navy they were very successful in Asia, with the annexation and control of vast and rich territories in Maldives, Bay of Bengal, Malaysia, Indonesia and part of the Philippines, etc.,
(But for ironically, the Muslims will a few decades later the unaware cause of the end naval supremacy Portuguese in Asia and elsewhere)
And the story continues friends, to the next post
Images:
1°) The Portuguese Fleet in the way of Negombo for the Battle
2°) The Map of the Area of Negombo - Location where the most important and decisive naval battle took place between Mappillas (Muslims) and Portugueses (Catholics) in 1539
3°) The contract for the purchase of Cinnamon, made for the Portugueses signed by the King of Kotte, Bhuvanaikabahu VII in 15 October, 1533
.thaama wahal kama
