Râjasimha II

Râjasimha II or Râjasinha II is a king of Kandy, wire and successor of Senerat, suzerain of several kingdoms of Ceylon, as that Trinkomallî (Trincomalee) which gives him access to the sea. Its birth date is not known with certainty, but it would be assembled on the throne in 1635 at the 27 years age. He dies the December 6th 1687.

To thwart the support of the Portuguese for its political enemies, Râjasimha approach, in 1636, of the Dutch of the Dutch Compagnie of the Eastern Indies by sending emissary to the Dutch admiral Adam Westerwolt which carries out then the blockade of Goa, and this with a view to drive out the first of the island. The Portuguese then attack Kandy which they set fire to but are crushed with the battle of Gannoruwa, the March 28th 1638. The Dutchmen sign this same year a treaty to defend Râjasimha in exchange of the monopoly on the trade of the grooves and their expenditure of war. They also recognize it like the only true king of the island.

The fleet of Adam Westerwolt takes again the forts of Trinkomallî and Batticaloa (May 18th 1638) on the coast which it returns to the kingdom of Kandy, but the Dutchmen keep however those of Galle and Negombo taken again in 1640 in front of the refusal of Râjasimha to pay their expenditure of war exhorbitantes, but also to protect the zones from treatment of cinnamon. A seven years truce between Dutchman and Portuguese follows which ends in 1652, then the Dutchmen finish some with the Portuguese presence by taking again only Colombo the May 12th 1656, position which they refuse to return in Râjasimha under the pretext that it did not take part in the combat. Râjasimha carries out whereas it did nothing but replace one enemy by another, devastation the surrounding grounds of Colombo, tries to foment rebellions in the low grounds and seeks even the assistance of the English Compagnie of the Eastern Indies of Madras. The Dutchmen finish to ensure their power on the lowlands by taking Jaffna, the last fortress Lusitanian in the north of the island, the June 21st 1658, However its suzerainty is put at evil by a low revolt of the grounds in 1664 and the Dutchmen benefit from this period of instability to extend their capacity on the island, locking up Râjasimha in its mountain kingdom prohibiting to him to seek of the assistance in addition. A working arrangement settles then between kings de Kandy and the Dutchmen who will last one century. Henceforth, using the island as base camp, the Dutchmen are with same, now, to reject the Portuguese out of the Malabar Coast what is effective in 1663.

Râjasimha restores the habit of marriage of the kings singhalais with princesses of the India of the South by marrying a princess of Madurai. This one will be the mother of the successor of Râjasimha, Vimala Dharma Suriya II (1687 - 1707).

His/her father and allowed him with the Moor S, the Moslems of the west coast of the island installed here since the 9th century and who underwent persecutions on behalf of the Dutchmen to reinstall themselves on the east coast. During its reign, the French Compagnie of the Eastern Indies tried to install a counter with Trinkomallî but failed for lack of support of Râjasimha.

The sailor Robert Knox who remains prisoner nineteen years in the island during the reign of Râjasimha, does one of the first descriptions of them, learns how to usually speak the language and makes a careful observation of the customs and habits, laws and religion of the Singhaleses. He speaks about the Vedda S, the aboriginals australoïdes which are the inhabitants first of the island, today in process of extinction, and which lives in the Jungle. Knox makes a precise description of the Flore, fauna, natural products and Agriculture of the island. It is very impressed by the elephants, described their mode and practices, the way in which the wild elephants are captured and the uses which are made by it without forgetting their role of torturer.

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