Latest / The Rise of Colonialism: How Europe Divided the World — Fexingo History / The Dutch East India Company's Secret War in Ceylon
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the Dutch in Batavia and the Cape, but there's another VOC venture that doesn't get as much attention, and it's absolutely wild — the conquest of Ceylon. Luna: Ceylon, that's modern-day Sri Lanka, right? Lucas: Exactly. And by the early 1600s, the island was already a Portuguese stronghold. The Portuguese had been there since 1505, controlling the cinnamon trade — which was hugely profitable. Cinnamon was like gold in Europe back then. Luna: So the Dutch wanted a piece of that. Lucas: They wanted the whole pie. But they couldn't just roll in and take it by force — the Portuguese had forts all along the coast. So the VOC did something clever: they made an alliance with the Kingdom of Kandy, the independent Buddhist kingdom in the interior that had been fighting the Portuguese for decades. Lucas: In 1638, the VOC signed a treaty with King Rajasinha II of Kandy. The deal was simple: the Dutch would help kick the Portuguese out, and in return they'd get a monopoly on cinnamon and control of the coastal territories. Luna: Sounds like the kind of alliance that's bound to fall apart. Lucas: Exactly. And it did, spectacularly. But first, the joint Dutch-Kandyan forces had some successes. They captured Batticaloa in 1638, then Trincomalee in 1639. The Portuguese were losing ground. Lucas: The big prize was Colombo. The Portuguese had turned it into a heavily fortified city, with thick walls and a garrison of about 2,000 men. The VOC sent a fleet under the command of a man named Rijckloff van Goens — and he was ruthless. Luna: Van Goens — I've heard that name before. Wasn't he the one who later became governor-general? Lucas: That's him. Ambitious, aggressive, and completely convinced that the VOC should rule all of Ceylon — not just the coast. He arrived in 1655 with a massive force: over a thousand Dutch soldiers plus Kandyan auxiliaries. Lucas: The siege of Colombo lasted from 1655 to 1656 — seven months of brutal warfare. The Portuguese held out, hoping for reinforcements from Goa, but the Dutch blockade was too tight. Finally, in May 1656, the Portuguese commander surrendered. Luna: And what happened to the Kandyan alliance? Lucas: This is where it gets messy. Rajasinha II expected to be given control of Colombo after the victory, as per the treaty. But van Goens had other plans. He raised the Dutch flag over the city and refused to hand it over. Lucas: The king was furious. He withdrew his support and even attacked Dutch supply lines. But the VOC had the upper hand — they had the fort, the navy, and the cinnamon. The alliance was dead. Luna: So the Dutch just took over as the new colonial power. Lucas: Pretty much. By 1658, they had captured Jaffna, the last Portuguese stronghold, and controlled the entire coastline. But van Goens didn't stop there. He wanted to conquer the interior — the Kandyan Kingdom itself. Lucas: He launched several campaigns into the highlands, but the terrain was brutal — dense jungle, mountains, monsoons. The Kandyans used guerrilla tactics, ambushing Dutch patrols and then melting away. Van Goens never succeeded in taking Kandy. Luna: So the VOC got stuck with just the coast. That's a lot like what happened with the Portuguese. Lucas: Exactly. And it became a pattern. The Dutch controlled the lowlands and the ports, while Kandy remained independent in the hills. This division lasted until the British took over in 1796. Luna: What did the Dutch do with their part of Ceylon? I mean, besides cinnamon. Lucas: They ran it as a business, of course. The VOC imposed a strict monopoly on cinnamon — forcing locals to harvest it for set prices. They also introduced a new system of land registration called the 'thombos' — detailed surveys that recorded every plot of land, who owned it, and what taxes were due. Lucas: The thombos were incredibly efficient for collecting revenue, but they also disrupted traditional land rights. And they were used to impose a head tax on every adult male. If you couldn't pay, you were forced into corvée labor — building roads, forts, canals. Luna: So it was basically a system of exploitation dressed up as bureaucracy. Lucas: Exactly. And it's a reminder that colonialism wasn't just about battles and treaties — it was about everyday control: who owns the land, who works it, who profits. The thombos were a tool of that control. Lucas: And speaking of tools — you know, the fact that we can talk about these things without being interrupted by ads is something I really value about this show. We deliberately keep the podcast ad-free because we want the history to speak for itself. If you appreciate that too, you can support us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to keep the show going. Luna: Yeah, it's a small way to help keep this independent. And it really does make a difference. Lucas: Anyway, back to Ceylon. So the Dutch ruled the coast for nearly 150 years, and during that time, they transformed the island's economy. They introduced new crops like coffee and sugarcane, and they expanded the elephant trade — Ceylonese elephants were prized in India for warfare and ceremony. Luna: Elephants — that's something you don't hear about every day. Lucas: The VOC exported hundreds of elephants annually to the Mughal courts and the kingdoms of South India. It was a hugely lucrative business. In fact, the elephant trade was second only to cinnamon in terms of profit. Lucas: But the Dutch also left a cultural mark. They built churches, introduced Roman-Dutch law, and established the first printing press in Ceylon. Some of those legal structures still exist in Sri Lanka today. Luna: It's interesting how the legacy of colonialism is never just one thing — it's exploitation and infrastructure, violence and law, all mixed together. Lucas: That's exactly the point. And the story of Ceylon under the VOC is a perfect example. It wasn't just a military conquest — it was a remaking of society. The thombos, the cinnamon monopoly, the elephant trade, the forced labor — all of it added up to a system designed to extract wealth. Lucas: And yet, the Kandyans never fully submitted. The kingdom held out until 1815, long after the VOC had collapsed and the British had taken over. That's a remarkable story of resistance. Luna: So what finally brought down the Kandyan Kingdom? Lucas: That's a story for another episode. But let's just say it involved internal betrayal, a British alliance, and the last king of Kandy being exiled to India. It's a dramatic end to a long struggle.