Local, Regional, and Global Factors in Portugal's Imperial Stance in Sri Lanka

This paper will discuss the contribution of local, regional and global factors to the transformation of Portuguese activities in Sri Lanka in the late sixteenth century. I will argue that the official beginning of the Portuguese conquest of the island in 1594 owed as much to the local politics of Kotte as to the regionally grown ambitions of Portuguese nobles circulating between Goa, Colombo and Malacca and to the decisions taken by the imperial authorities in Lisbon and Madrid. This conjugation of factors reflects the rise of links between South Asia and Europe and of political-cultural structures in the Portuguese and Lankan spheres that may serve as indicators of Early Modernity. The question remains, however, when, where and how exactly cultural difference contributed to the shift from an “Age of Partnership” to an “Age of Conquest”.