Dutch Ceylon

Dutch Ceylon was a colony in Tamil south and Sri Lanka (South Asia) that lasted from 1640 to 1796 CE, about 156 years. Its people spoke Germanic languages (Gothic, Frankish, English, German, Dutch, Norse).

The Dutch East India Company held the coasts and cinnamon lands for over a century, leaving forts at Galle and Jaffna and a Roman-Dutch legal code. Britain seized the colony in 1796.

See Dutch Ceylon on the interactive timeline

Facts

Dates

1640 to 1796 CE

Duration

156 years

Type

Colony

Region

Tamil south and Sri Lanka, South Asia

Language family

Germanic

Capital

Colombo

Came from

• Portuguese Ceylon 1505 to 1658 CE

Became

• British Ceylon 1796 to 1948 CE

Events in South Asia during its time

• 1739 Nader Shah sacks Delhi
• 1757 Battle of Plassey
• 1761 Third Battle of Panipat

Neighbours in South Asia

• Mughal Empire 1526 to 1857 CE
• Ahom Kingdom 1228 to 1826 CE
• Kingdom of Mysore c. 1399 to 1950 CE
• Kingdom of Kandy 1469 to 1815 CE
• Vijayanagara Empire 1336 to 1646 CE
• Kingdom of Nepal 1768 to 2008 CE
• Hyderabad State 1724 to 1948 CE
• Maratha Confederacy 1674 to 1818 CE
• Company rule in India 1757 to 1858 CE
• Durrani Empire 1747 to 1823 CE

Elsewhere in the world at the same time

• Republic of Venice c. 697 to 1797 CE, Europe
• Swahili city-states c. 800 to 1700 CE, Central and Southern Africa
• Holy Roman Empire 962 to 1806 CE, Europe
• Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE, North and West Africa
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Europe
• Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE, Middle East
• Portuguese Empire 1415 to 1999 CE, Europe
• Kingdom of Kongo c. 1390 to 1914 CE, Central and Southern Africa
• Mali Empire c. 1235 to 1670 CE, North and West Africa
• Ayutthaya Kingdom 1351 to 1767 CE, Southeast Asia

Questions