NO, 60. — 1908.] PORTUGUESE HISTORY OF CEYLON. 



399 



feeling strong enough, to follow up his victory by any incur- 

 sion into the lowland territories, Dom Joao retired with his 

 army to Kandy, where he was proclaimed king under the 

 title of Vimaladaham Surya 1 , the whole of the " five divi- 

 sions " of the hill-country submitting to his rule 2 . Knowing 

 well that the Portuguese would not rest content until they 

 had expelled him from the throne he had usurped, and visited 

 him with the condign punishment due to a renegade, the new 

 king seems to have very wisely spent the next two years in 

 strengthening his forces and preparing for the inevitable 

 attack 3 . Seeing that he could look for no assistance 

 from the lowland territories, he opened up correspondence 

 with the puppet king of Jaffna, with a view to an offensive 

 and defensive alliance 4 ; but this attempt, as might be ex- 

 pected, was very soon nipped in the bud by the Portuguese. 



We now come to an episode in the history of Ceylon, in con- 

 nection with which a number of strange and seemingly ficti- 

 tious events have been recorded by several writers. In the 

 early part of 1594 5 there called at Columbo on his way to Goa 

 the outgoing captain of Malacca, Pero Lopes de Sousa ; who, 

 learning from the captain 6 of Columbo the condition of 



1 The document printed in Col. de Trat. i. (227) says that as soon as 

 Dom Joao had got rid of Dom Filippe by poison he made himself 

 " intruded king with the title of Septupelabandar." What the first 

 part of this title represents, I am unable to say. 



2 Rajavaliya 94-5. 



3 The various authorities are silent regarding Dom Joao's doings 

 during the two years 1592-4, except for the fact recorded in the letter 

 mentioned in the next note. 



4 This is referred to in a royal letter of 26 February 1595, printed 

 in Arch. Port.-Or. iii. (504). 



5 The Portuguese ships left Malacca for India generally at the end of 

 December or beginning of January (see supra, p. 353, note 6 ) : we 

 should therefore conclude that the visit of Pero Lopes took place in 

 January or February 1594, were it not for the facts mentioned in the 

 next note. 



8 Ribeiro, who is the only writer that records the details here given, 

 says {Fatal. Hist. i. vi.) that Pero Lopes " was well received by the 

 captain of the fort, Francisco da Silva," and that it was with this man 

 that Pero Lopes discussed matters. Now, as we have seen above, the 

 captain of Columbo at this time was Pedro Homem Pereira : therefore 

 Francisco da Silva (either the alcaide mor of Columbo or the Castilian 



