408 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XX. 



districts 1 ; though, as a whole, the state of affairs in Ceylon 

 at the end of 1596 was anything but rosy for the Portuguese 2 . 



During the two years that followed the annihilation of 

 Pero Lopes de Sousa's force Vimaladaham had devoted 

 himself chiefly to the consolidation of his kingdom. He had 

 also caused to be erected several forts to guard the passes to 

 the hill-country, and had built himself in Kandy a new palace 

 surrounded by bastions, in the construction of which the 

 surviving Portuguese prisoners were employed 3 . Having 

 renounced his profession of Christianity, and, as it were, 

 thrown down the gauntlet of defiance by assuming the title 



1 Rdjdvaliya 99. In his letter of 15 January 1598, cited in the pre- 

 vious note, King Philip says he is glad to learn from the viceroy that the 

 affairs of Ceylon " were in the best state that they had ever been," and 

 that as a result of the death of Domingos Correa " the kingdoms of 

 Cotta and Ceitaauaqa, which are the greater part of that island, had 

 quieted down." In consequence of this favourable report it was 

 decided to send to Ceylon a large number of priests, the Franciscans 

 there being insufficient for the work of " conversion." 



2 The Goa chamber, writing to the king on 19 December 1596, say 

 (Arch. Port. -Or. i. n. 35-6) : — " The affairs of Ceilao remain in a troub- 

 lous enough state and with little stability, as this city wrote at large to 

 your majesty last year ; and as long as your majesty does not send a 

 separate force for the conquest of this island the course that is adopted 

 at present will only serve to consume the soldiery of this state drawn 

 from the armadas and fortresses, the which remains there almost entirely, 

 some dying in war, and others of sickness ; and in order that your 

 majesty be more particularly informed of the truth of this, we send 

 with this the copy of a letter that the chamber of the city of Columbo 

 wrote to us this summer." No copy of the letter mentioned is extant, 

 unhappily ; but in his letter of 13 January 1598, already cited, the 

 king refers the statements of the Goa chamber to the viceroy for con- 

 sideration. A royal letter of 10 March 1598, printed in Arch. Port.- 

 Or. iii. (857-61), gives the substance of a letter written to the king 

 from Columbo on 27 November 1596 by Frey Grisostimo da Madre 

 de Deos, guardian of the convent of Sao Francisco in Ceylon, in which 

 serious charges are brought against Dom Jeronimo de Azevedo and 

 Thom6 de Sousa de Arronches, of taking bribes, conniving at rebellion, 

 peculation, torturing natives in order to get possession of their wealth, 

 &c. (Gf. M. Lit. Reg. iv. 210-1. ) Although the viceroy was ordered by 

 the king to inquire into these accusations, I cannot find that the offen- 

 ders were punished, at least, not immediately (see infra, p. 433, 

 note *). 



3 Bald. Ceylon v. ; Mahdv. xciv. ; C. Lit. Reg. vi. 333. 



