V2 
THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
and laid waste those plantations from which the only resources 
of the Portuguese were derived. 
The Dutch, however, found Ceylon by no means an easy 
or a rapid conquest. Every pass, every fortress was disputed 
with them ; and after the Portuguese had been driven from 
every other station along the coast, they still seemed determi- 
ned rather to perish than to yield up Colombo, the seat of 
their government. The Dutch invested the town, and com- 
pletely cut off the entrance of all supplies, either by sea or 
land. The courage of the Portuguese, however, seemed to 
increase with their difficulties : and for some time they baf- 
fled all the attempts of their enemies, and rejected all propo- 
sals to surrender with disdain. At length, however, they began 
to be attacked by enemies, against whom all their valour was 
in vain. The place was ill provisioned for a siege, and as no 
supplies could be thrown in, famine and disease began to sub- 
due those brave spirits which had despised death in every 
other shape. After sustaining a siege of seven months, and 
after braving innumerable hardships, the Portuguese at length 
surrendered Colombo to the Dutch, in the year 1656; and 
thus ended their dominion in Ceylon, exactly a century and 
a half after the first arrival of their countrymen in that 
island. 
The improvements made in the cultivation of Ceylon by the 
Portuguese, were by no means considerable. Those people,, 
when they first took possession of it, were rather warriors than 
merchants. Their continual wars with the natives contributed 
