Portuguese Ceylon

Portuguese Ceylon (Portuguese: Ceilão Português, Sinhala: පෘතුගීසි ලංකාව Potugisi Lankava) refers to the control of the Kingdom of Kotte by the Portuguese Empire, in present-day Sri Lanka, after the country's Crisis of the Sixteenth Century and into the Kandyan period.

Portuguese presence in the island lasted from 1505 to 1658. Their arrival was largely accidental, seeking control of commerce over territorial conquest. Their appearance coincided with the political upheaval of the Wijayaba Kollaya and were drawn into the internal politics of the island as they sought to establish control over the lucrative Cinnamon trade that originated there. The Portuguese used these internal divisions to their advantage during the Sinhalese–Portuguese War. Direct Portuguese rule inside the island did not begin until after the death of Dharmapala of Kotte, who died without an heir and who by 1580 bequeathed the Kingdom of Kotte to the Portuguese monarch. This allowed the Portuguese sufficient claim to the Kingdom of Kotte upon Dharmapala's death in 1597. Portuguese rule began with much resistance by the local population.