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| - Sitawaka Rajasinghe turned his attention to the Kingdom of Kandy, ruled by King Karaliyadde Bandara, whose daughter was married to Dom João Dharmapala. In 1582 Rajasinghe defeated the Kandyan army at Balana, with the assistance of a Kandyan chieftain, Virasundara Mudiyanse of Peradeniya. The Kandyan king, with his queen, son, infant daughter Kusumasana Devi, and nephew Yamasinghe Bandara, fled to Trincomalee under the protection of the Portuguese.
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| abstract
| - Sitawaka Rajasinghe turned his attention to the Kingdom of Kandy, ruled by King Karaliyadde Bandara, whose daughter was married to Dom João Dharmapala. In 1582 Rajasinghe defeated the Kandyan army at Balana, with the assistance of a Kandyan chieftain, Virasundara Mudiyanse of Peradeniya. The Kandyan king, with his queen, son, infant daughter Kusumasana Devi, and nephew Yamasinghe Bandara, fled to Trincomalee under the protection of the Portuguese. Soon King Karaliyadde Bandara, his son and queen died of smallpox, after entrusting his infant daughter and nephew to the Portuguese. The king had named Yamasinghe Bandara as the heir to the throne of Kandy on condition that he marry Kusumasana Devi once she came of age. Yamasinghe Bandara was baptized Dom Filipe. Kusumasana Devi, baptized Dona Catarina, was educated by Catholic priests and brought up according to Portuguese customs. Soon after the conquest, Kandy rose in rebellion against Sitawaka rule under Virasundara Mudiyanse, Rajasinghe's viceroy in the area. Summoned to Sitawaka under a parley, he was treacherously assassinated by Rajasinghe, who then crushed the rebellion with an iron fist. Hearing of his father’s death, Konappu Bandara, son of Virasundara Mudiyanse, fled to Colombo and entered the service of King Dharmapala. He was baptized as Dom João of Austria, became a Lascarin leader and married the daughter of Tammita Rala, by whom he had a son. He distinguished himself in battles against Rajasinghe, specially during the siege of Colombo, soon rising to the rank of Mudali. In 1588 Kandy revolted again, this time under Dom Francisco Mudali, a Christian grandson of Gampola Devi. They expelled the agents of Sitawaka and sent a message to Dom Filipe (Yamasinghe Bandara, now the legitimate heir to the throne) requesting his return. Dom Filipe arrived in Kandy in 1592 with an army of 400 Portuguese under Captain João de Melo and a force of Lascarins under Dom João of Austria (Konappu Bandara). A few days after his coronation, Dom Filipe died under suspicious circumstances, presumably by poisoning. The Portuguese blamed Dom João of Austria, but Dom João and the Kandyan chieftains in turn accused the Portuguese of poisoning the king. Soon Kandy revolted and the Portuguese army retreated to Mannar. Dom João of Austria became the king of Kandy as Vimaladharmasuriya I. In 1593 Sitawaka Rajasinghe attempted to retake Kandy, but his army was defeated at Balana. While returning from the battle he died from an injury caused by a bamboo splinter. On Rajasinghe’s death, his general Mannamperuma Mohottila (a Badaga mercenary leader named Aritta Kee-Vendu Perumal, who had risen in rank by winning the king's favour) deserted to the Portuguese and changed his name to Jayavira Bandara Mudali. With his assistance, the Portuguese conquered Sitawaka in 1594. During the looting of Sitawaka, Jayavira Bandara Mudali managed to secure a vast treasure, making him rich and influential. As the Jaffna kingdom was already subjugated (since 1591), with the fall of Sitawaka only the Kingdom of Kandy stood in the way of the Portuguese in completing their conquest of Sri Lanka. Although Vimaladharmasuriya ruled with the support of the inhabitants, being a son of a chieftain made him an usurper while the last legitimate heir to the throne, the princess Dona Catarina, remained with the Portuguese.
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