Cite
MLA
“Kandyan–Dutch War.” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/kandyan-dutch-war-1764/. Accessed .
APA
Hindu History. (2026). Kandyan–Dutch War. Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/kandyan-dutch-war-1764/
The Dutch took and burned Kandy in 1765 but could not hold the hills; the treaty of 1766 gave them the whole coastline of the island and cut Kandy off from the sea.
01The rising of 1761
The Dutch held the coast of Lanka and its cinnamon; the king of Kandy held the hills. Kirti Sri Rajasinha, of the Nayakkar family that had married into the Kandyan throne from Madurai, chafed at Dutch control of the ports, salt and trade. In 1761 lowland villagers rose against Dutch rule, and Kandyan troops came down to join them, taking Matara and other coastal posts. The Dutch sent for reinforcements from Batavia.
02Kandy taken, the coast lost
Governor van Eck marched into the hills and entered Kandy in February 1765, finding the city empty; the king had gone deeper into the mountains. The Dutch garrison was then worn down by sickness and by Kandyan raids on its supply lines and had to pull back. With both sides exhausted, Governor Falck made peace in February 1766. Kandy kept its hills and its king, but the Dutch got sovereignty over the entire coast.
Cut off from the sea, Kandy could no longer reach friends in South India by its own ports, and was left to face the British alone when they replaced the Dutch in 1796.