Cite
MLA
“Siege of Jaffna (1658).” Hindu History, 2026, https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/siege-of-jaffna-1658/. Accessed .
APA
Hindu History. (2026). Siege of Jaffna (1658). Retrieved , from https://www.hinduhistory.in/battles/siege-of-jaffna-1658/
Jaffna surrendered in June 1658, ending Portuguese rule in Lanka.
01The last Portuguese fort
After Colombo fell in 1656, the Portuguese still held Mannar and Jaffna in the north. Early in 1658 a Dutch force under Rijcklof van Goens took Mannar and crossed to the Jaffna peninsula. The Portuguese and many of the townspeople shut themselves into the fort they had built on the lagoon. The Dutch dug in around it and cut off its supplies. Inside, crowded and short of water and food, the garrison held out for about three months.
02Surrender
In June 1658 the Portuguese surrendered. The soldiers were shipped away and the Dutch took over the province. They rebuilt the fort as the star-shaped Jaffna Fort that still stands, and ruled the peninsula until the British came in 1795. Under the Dutch the Hindus of Jaffna were still barred from public worship for a long time, but in the 18th century the restrictions eased and the great temples, Nallur among them, began to be rebuilt.
The fall of Jaffna ended 153 years of Portuguese presence in Lanka, begun in 1505.
