Forts in Sri Lanka explained

Forts in Sri Lanka date back thousands of years, with many being built by Sri Lankan kings. These include several walled cities. With the outset of colonial rule in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was occupied by several major colonial empires that from time to time became the dominant power in the Indian Ocean. The colonists built several western-style forts, mostly in and around the coast of the island. The first to build colonial forts in Sri Lanka were the Portuguese; these forts were captured and later expanded by the Dutch. The British occupied these Dutch forts during the Napoleonic wars.

Most of the colonial forts were garrisoned up until the early 20th century. The coastal forts had coastal artillery manned by the Ceylon Garrison Artillery during the two world wars. Most of these were abandoned by the military but retained civil administrative officers, while others retained military garrisons, which were more administrative than operational. Some were reoccupied by military units with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War; Jaffna fort, for example, came under siege several times.

Anuradhapura period

Image	Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
							Fortress City	^[1] ^[2]
			495 CE		Ruined			^[3]
								^[4]

Transitional period

Portuguese forts

Image	Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
		1518, 1554	1524, 1870		Destroyed	-	Defence
		1624	-		Good		Defence	^[6]
		1628			Good		Defence	^[7]
					Destroyed	-	Defence	^[8]
					Ruins		Defence	^[9]
					Ruins		Defence	^[10]
		1776			Destroyed	-	Defence	^[11]
		1588	-		Good		Defence	^[12]
		1630			Ruins		Defence
		1618			Good		Defence	^[13]
		1618			Good			^[14]
		1655			Ruins		Defence
		1629			Ruins		Defence
		1630			Ruins		Defence
		1560			Destroyed		Defence
		1550			Good		Defence	^[15]
		1599			Destroyed		Defence
		1672			Ruins		Defence
		16??			Ruins		Defence
		1618, 1620			Destroyed		Defence
		1590s			Destroyed		Defence
		1597			Destroyed		Defence

Kandyan period

Kandyan forts

Image	Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
					Ruined		Defence	^[16]
	Hunnasgiriya Fort				Ruined		Defence	^[17]
	Welanhinna Ancient Fort				Destroyed			^[18]

Dutch forts

Image	Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
		1618	-		Good		Defence
		1622			Destroyed		Defence
		1646	-		Good		Defence
		1667–76	-		Good		Defence	^[19]
		1715			Ruins		Defence	^[20]
		1763–65	-		Good		Star fort
					Destroyed		Defence
					Ruins		Defence	^[21]
					Ruins		Defence
					Destroyed		Defence	^[22]
					Good		Defence	^[23]

British forts

Image	Name	Founded	Abandoned	Location	Condition	Controlled by	Type	Notes
		1801-03			Good	Government of Sri Lanka	Defence tower
		1803						^[24]

External links

• Dutch and Portuguese buildings in Sri Lanka, written by Marco Ramerini
• Colonial Forts in Sri Lanka
• The remnants of Dutch culture in Sri Lanka
• Forten en stellingen in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) tijdens de Nederlandse periode

Notes and References

1. It was the site of a major battle between the forces of Ellalan and Dutthagamani
2. Book: Senaveratna, John M. . The story of the Sinhalese from the most ancient times up to the end of "the Mahavansa" or Great dynasty: Vijaya to Maha Sena, B.C. 543 to A.D.302. Asian Educational Services. 1997. 125–128. 978-81-206-1271-6.
3. Royal Palace. Briefly used as an outpost of the Kingdom of Kandy in the 16th and 17th centuries.
4. Located to the south of Sigiriya is the Mapagala Fortress (‘Rock of the Viceroy’), a fortress with massive stone walls, which was built prior to Sigiriya.
5. Web site: Hanwella Fort. Amazing Lanka. 2023-12-07.
6. Later controlled by the Dutch and then the British
7. Captured by the Dutch in 1638
8. Captured by the Dutch in 1665
9. Handed over to the Dutch in 1658
10. Later controlled by the Dutch
11. Later controlled by the Dutch
12. Captured and rebuilt by the Dutch from 1640
13. Rebuilt by the Dutch in 1680
14. Captured and rebuilt by the Dutch in 1658
15. Rebuilt by the Dutch after 1640
16. Web site: Balana. Amazing Lanka. 2023-12-07.
17. Web site: Medamahanuwara Hunnasgiriya Kanda. Amazing Lanka. 2023-12-07.
18. Web site: Welanhinna. Amazing Lanka. 2023-12-07.
19. In 1795 the fort was surrendered to the British
20. Rebuilt by British during their occupation of the country in 1795
21. Later surrendered to the British 1795
22. Later surrendered to the British 1795
23. The fort is still being used as a prison by the Department of Prisons.
24. Outpost during the Kandyan Wars