Chilaw Fort of the Portuguese

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The Chilaw Fort is a historic mud-and-stone stronghold established by the Portuguese to secure cinnamon trade. Despite surviving a major 1803 siege by Kandyan forces, it was eventually replaced by British administrative buildings. Today, a significant 1.5-metre-high tunnel remains, stretching from the District Court towards St. James Street.

The Portuguese were the first to introduce European-style fortifications to Sri Lanka. They established fortified strongholds at key administrative, military, and economic centers, including Jaffna, Negombo, Colombo, Galle, Batticaloa, and Trincomalee. Following the capture of these forts by the Dutch between 1638 and 1658, many of them were either rebuilt or strengthened.

The earliest Portuguese forts in Sri Lanka were constructed during a period marked by uprisings in regions such as Ruwanwella, Galle, and Uduwara.

The fort at Uduwara appears to have been specifically established to counter Edirille Rala, who was crowned King of Kotte in 1596 and was granted the kingdoms of Kotte and Sitawaka by King Vimaladharmasūriya I (r. 1592–1604) of Kandy around the same time. Following the death of Edirille Rala, the fort at Uduwara was subsequently abandoned.

Expansion of Portuguese Fortifications by 1597

By 1597, the Portuguese had established a network of twelve forts and stockades across Sri Lanka. De Albuquerque reported the completion of several forts (fortes or fortalezas) at Galle, Matara, Kalutara, Negombo, Chilaw, Gurebewila, Batugedara, Ruwanwella, and Kuruwita—the latter more precisely identified as Delgamuwa in Kuruwiti Korale, according to Fr. S. G. Perera.

In addition to these, two stockades (tranqueiras) had been constructed at Malwana and Kaduwela, along with a castle at Sitawaka (Pieris, 1929).

Expansion into the Four and Seven Korales

With the slow conquest of the Four and the Seven korales, other forts sprang up, at Menikkadawara, Damunugashinna, Mottappuliya, Diyasunnata, Attapitiya, Deewala, Alawwa, Etgaletota, Katugampola and Pentenigoda (Abeyasinghe, 1969).

Dutch Modifications and Strategic Recommendations

In 1657 the clay walls of Negombo were replaced by stone and van der Meyden, the Dutch Governor of Zeylan (Ceylon) recommended building another fort at Chilaw in order to protect the cinnamon in the Seven Korales as well as to control the port “where much shipping goes on” (Pieris, 1929). However, there is no indication that a second fort was built.

However, the Chilaw, anciently called “Pitigal Korale,” was under the possession of the Kandyan king until 1756, when it was captured by the Dutch (Chitty, 1834).

British Occupation and Kandyan Conflict

In 1796, Chilaw was surrendered to the British during the period of hostilities with the King of Kandy.

In 1803, the fort at Chilaw came under siege by Kandyan forces. It was subsequently recaptured by British troops dispatched from Negombo.

Lord Valetia provides the below account of this siege ;

The Fort of Chilaw is the most trifling thing I ever beheld under that name, It consists of a ditch , in some parts three feet deep, with a rampart of earth that slopes equally both ways, and is about ten feet high on the top of which is a row of hedge stakes driven in close to each other. In the front of this, on the edge of the ditch is a range of trees with their branches placed outwards. This is a late addition; yet without this it stood a siege against a the Second Adigar and three thousand Cingalese. They carried their approaches very regularly and at length brought their batteries so near the fort that they conversed with the garrison. Mr Campbell, who commanded, though a Civil Servant, had with him but sixty Sepoys and Malays; yet the enemy who could see everything never attempted to storm the place. He had not shot, and only a barrel and half of powder. He was obliged to use pice, of which he had six thousand rix-dollars in the place, and to manage his fire sparingly, as he did not know when he might be relieved. He had not great occasion to fear in other respects for not a man was killed on his side, His havildar told him there was no use in loading with the ball: ‘Put in powder enough’ said he ‘and the noise will be sufficient to keep them off’ . Repeated offers of reward were made to the garrison if they would give him up, but without effort. At length Captain Blackwall with forty men came to his assistance by water from Negombo, and the Candy army retreated with the utmost expedition…….

There is limited information available regarding this fort during the early Portuguese and Dutch periods. However, some details about Chilaw Fort are provided by Haafner in 1821.

Chilaw is a large village, very pleasantly situated in a grove of cocoa- trees . The river, from which the place takes its name, and on whose banks it is situated , separates it from the shore of the sea, from which it is about a mile distant. This river takes its rise among the mountains of Bocaul, and flows, as has been just observed, past Chilaw into the sea. There is here an old fort, small, and of a square form ; it was built by the Portuguese, the first conquerors of India, and has since been repaired and improved. In time of peace, the garrison consists of from thirty to fifty men , chiefy Topazes and Lascars, but on account of the war with the English , it has been reinforced with two hundred Europeans and Malays, which , from the strong situation of the place, was a force more than sufficient to defend it against an enemy twenty times more numerous…..

In 1834, Simon Casie Chitty provided another description of the fort.

The fort, which is constructed of mud, is situated in the Pettah on the north side of the river, and was formerly enclosed with strong palisades. It contains only a house for the residence of the commandant, a powder magazine, and a hospital, and is at present garrisoned by armed lascoreens. The dwelling house of the collector and the cutcherry offices stand close by the sea shore; they have been lately very much improved. The Pettah is composed of a number of low, ill-built houses, with a few exceptions constructed of clay, covered with thatch, and huddled up together in the midst of cocoanut topes. There are two places of public worship; one belonging to the Protestants, and the other to the Roman Catholics. The former is a handsome building, constructed through the generous aid and superintendence of F. J. TEMPLER, Esq. and called in compliment to him “St. James’s Church,”

Location and Identification of Chilaw Fort

No historical map of Chilaw Fort has been discovered. Based on the thesis by Chryshane Mendis concerning its precise location, Ranjith Jayasena suggests that the present police station occupies part of the original fort, as it retains a strongly built masonry structure. However, local tradition identifies the site of the fort as the current court complex, situated approximately 850 metres (2,789 feet) to the east of the police station.

For the purposes of that study, the location is identified as the court complex, primarily because it lies closer to the center of the town—an area where most Dutch administrative posts were typically established (Mendis, 2020).

Later Historical References

According to archaeologist and author David Gayan Indika, in his work Halawatha Buddhist Heritage, the last documented reference to the fort dates to 1843 during the British period, when a high court building was constructed within its premises. It is also recorded that on January 9, 1952, parts of the fort gate were dismantled and broken to facilitate the construction of the Municipal Council building.

The Tunnel of Chilaw Fort

A surviving feature of historical value is the tunnel associated with Halawatha Fort, which remains visible even today. The entrance to this tunnel, located within the District Court building of Chilaw, is approximately 1.5 meters (5 feet) in height.

The tunnel is said to extend from the court premises towards Puttalam Road, eventually connecting to St. James Street. During later construction activities along the Chilaw–Puttalam Road, sections of the tunnel were discovered by property owners. However, fearing that it might interfere with building foundations, these sections were subsequently sealed.

Following repeated appeals by the author, there have been proposals to excavate and restore the tunnel, although its current status remains uncertain.

References

Abeyasinghe, T. (1966) Portuguese rule in Ceylon, 1594-1612. Colombo: Lake House Investments.
Haafner, J. (1821) Travels on Foot Through the Island of Ceylon (translated from the Dutch). London, England: Sir Richard Phillips and Co.
Chitty, S.C. (1834) The Ceylon Gazetteer : Containing an Accurate Account of the Districts, Provincesm Cities, Towns, Principal Villafes, Harbours, Rivers, Lakes &c of the Island of Ceylon. Cotta Church Mission Press.
Mendis, C., 2020. FORTIFICATIONS AND THE LANDSCAPE : A GIS Inventory and Mapping of Kandyan and Dutch Fortifications in Sri Lanka. Master’s thesis. University of Amsterdam.
Pieris, P.E. (1929) Dutch Power in Ceylon (1602-1670) : Some documents relating to the rise of the Dutch power in ceylon, 1602-1670: From the translation at the India Office. Colombo: C.A.C. Press.

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