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ENCYCLOPAEDIA of Rebellions

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Mudaliyars and lascarins revolt 1630

Synopsis
At Randeniwela on 21 August 1630, during another campaign to subdue the kingdom of Kandy, the Portuguese governor of Ceylon, Constantino de Sá, was caught off guard by the sudden revolt and desertion of the four mudaliyars (native commanders) and most of the lascarins (native soldiers) who formed the bulk of his army (5,000–13,000, depending on sources). The immediate result was a crushing defeat: left to their own, half of the 500 European soldiers were killed, including the governor himself, and the rest captured. This was not an isolated action, but part of a broader plan – devised by Sinhalese elites in coordination with the king of Kandy and also supported by the island’s Muslim community – to overthrow Portuguese rule. The next step was to seize Colombo, the seat of colonial power, through conspirators already in place. When this failed, after their timely suppression by colonial authorities, the city endured a months-long siege, while inland garrisons, churches, and Portuguese properties were attacked, causing heavy losses and casualties. The Portuguese and their allies withdrew into the fortified strongholds along the western coast (Colombo, Galle, Negombo) and the eastern coast (Trincomalee, Batticaloa), held Jaffna, and retained naval control. This allowed them to withstand sixteen months of widespread rebellion in the lowlands and repeated military assaults by Sinhalese forces. Following the arrival of reinforcements, they launched in January 1632 a counteroffensive that would restore the statu quo ante. Above all, the revolt of 1630 starkly exposed the fundamental weakness of the Portuguese project in Ceylon: it could not do without the cooperation of indigenous elites and military forces yet remained inherently vulnerable to their volatility and unpredictability.
Additional info

Starting date: . Ending: . Duration: 16 months. Name in sources: Revolta dos modeliares e lascarins. Location: Randeniwella, near Wellawaya, in Uva Province Country (current): Sri Lanka. Monarchy: Portuguese. Main participants: Indigenous, Local elites. Number of participants: >500. Main reasons & motivations: Anti-colonial, Resistance to conquest. Leadership: The four mudaliyars: Dom Teodosio (Kattota Mantri), Dom Aleixo (Amarakoon Mantri), Dom Cosme (Kulatunga Wickremasinghe), Dom Baltasar (Siyane Korale Bandara). Relevance: high.

Further reading
PERERA, S. G. (ed.) (1930). The Expedition to Uva made in 1630 together with an account of the seige laid to Colombo by the king of Kandy. Colombo: A.C. Richards, Acting Govt. Printer. PIRANI, Cenan (2016). The Military Economy of Seventeenth Century Sri Lanka: Rhetoric and Authority in a Time of Conquest. Los Angeles: UCLA (PhD diss). SILVA, Chandra Richard de (1972). The Portuguese in Ceylon, 1617-1638. Colombo: H. W. Cave & Co.
Cite this entry

Serrão, José Vicente (2026). "Mudaliyars and lascarins revolt 1630", in J. V. Serrão and M. S. Cunha (coord), Encyclopaedia of Rebellions in the Early Modern Iberian World. https://mappingrebellions.com/revolt/mudaliyars-and-lascarins-revolt-1630/ (accessed on 04 April 2026).