Prince Vijayapala embraces Christianity
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King Rajasinghe went to Uva, with the idea of capturing his brother, Prince Vijayapala who was also known as the Prince of Matale. The prince had fled before that. He had gone to Batticaloa and met the Dutch. He tried his best to antagonize the Dutch against King Rajasinghe, by making various complaints.
The Portuguese thought of helping Prince Vijayapala to fight against King Rajasinghe. They later gave up that idea and sent Prince Vijayapala to Goa. There he was placed in the status of a Portuguese prince and was given a considerable allowance for his maintenance.
King Rajasinghe sought the help of the Dutch to capture his brother Prince Vijayapala.
The prince got to know this and escaped from the Durch as well. He went to the Portuguese, who warmly welcomed him.
While he was in Goa, Prince Vijayapala embraced Christianity. During this time, the Dutch who were in the Fort of Galle had to face a food shortage. They had to go out of the fort, in search of food. The Portuguese made use of this opportunity.
They lay in hiding. At Wakwella, they met a crowd of Dutch soldiers. Everyone in the crowd was put to death by the Portuguese. This happened in the month of August in 1642 A.D. As a result the Dutch soldiers who were in the fort of Galle were frightened and discouraged.
By Halaliye Karunathilake
Edited and translated by Kamala Silva
Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila