Although about 3,000 soldiers were needed to guard the fort there were only about 500 soldiers who were well versed in warfare to handle the weapons. There were about 250 other ordinary men. The entire population of the city was about 10,000. But on the day that the city was besieged there were about double the number of men.

After the surrender of the fort in Kalutara and once they heard that the Dutch were marching forward, the people who lived outside the fort were permitted to enter the fort. As a result there were signs of an impending food shortage. So they had to limit the supply of food.

On October 18, 1655, the Dutch entered the city. First they conquered the area near St. Sebastian. Meanwhile, the soldiers in Malwana and Modera were called to Colombo. Though all of them fought to protect St. Sebastian area, all their efforts failed.

The Dutch set up camp near the church of ‘Our Lady’, which was built on top of a small hillock. This resulted in naming the place as Hulftsdorf. Gradually they entered the church here and even the other churches around.

They installed cannon in all the churches – namely, St. Thomas, Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Sebastian. They continued firing shots towards the city. King Rajasinghe got all this news. He was very happy about the victory of his friends the Dutch.
By Halaliye Karunathilake
Edited and translated by Kamala Silva
Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila

Kids Essays