Lack of commitment of the mercenary soldiers
The Dutch decided to leave King Rajasinghe out of the scene of the struggle to besiege Colombo. However they did not like to positively oppose the king. Once Colombo was captured, they did not intend to hand it over to the king nor to demolish the fort.
Up to now, they needed the king’s help. Because of this they did not want to get angry with the king, before the capture of the city. The Portuguese meanwhile, taught a good lesson to the Dutch who kept much hope in capturing the city.
Due to these reasons, they could only keep attacking the city. Capturing it was delayed day by day. Whatever damage the Dutch caused during daytime was soon repaired by the Portuguese during the night. Once in a way, they came out of the fort. On these visits, they attacked the plans made by the Dutch to capture the city.
These Portuguese soldiers were very loyal to their king and country. They fought with utmost courage to protect the honour of their king and also of the army. The soldiers of the Dutch company were different in this regard.
Most of the Dutch soldiers were hired mercenaries and they belonged to a number of nationalities. They did not have any idea of undergoing danger on behalf of the Dutch company and for the benefit of this company. There was no compulsion on them, in this regard.
By Halaliye Karunathilake
Edited and translated by Kamala Silva
Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila