The Dutch suffer a food shortage
Due to the opposition of the Government Agents of King Rajasinghe, the Dutch had to install armed contingents in various places. Along with this, came the difficulty in supplying food for the Dutch. This made the Dutch Governor rather nervous.
Gradual decrease in the supply of food caused a problem for the Dutch. Then the Dutch Governor took a stand to demolish the fort
in Negombo and hand it over to the king. He informed the king of this stand. Along with a lot of gifts, they sent this message to the king. But the king refused to believe in this.
The king did not listen to any of their requests. He on his part, tried to go to Ruwanwella and negotiate with the Portuguese, through letters. Meanwhile, the Dutch captured the royal camp in Raigam Korale. They dispersed the Sinhala soldiers who were there.
The Dutch Governor did not like to maintain a huge army in Colombo. As a result he had to demarcate places for the Dutch to settle down. The extent of the fort was reduced. The part that was separated was named the Old City which is derived from the Tamil word Pettah.
Later, the British gave the name Pettah to this Old City and so it came to be known as Pettah. The meaning of the word Pettah is the land near the fort of a guarded city.
The extent of Fort was the distance from the harbour to Canal Row.
By Halaliye Karunathilake
Edited and translated by Kamala Silva
Illustrated by Saman Kalubowila