Signing of the Treaty of Kandy
- When
- 1638
- Where
- Batticaloa
- Episodes
- 1
On 23 May 1638, King Rajasinghe II of Kandy signed a treaty with Dutch commanders Adam van Westerwolt and Willem Jacobszoon Coster. The agreement, consisting of 19 articles and a supplementary clause, was signed in Batticaloa to facilitate cooperation between the Kingdom of Kandy and the Dutch Republic.
Episodes
Background and detail
Background. Rajasinghe II sought Dutch assistance to remove Portuguese influence from the island, following his father's earlier diplomatic efforts to court the Dutch as allies. The Dutch sought to control the trade of cinnamon from Ceylon, which grew primarily in the Portuguese controlled areas of the island.
Signing of the Treaty. On 23 May 1638, the treaty was signed in Batticaloa by King Rajasinghe II and Dutch Naval Commander Adam van Westerwolt. The document, also known as the Westerwolt Treaty, formalized the alliance between the Kingdom of Kandy and the Dutch Republic.
Treaty Terms. The treaty comprised 19 articles and a supplementary clause, written in Dutch and Portuguese. Article 1 established friendship, while Article 11 required Kandy to send annual shipments of cinnamon and other goods to Batavia, securing Dutch commercial interests.
People involved
- Rajasinghe II · King of Kandy
- Adam van Westerwolt · Dutch Naval Commander
- Willem Jacobszoon Coster · Dutch Vice Commander
Sources
- Kandyan Treaty of 1638 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-04
- Rajasinha II Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-04
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.