Kandy Fights the Portuguese: A Military History of Kandyan Resistance (review)

Gaston Perera’s new book is a worthwhile addition to the works on the history of military resistance to colonial incursions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The author, well known for his two historical novels, The Rebel of Kandy and The Sons of the Rebel, has clearly devoted a great deal of time and energy to reading the primary and secondary sources for the period.

The first thing that will strike you about the book is its readability. The author’s narrative flows easily and it is difficult to put the book down. It is not easy for a novelist to make the transition to being a historian but Gaston Perera has been meticulous in his work. Every statement is supported by evidence and while the author points out that his lack of fluency in Portuguese has been a limitation, most of the material he needs has been accurately translated into English. In terms of a sustained investigation of the military history of Kandyan resistance to the Portuguese, this is now the book to read.

Then again, like most new military historians, Gaston Perera places military encounters within a socio-economic and political context. This book is not just about battles but about people, their lives and ideals. On the other hand, more than half the book is an analysis of battles and strategy and the author illustrates his analyses with maps while quoting from time to time from contemporary sources. He is excellent in delineating the causes of war and in charting the course of each conflict.

If I had a word of criticism it would be that Gaston Perera does not extend his analysis to the wider consequences of military conflicts of the time. For instance, Sanjay Subrahmanyam in writing on the conflicts in South India in the eighteenth century linked them to the formation of the ‘modern state’ in that region. Did constant warfare make the ruler of Kandy (Rajasinha II) more powerful vis-à-vis the nobles and did this affect the political structure of the Kandyan state? Was the lessening of military conflict with the later ascendancy of the Dutch connected with a strengthening of local autonomy within the kingdom of Kandy? It is true that evidence on these questions will be hard to find and, certainly, Gaston Perera’s work has laid the foundations upon which more difficult questions can be raised, if not answered. In general, this work would have benefited from being placed in the wider context of contemporary colonial wars elsewhere in the world. I also would have preferred if the book had had an index.

On the other hand, Gaston Perera’s book provides a comprehensive look at the weapons, armor and training of the soldiers of the period. His analyses of famous battles, including those of Danture, Ambatenna, Randeniwela and Gannoruwa are excellent. He has provided us with a glossary to explain unfamiliar terms. In sum, this is an excellent publication that follows on the quincentennial of the first arrival of the Portuguese in Sri Lanka in 1506. It is a book that is well worth purchasing.