Location of forts within Sri Lanka. Completely destroyed forts are marked by 
. (
)
Forts and fortifications in Sri Lanka date back thousands of years, with many being built by Sri Lankan kings. These include several walled cities. With the outset of colonial rule in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka was occupied by several major colonial empires that from time to time became the dominant power in the Indian Ocean. The colonists built several western-style forts, mostly in and around the coast of the island. The first to build colonial forts in Sri Lanka were the Portuguese; these forts were captured and later expanded by the Dutch. The British occupied these Dutch forts during the Napoleonic wars.
Most of the colonial forts were garrisoned up until the early 20th century. The coastal forts had coastal artillery manned by the Ceylon Garrison Artillery during the two world wars. Most of these were abandoned by the military but retained civil administrative officers, while others retained military garrisons, which were more administrative than operational. Some were reoccupied by military units with the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War; Jaffna fort, for example, came under siege several times.
Anuradhapura period
Transitional period
Sitawaka forts
Portuguese forts
Kandyan period
Kandyan forts
Dutch forts
British forts
Notes
- ^ It was the site of a major battle between the forces of Ellalan and Dutthagamani
- ^ Royal Palace. Briefly used as an outpost of the Kingdom of Kandy in the 16th and 17th centuries.
- ^ Located to the south of Sigiriya is the Mapagala Fortress (‘Rock of the Viceroy’), a fortress with massive stone walls, which was built prior to Sigiriya.
- ^ Later controlled by the Dutch and then the British
- ^ Captured by the Dutch in 1638
- ^ Captured by the Dutch in 1665
- ^ Handed over to the Dutch in 1658
- ^ Later controlled by the Dutch
- ^ Later controlled by the Dutch
- ^ Captured and rebuilt by the Dutch from 1640
- ^ Rebuilt by the Dutch in 1680
- ^ Captured and rebuilt by the Dutch in 1658
- ^ Rebuilt by the Dutch after 1640
- ^ In 1795 the fort was surrendered to the British
- ^ Rebuilt by British during their occupation of the country in 1795
- ^ Later surrendered to the British 1795
- ^ Later surrendered to the British 1795
- ^ The fort is still being used as a prison by the Department of Prisons.
- ^ Outpost during the Kandyan Wars
References
- ^ Senaveratna, John M. (1997). The story of the Sinhalese from the most ancient times up to the end of "the Mahavansa" or Great dynasty: Vijaya to Maha Sena, B.C. 543 to A.D.302. Asian Educational Services. pp. 125–128. ISBN 978-81-206-1271-6.
- ^ "Hanwella Fort". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Balana". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Medamahanuwara Hunnasgiriya Kanda". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Welanhinna". Amazing Lanka. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Forts in Sri Lanka.
- Dutch and Portuguese buildings in Sri Lanka, written by Marco Ramerini
- Colonial Forts in Sri Lanka Archived 2010-01-03 at the Wayback Machine
- The remnants of Dutch culture in Sri Lanka
- Forten en stellingen in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) tijdens de Nederlandse periode (in Dutch)
