Qualla: Battle of Mulleriyawa https://qualla.com/battle-of-mulleriyawa en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:31 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/battle-of-mulleriyawa-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Battle of Mulleriyawa https://qualla.com/battle-of-mulleriyawa Battle of Mulleriyawa: Introduction https://qualla.com/battle-of-mulleriyawa/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. According to Sinhalese chronicles, the marshlands of Mulleriyawa turned red with blood. Even allowing for poetic embellishment, the scale of the Portuguese defeat in 1559 was staggering -- one of the most decisive battles in Sri Lankan history, and the moment when the Kingdom of Sitawaka proved it could not merely resist Portuguese expansion but shatter it. What brought a veteran Portuguese commander to this marshy ground east of Colombo, and how a prince with war elephants sent him reeling back, is a story of colonial ambition colliding with fierce local resistance.

Read more: Battle of Mulleriyawa on Qualla

Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/battle-of-mulleriyawa-wp/tc0z-battle-of-mulleriyawa-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Battle of Mulleriyawa: A Kingdom Divided Against Itself https://qualla.com/battle-of-mulleriyawa/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. The roots of Mulleriyawa reach back to 1521, when three sons of King Vijayabahu VI overthrew and assassinated their father in the event known as the Vijayaba Kollaya -- the Spoiling of Vijayabahu. They carved the Kingdom of Kotte into three pieces. The eldest, Buvanekabahu VII, k...

Read more: Battle of Mulleriyawa on Qualla

Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/battle-of-mulleriyawa-wp/tc0z-battle-of-mulleriyawa-a-kingdom-divided-against-itself.mp3 0:06 2 full Battle of Mulleriyawa: The Commander Called Baroche https://qualla.com/battle-of-mulleriyawa/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. After Mayadunne's unsuccessful year-long siege of Kotte from 1557 to 1558, the Portuguese decided to strike back. But their captain-major, Afonso Pereira de Lacerda, was crippled by chronic malaria, barely coherent with fever. Goa dispatched a replacement: Jorge de Menezes, a vet...

Read more: Battle of Mulleriyawa on Qualla

Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/battle-of-mulleriyawa-wp/tc0z-battle-of-mulleriyawa-the-commander-called-baroche.mp3 0:06 3 full Battle of Mulleriyawa: Elephants and Muskets in the Marshes https://qualla.com/battle-of-mulleriyawa/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. King Mayadunne sent his son, Tikiri Bandara -- later known as Rajasinha I -- to intercept the Portuguese. On arrival at Hewagama, Tikiri Bandara summoned fighters from across the surrounding korales, and in a remarkable turn, even the sons of General Maggona Arachchi, once fierce...

Read more: Battle of Mulleriyawa on Qualla

Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/battle-of-mulleriyawa-wp/tc0z-battle-of-mulleriyawa-elephants-and-muskets-in-the-marshes.mp3 0:06 4 full Battle of Mulleriyawa: A Cannon Shot and a Retreat https://qualla.com/battle-of-mulleriyawa/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. At the battle's most desperate moment, a single Portuguese soldier named Antonio Dias de Lomba fired an abandoned berco cannon -- a breech-loading swivel gun -- into a line of Sitawakan troops. The unexpected blast temporarily halted the attack, giving the surviving Portuguese en...

Read more: Battle of Mulleriyawa on Qualla

Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/battle-of-mulleriyawa-wp/tc0z-battle-of-mulleriyawa-a-cannon-shot-and-a-retreat.mp3 0:06 5 full Battle of Mulleriyawa: The Road to Colombo https://qualla.com/battle-of-mulleriyawa/ Photo credit Nishadhi, Public domain. Mulleriyawa broke Portuguese power in the interior. The threat to Sitawaka from the east ceased entirely, and emboldened by his son's victory, Mayadunne launched frequent raids against both the Portuguese and what remained of the Kotte Kingdom. By 1565 the Portuguese could no lon...

Read more: Battle of Mulleriyawa on Qualla

Image: Nishadhi | Public domain

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/battle-of-mulleriyawa-wp/tc0z-battle-of-mulleriyawa-the-road-to-colombo.mp3 0:06 6 full