Qualla: Invasion of Ceylon https://qualla.com/invasion-of-ceylon en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:06 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Invasion of Ceylon https://qualla.com/invasion-of-ceylon Invasion of Ceylon: Introduction https://qualla.com/invasion-of-ceylon/ The frigate Diomede struck an uncharted rock in Trincomalee harbor and sank, taking a large quantity of military stores to the bottom. Every crew member and passenger survived, but the timing was terrible: the British were in the middle of trying to persuade the Dutch garrison to surrender peacefully, and losing a warship in the harbor they hoped to occupy did not strengthen their negotiating position. The 1795 invasion of Ceylon was full of moments like this -- a campaign shaped less by pitched battles than by letters of authorization that nobody wanted to honor, weather that would not cooperate, and a colonial administration caught between two masters.

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]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/9/b/invasion-of-ceylon-wp/tc9b-invasion-of-ceylon-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Invasion of Ceylon: When Your Ally Becomes Your Enemy's Puppet https://qualla.com/invasion-of-ceylon/ The Dutch Republic had been Britain's ally against revolutionary France. Then, in the winter of 1794-95, French armies overran the Netherlands and transformed it into the Batavian Republic, a client state of the French regime. This left Dutch colonies around the world in an awkwa...

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]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/9/b/invasion-of-ceylon-wp/tc9b-invasion-of-ceylon-when-your-ally-becomes-your-enemys-puppet.mp3 0:06 2 full Invasion of Ceylon: The Gateway Trincomalee Could Not Close https://qualla.com/invasion-of-ceylon/ Ceylon's strategic value was concentrated in two coastal ports. Colombo dominated the west coast; Trincomalee controlled the east. The interior remained the domain of the Kingdom of Kandy -- European settlement clung to the coastline. Trincomalee mattered most to the British beca...

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]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/9/b/invasion-of-ceylon-wp/tc9b-invasion-of-ceylon-the-gateway-trincomalee-could-not-close.mp3 0:06 3 full Invasion of Ceylon: Negotiations, a Shipwreck, and a Siege https://qualla.com/invasion-of-ceylon/ Appearances proved unreliable. When the British arrived off Trincomalee on August 1, the local garrison commander refused to acknowledge the governor's instructions, citing problems with their wording. For two days the British tried diplomacy while the loss of the Diomede and its...

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]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/9/b/invasion-of-ceylon-wp/tc9b-invasion-of-ceylon-negotiations-a-shipwreck-and-a-siege.mp3 0:06 4 full Invasion of Ceylon: Colombo Falls, an Empire Settles In https://qualla.com/invasion-of-ceylon/ With Trincomalee secured, Rainier took most of his squadron east to operate against Batavia, leaving Captain Alan Gardner to blockade Colombo. In February 1796, Stuart led a final expedition against the western capital. His forces landed at Negombo, an abandoned Dutch fort, on Fe...

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]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/9/b/invasion-of-ceylon-wp/tc9b-invasion-of-ceylon-colombo-falls-an-empire-settles-in.mp3 0:06 5 full