Qualla: Siege of Kotte (1557-1558) https://qualla.com/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558 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/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Siege of Kotte (1557-1558) https://qualla.com/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558 Siege of Kotte (1557-1558): Introduction https://qualla.com/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558/ Photo credit Baptista van Doetecum, Public domain. Fifty thousand soldiers descended on Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte in late 1557. They came in three waves -- the vanguard under Prince Tikiri Bandara leaving on November 10, the center under General Panapitiya Mudali on November 15, and King Mayadunne himself bringing the rearguard on November 30. Inside the capital of the Kotte Kingdom waited fewer than 500 Portuguese soldiers and about 9,000 Lascarins, defending a puppet king, a fracturing alliance, and a city whose own inhabitants were beginning to wonder which side they should be on.

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Image: Baptista van Doetecum | Public domain

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-wp/tc0z-siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Siege of Kotte (1557-1558): Three Brothers and a Broken Kingdom https://qualla.com/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. The siege was the climax of decades of civil war. In 1521, three sons of King Vijayabahu VII had murdered their father and divided his kingdom in the event called the Vijayaba Kollaya. The eldest, Buvanekabahu VII, held Kotte. The youngest, Mayadunne, took the inland Kingdom of S...

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Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-wp/tc0z-siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-three-brothers-and-a-broken-kingdom.mp3 0:06 2 full Siege of Kotte (1557-1558): Fustas on the Lake https://qualla.com/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. Captain-Major Afonso Pereira de Lacerda organized the defense with grim efficiency. He parceled out his thin forces across multiple positions: 20 Portuguese and 200 Lascarins at the Pass of Ambolao, 40 Portuguese and 400 Lascarins at the Pass of Mosquitos, and 80 Portuguese with ...

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Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-wp/tc0z-siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-fustas-on-the-lake.mp3 0:06 3 full Siege of Kotte (1557-1558): The Battle by the Lake https://qualla.com/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. On August 20, 1558 -- the feast day of Saint Bernard -- Afonso Pereira launched a major sortie. Three hundred Portuguese and 9,000 Lascarins sallied out in three formations. The initial assault went well: grapeshot from two falconets tore into Sitawakan musket men, and the advanc...

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Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-wp/tc0z-siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-the-battle-by-the-lake.mp3 0:06 4 full Siege of Kotte (1557-1558): A Debt Between Rivals https://qualla.com/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. The failed sortie poisoned morale inside Kotte. Portuguese captains mutinied against Afonso Pereira's leadership, and when investigators identified the ringleader, they found it was Diogo de Melo Coutinho -- the very man who had saved the army at the lake. Rather than punish the ...

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Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-wp/tc0z-siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-a-debt-between-rivals.mp3 0:06 5 full Siege of Kotte (1557-1558): The Beginning of the End for Kotte https://qualla.com/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558/ Photo credit Nishadhi, CC BY-SA 3.0. By November 1558, reinforced and regrouped, Afonso Pereira led 370 Portuguese and 7,000 Lascarins against the Pass of Ambolao. This time the attack succeeded, and Mayadunne withdrew his army. The Portuguese celebrated with a religious procession through Kotte, carrying the standa...

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Image: Nishadhi | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/c/0/z/siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-wp/tc0z-siege-of-kotte-1557-1558-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-kotte.mp3 0:06 6 full