KAREL STANĚK, SEN ONOVÉM PORTUGALSKU VTROPECH:
PORTUGALSKÝ POKUS OOSÍDLENÍ ŠRÍ LANKY (1580–1630)
[ADREAM ABOUT ANEW PORTUGAL IN THE TROPICS:
APORTUGUESE ATTEMPT TO COLONIZE SRI LANKA (1580–1630)],
PRAHA: SCRIPTORIUM 2017, ISBN 978-80-88013-46-4, 350 P.
Ka el S aněk, aCzech his o ian and expe on Po uguese s udies o he young gene -
a ion, wo king in he Na ional Lib a y in P ague a he momen , p esen s o eade s
asupplemen ed and modi ied e sion o his disse a ion APo uguese A emp o Colo-
nize S i Lanka (1580–1630) he de ended a he Facul y o A s o Cha les Uni e si y in
2014. The wo k is based on ou comes o as udy aking place in Po uguese a chi es,
and in-dep h s udy o nume ous pieces o p o essional li e a u e. I is dedica ed o
ac i i ies o he Po uguese on S i Lanka, mos ly o hei a emp o con e he island
o “anew Po ugal” o “anew B azil” be ween he yea s 1580 and 1630.
In he In oduc ion o he book, he au ho deals wi h Po uguese ac i i ies on
he island om 1506 onwa ds, and he Colombo o cons uc ion in 1518. Slow be-
ginnings caused by ama ginal ole played by Ceylon in he concep o Po uguese
ice oys changed a e 1554 when Po uguese se le s began a i ing in he island,
whose quan i y, ac i i ies and li es he au ho analyses in de ail. The Po uguese en-
gagemen in he poli ical de elopmen o he Kingdom o Ko e had been g adually
inc easing in he cou se o he 16 h cen u y. The King o ha empi e, João Dha mapala,
bap ized in 1580, bequea hed his coun y o he Po uguese mona ch in case he would
ha e died ha ing no hei ; such asi ua ion would a ise and he coun y would be aken
o e by he Po uguese a e he dea h o he dynas y in 1597. Subsequen dona ions
gi en by mona chs o he Kingdom o Kandy (1626) and Ja na (1633) led o ano he
inc ease in Po uguese powe . This de elopmen esul ed in Po uguese plans o ake
S i Lanka o e and g adually colonize he whole e i o y.
The Po uguese succeeded in aking ei he di ec o indi ec con ol o e coas al
egions; howe e , he Kingdom o Kandy si ua ed in he cen al pla eau o he island
was able o esis he Po uguese a my. On he o he hand, he Kingdom ailed o de-
ea he Po uguese and expel hem om he sea egions. Wha is wo h app ecia ing
being he au ho ’s desc ip ion o bo h o he a mies’ sides in he con ex o depic ing
hese e en s as well as he easons leading o he de ea o he Po uguese in he Sin-
halese-Po uguese Wa .
Then aPo uguese coloniza ion p ojec was launched by an ambi ious kingly p o-
jec om he yea s 1607–1608. Al hough pa ial achie emen s such as o ming Sinha-
lese-Po uguese mix- ace communi y, a emp s o Ch is ianize he egion, o accep -
ing some o he basic elemen s o he Po uguese cul u e canno be nega ed, om he
iewpoin o he o iginal in en ion his a emp ended up wi h disillusion and ailu e.
Ad eam abou he new Po uguese empi e in he opics aded away. The au ho anal-
yses anumbe o demog aphic, mili a y, social/cul u al and eligious easons why
he Po uguese ailed. He ega ds inabili y o a i e a acomp omise wi h he King
o Kandy, a ogan a i ude owa ds he na i es, b eaking smallish Po uguese hu-
man and ma e ial esou ces, bu mos ly he limi ed ime as majo causes. The e is no
doub ha he Asian cen alised empi es’ abili y o pu up e ec i e esis ance and o
apidly ake o e pa ial mode niza ion elemen s played he ole oo. Ye he au ho
126 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 2/2017
conside s Po uguese a emp o colonize he egion po en ially iable, howe e he
o egoing limi s, p ima ily ha small amoun o ime he Po uguese had a disposal,
p o ed hemsel es o be de e mining. The colonisa ion, in ac , pe ished a e he
ca as ophic de ea in he Ba le o Randeniwela in 1630 whe e he Po uguese had
been de ea ed by he Kandyan o ces. Ne e heless, no a e ha e en he Po u-
guese we e disposed o e ise hei app oach so hey would be inally de ea ed by he
Du ch in 1658, who would expel hem om he island in he name o he empe o s o
he Kingdom o Kandy.
The au ho , who has been long de o ing himsel o he his o y o Po ugal, Spain,
he Ne he lands and o e seas expansion o hese coun ies in he ea ly mode n imes
places he his o ic e en s on S i Lanka in awide con ex o he Po uguese and Du ch
colonial expansion. He compa es he de elopmen on S i Lanka wi h o he egions
in he Po uguese empi e wi hou succumbing o ex ensi e depic ing excu sions.
Howe e , he has aken in o his hea pa ial ep oaches by hose opposing his dis-
se a ion, which bene i s he wo k since i is mo e synop ic and logical, so easie o
unde s and by he communi y o eade s. His s udy also conside s nume ous p e i-
ously neglec ed ac o s; i gains deepe and mo e analysing imme sion in he cul u al
and economic ela ions be ween he Po uguese and Sinhalese and Tamil popula ion.
Wha dese es app ecia ion is mo e skil ul and ap o mula ions o he ou comes
ha make hem mo e plausible, which is bes pe cep ible in dense bu b illian ly
concei ed closing sec ions wi hin single chap e s as well as he comple e wo k. I is
an ex ao dina ily aluable and unique so o wo k, whose a ac i eness is empha-
sised by sigh ly g aphic and isual in e p e a ion. I de ini ely dese es he p o es-
sional and gene al public’s a en ion.
Michal Wanne