Dutch Ceylon

Governorate of Ceylon Nederlands-Ceylon (Dutch) ලන්දේසි ලංකාව (Sinhala) landēsi lankāva ஒல்லாந்து சிலோன் (Tamil) Ollānta ilankai
1640–1796
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Het Wilhelmus ("The William")
Dutch control areas (1689–1796)   The Kingdom of Kandy
Status	Governorate of the Dutch East India Company
Capital	Galle (1640–1658) Colombo (1658–1796)
Common languages	Dutch (official) Sinhala Tamil
Government	Colonial government
Governor
• 1640	Willem Jacobszoon Coster
• 1794–1796	Johan van Angelbeek
Historical era	Imperialism
• Established	13 March 1640
• Disestablished	16 February 1796
Currency	Dutch Guilder
Preceded by Succeeded by Portuguese Ceylon Kingdom of Sitawaka Kingdom of Kandy British Ceylon

Dutch Ceylon (Sinhala: ලන්දේසි ලංකාව; Tamil: ஒல்லாந்த இலங்கை) was a governorate established in present-day Sri Lanka by the Dutch East India Company. Although the Dutch managed to capture most of the coastal areas in Sri Lanka, they were never able to control the Kingdom of Kandy located in the interior of the island.^[1] Dutch Ceylon existed from 1640 until 1796.

In the early 17th century, Sri Lanka was partly ruled by the Portuguese and partly by Sri Lankan (primarily of Sinhalese origin) kingdoms, who were constantly battling the Portuguese. Although the Portuguese were not winning the war, their rule was oppressive to the people of those areas controlled by them. While the Portuguese were engaged in a long war of independence from Spanish rule, the Sinhalese king (the king of Kandy) invited the Dutch to help defeat the Portuguese. The Dutch interest in Ceylon was to have a united battle front against the Iberians at that time.