Sankili and the Mannar Massacre of 1544
Sankili and the Mannar Massacre of 1544
In 1544, Sankili and his gang of followers massacred more than 600 Tamil Christians in Mannar. This fratricidal massacre of approximately 600 to 700 Christians in Mannar by Cankili enraged the Portuguese East India Company. The Portuguese Queen Catherine was determined that Sankili and those around him who were responsible for this heinous act should be arrested and sentenced to death.
To accomplish this mission, the Portuguese Viceroy, Dom Constantino de Bragança, arrived from Goa in Jaffna in September 1560 with a force consisting of 20 galleys, 10 galiots and 70 ships. The forces numbered approximately 1,200 soldiers. Sankili’s forces confronted them at the Colombo harbour area in Jaffna. After being defeated in battle, they fled towards the forests of Kopay.
The Portuguese forces pursued them there as well and set fire to their settlements. When Kopay was no longer considered safe, Sankili’s forces fled into the forests of Vanni. From there, Sankili sent a peace delegation to the Portuguese Viceroy.
His nature was to beg when faced with greater force, and to beg again when resistance proved impossible. The Portuguese Queen did not accept his proposal. However, the Viceroy calculated matters differently. He considered that rather than killing Sankili, he could use Sankili to accomplish many things in the interests of the Portuguese. Instead of thinking merely as an official of the Portuguese Crown, he now began to think like an official of the East India trading company.
He calculated the taxes, tribute and other revenues that could be obtained through Sankili. He therefore accepted Sankili’s request for peace. At a designated place, Sankili met the Portuguese representatives, and in the presence of two Mudaliyars and a local senior headman, both sides signed the agreement.
The agreement was as follows:
Control of Mannar Island and the western coastline would be handed over to the Portuguese. Sankili and his forces would not be permitted to possess firearms or other explosive weapons. Sankili would not be permitted, under any circumstances, to seek assistance from foreign or outside military forces. Portuguese forces would remain stationed in Jaffna, and Sankili’s forces would not cause them any disturbance.
Sankili agreed to hand over to the Portuguese the hidden treasury belonging to his father, which had been entrusted to him for safekeeping in the fort. Every year, Sankili and his followers would have to present a specified number of elephants as tribute to the Portuguese. Under no circumstances would Sankili be permitted to obstruct Catholic missionary activities. In order to safeguard the terms of the agreement, the Portuguese appointed one prince and two Mudaliyars. After Sankili’s reign, his son would be permitted to continue the arrangements and obligations stipulated in the agreement.
Rather than genuinely calling this a peace treaty, it should be described as a deed of submission. The death sentence imposed by Queen Catherine of Portugal would never have allowed Sankili to sleep peacefully. It was out of that fear that he wrote and handed over this deed of submission to the Portuguese. This deed of submission was the consequence of the massacre of those hundreds of Tamil Christian brothers.
Later, in June 1619, the Portuguese commander Philippe de Oliveira arrived with an army of 5,000 soldiers and completely defeated Sankili and his forces. Sankili and his family were taken to Goa, where they were tried and subsequently sentenced to death. The surviving members of the royal family were captured and taken to Goa, where Sankili was hanged until death. It was the murderous violence committed against Tamil Christians that ultimately led to this terrible end for Sankili.
Philippe de Oliveira and his land army of 5,000 were able to defeat Sankili. Sankili, along with every surviving member of the royal family, was captured and taken to Goa, where he was hanged until death. Portuguese Queen Catherine — Portuguese Viceroy Dom Constantino de Bragança
Translation by Hari
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