Rajasinghe II of Kandy

Who was Rajasinghe II of Kandy?

Rajasimha II, also known as Rajasingha II, was a Sinhalese King, reigned 1629 – 6 December 1687; third king of the kingdom of Kandy in Sri Lanka. Rajasingha requested Dutch aid to help expel the Portuguese from the island, which they successfully did in 1656. By this time however it had become clear to the Kandyans that the Dutch not only intended to expel the Portuguese but to replace them as the major colonial power on the island, and from 1645 onwards Rajasingha was engaged in sporadic warfare with his erstwhile allies.