Capture of Trincomalee

The Capture of Trincomalee on 11 January 1782 was the second major engagement between Great Britain and the Dutch Republic in the East Indies after outbreak of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (an offshoot of the American War of Independence). After capturing Negapatam, the major Dutch outpost in India, a British force assaulted the Dutch-controlled port of Trincomalee on the eastern coast of Ceylon, and successfully stormed Fort Ostenburg to gain control of the city and the port. In gaining control of the port, they also captured the vessels in the port at the time.

At the end of the 18th century Trincomalee again experienced a quick and interesting change of occupiers. Early in January 1782 the fort was captured by the British, and an ambassador was sent to Kandy. To their chagrin, the King of Kandy with whom they had been surreptitiously negotiating for some time, Sri Kirti, had died two months previously from wounds sustained when falling off his horse. His successor, Rajadhi Rajasingha refused to talk to the ambassador. During the same year the French repeatedly attacked the British at Trincomalee, and in August they managed to capture the fort. At the Peace of Paris in 1784 the French returned Trincomalee to the VOC again.