Entire Eastern coastal belt was part of the Kandyan Kingdom

As for the Eastern Province the entire Eastern coastal belt was part of the Kandyan Kingdom . When the Dutchman Admiral Van Spilbergen arrived in Batticaloa in 1602, he was greeted by a Dissawe of the King of Kandy (Wimaladharmasuriya I) whose kingdom extended to the East coast to include both Batticaloa and Trincomalee. A painting that was presented to the Dutch Burger Union by the Netherlands Armed Forces clearly proves this fact. It was the Kandyan King’s (Rajasinghe II) troops that captured Robert Knox and not an ‘army’ of some mythical Tamil King who ruled so-called traditional Tamil homeland. (Asiapost)