Sinhalese–Portuguese conflicts refers to the series of armed engagements that took place from 1518 to 1658 in Sri Lanka (then known to Europeans as Ceylon) between the native Sinhalese kingdoms and the Portuguese Empire. It spanned from the Transitional to the Kandyan periods of Sri Lankan history. A combination of political and military moves gained the Portuguese control over most of the island, but their invasion of the final independent kingdom was a disaster, leading to a stalemate in the wider war and a truce from 1621. In 1638 the war restarted when the Dutch East India Company intervened in the conflict, initially as an ally of the Sinhalese against the Portuguese, but later as an enemy of both sides. The war concluded in 1658, with the Dutch in control of about half the island, the Kingdom of Kandy the other half, and the Portuguese expelled. The Portuguese arrived in Sri Lanka in 1505, initially as merchants for the lucrative spice trade. Sri Lanka's Crisis of the Sixteenth Century (1521–1597) began with the Vijayabā Kollaya, the partitioning of the Kingdom of Kotte between three brothers, who began a series of wars over the succession. Starting in 1527, the Portuguese began to intervene in internal Sinhalese politics and exploiting the rivalries between the various kingdoms. The Portuguese expanded their influence by placing client rulers on the thrones of several kingdoms and directly ruling other areas. These machinations gained the Portuguese control over the Kingdom of Kotte starting in 1551. However the main beneficiary was the Kingdom of Sitawaka, was able to expand between 1521 to 1587 – through conquest of other native kingdoms – until it controlled most of Sri Lanka. Rajasinha I of Sitawaka attempted to expel the Portuguese from the island, but was repulsed with heavy losses at the siege of Colombo in 1587–8. Most of the newly conquered territories then rebelled against Sitawaka. The divided and disorganised rival kingdoms became easy targets for further Portuguese expansion, and in a series of military conflicts and political manoeuvres the Portuguese extended their control over the kingdoms of Jaffna (1591), Raigama (1593), and Sitawaka (1593). In 1592 the Portuguese placed a client ruler on the throne of the Kingdom of Kandy, but he died soon after in suspicious circumstances and they were forced to withdraw. Seeking to subdue the last major kingdom in Sri Lanka, the Portuguese launched a military invasion