Bhuvanaikabahu and Pararajasinghe were under the care of the minister Karunadhipati, the Patabenda of Yapa-Patuna. The Karava chieftains resisted the colonial Portuguese rule in 16th century. The Karava Prince of Uva, Kuruvita Rala (also known as Antonio Barreto), who had his strongholds in Batticaloa, Wellawaya, Negombo and parts of Sabaragamuwa and Matara region, led his and the troops of Sitawaka Kingdom and revolted against the Portuguese. Kuruvita Rala also raided the Kandy Kingdom and drove king Senarat of Kandy out of his capital. They were under Portuguese rule, along with the Karaiyar and Nair recruited as Lascarins and were converted to Catholicism. Large Catholic Karava communities exists ever since, who were mostly Hindus prior to conversion. The Catholic Karava chieftains sided with the Kingdom of Kandy and the kingdom's Dutch allies against the Portuguese empire, and the King bestowed honors and titles to the Karava chieftains. The Karavas amassed wealth through commercial ventures such as in coastal navigation, fishing, carpentry, transportation, arrack, coconut, rubber, graphite and other industries. The Karavas formed the elites between 16th century and early 20th century. Numerous organization were formed by them such as Ceylon National Association, one of the predecessors of the Ceylon National Congress. James Peiris, a Karava lawyer and national leader, was an essential character in the Sri Lankan independence movement. Rohana Wijeweera and other Karava leaders formed in the 1960s the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a communist party and political movement, who were involved in two armed uprisings against the ruling governments in 1971 and 1987. Traditional status The Karavas were coastal people, who served in naval warfare and contributed as coastal chieftains and regional kings. Their chiefs were referred in Sinhalese as Patabendi or Patangatim, which is derived from the Tamil term Pattamkattiyar (meaning "crowned one"), which was also used by their equivalent Tamil Karaiyars.The Karavas were one of the few Sri Lankan communities traditionally entitled to use flags. A large number of these Karava flags have survived the ravages of time and many are illustrated in E. W. Perera's book Sinhalese Banners and Standards. The sacred usage of conch shell and tying of Nalapata (royal forehead plate) was a common practice among Karavas, also mentioned in the Rajaveliya. The sun and the moon, pearl umbrella are traditional royal symbols used by the Karavas. The Makara, being an emblem of their clan, is the mount of their clan deity, the sea god