Ethirimana Cinkam

Ethirimanna Cinkam ( _ta. எதிர்மன்னசிங்கம்) (died 1617) was the penultimate ruler of the Aryacakravarti line of Kings of the Jaffna Kingdom in northern Sri Lanka. He came to power due to the second Portuguese expedition lead by Andre Furtado de Mendonca in 1591. In that expedition, the King of Jaffna, Puvirasa Pandaram (1561-65, 1582-91) and the father of Ethirimnna Cinkam was killed.

A client

Ethirimanna Cinkam was injured in the battle and was saved by a Portuguese captain Simão Pinhão. Eventually he was installed as client monarch. The conditions imposed were that Catholic missionary activity to be freely allowed and the Elephant export monopoly to be handed over to the Portuguese as well as the tribute to paid by the Kingdom was increased.de Silva, A "History of Sri Lanka", p.166]

Balancing act

But Ethirimanna Cinkam who became the king under the name Parasasekaran VII (1591-1617) interrupted the Catholic missionary activities and the Portuguese monopoly on Elephant exports. He carried out an undercover campaign against the Catholic missionaries and did not look with favor on converts. He interfered with the passage and shipping of Elephants of the Portuguese government through his territories thereby securing advantageous terms for his Elephants. By 1595 the King of Portugal had issued an order to remove him but colonial authorities in Goa did to oblige as Ethirimanna Cinkam was not overly disruptive to Portuguese colonial interests.

The end

He also helped the re-founded Kandyan Kingdom kings Vimaladharmasuriya I (1593-1604) and Senarat (1604-1635) to secure help from South India to resist the Portuguese. Like Bhuvanekabahu VII of Kotte Kingdom through a mixture of native cunning and the ability to perform a delicate balancing act he secured a surprising degree of room for maneuver.Abeysinghe, T "Jaffna Under the Portuguese", p.3] He died peacefully in April 1617 leaving a young son as the heir apparent that precipitated events leading to the demise of the Kingdom.

Notes

References

*cite book | last = Abeysinghe | first = Tikiri | title = Jaffna under the Portuguese | publisher = Stamford Lake | year= 2005 | location = Colombo | pages = 66 | isbn = 9-55-1131-70-1
*cite book
last = de Silva | first = K. M. | title = A History of Sri Lanka | publisher = Vijitha Yapa | year= 2005 | location = Colombo | pages = 782
isbn = 9-55-809592-3
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