Kandy Fights the Portuguese is a military history of the resistance of the Kandyans to Portuguese attempts at subjugation during the period 1594 to 1638. It is divided into 3 parts. It begins with a description of the terrain in which the conflicts occurred and goes on to describe the fighting men, the fire-arms then in use, the traditional weapons employed and the military practices on each side. It concludes with an analysis of the policy and military objectives of either side and the military strategy and tactics adopted to achieve them. The second part is a history of the warfare that took place in this period and analyses the campaigns, the retreats and the great battles where the Kandyans annihilated their enemies. The third part consists of an account of a battle in the lowlands to throw into relief the difference between warfare in the hills and in the plains.
