Portuguese Ceylon, was a Portuguese territory in present-day Sri Lanka

In Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Portuguese was used for all contacts between Europeans and the native population; several kings of Ceylon spoke fluent Portuguese and Portuguese names were common in the nobility. When the Dutch occupied the coast of Ceylon, mainly under the orders of Van Goens, they took steps to stop the use of the Portuguese language. However, he was so ingrained among the inhabitants of Ceylon that even the families of the Dutch bourgeoisie began to use the Portuguese language. In 1704, Governor Cornelius Jan Simonsz said: "if you speak Portuguese in Ceylon, you are understood everywhere".