From Trincomalee to the fall of Colombo

The fall of Trincomalee triggered a chain of capitulations at Dutch coastal posts, including Jaffna and other positions taken by small British detachments. Rainier moved toward further Dutch objectives while Captain Alan Gardner maintained naval support around Ceylon. In 1796 Gardner received two ships of the line, several sloops, and five well-provisioned East India Company vessels for the final operation. Stewart landed at Negombo and marched for nine days to Colombo, whose abandoned approaches and weak works offered little credible resistance. Van Angelbeek capitulated after Britain threatened an immediate assault, so the Dutch colonial capital fell without bombardment.