MALVANA, CONVENTION OF

(1597), agreement made between the Portuguese and the native chiefs of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The chiefs swore allegiance to the king of Portugal and, in return, were assured that their laws and customs would be left inviolate. The convention also provided that the Ceylonese people should render all traditional services and taxes to their new sovereign. The purpose of the convention, summoned after the Portuguese had already assumed control of Ceylon, was to lend a guise of legality to the Portuguese seizure of Ceylon.