The Convention of Malvana (also spelled Malwāna, Sinhala: මල්වාන ගිවිසුමෙන්ද Malwana Giwisumenda) was a 1598 agreement between the Sinhalese chiefs of Sri Lanka and the Portuguese.
[1] The convention was organised by the Portuguese General Jerónimo de Azevedo who felt as though the Sri Lankan natives did not demonstrate ample allegiance to King Philip I of Portugal.
[2][3] At the convention, Azevedo initially suggested to the deputies for the native Sri Lankan inhabitants to abandon their traditional customs, in favor of political loyalty and cultural assimilation to King Philip and Portugal.
[1][2] A group of eight representatives from the pool Sinhalese delegates, all reportedly Christian, promised their loyalty to the King of Portugal.
The convention has been widely criticised as a Portuguese attempt at providing the facade of legality and justification for their colonisation of Ceylon.