Rajasingha requested aid from the newly formed Dutch East India Company to help expel the Portuguese from the island, which they successfully did in 1656.

This transfer of power is also believed to be where the Sinhala idiom / figure of speech “ඉඟුරු දී මිරිස් ගත්තා වාගේ” Inguru di miris gaththa wagay (Literal meaning: Like one exchanged ginger for chili) was originated - in reference that the Dutch Rule was much more of a menace to the king and cruel to the people in the island than the Portuguese.

Since the Portuguese annexation of much of Sri Lanka's coastal areas the kingdom had represented the sole independent native polity on the island.

The slow end of the Eighty Years' War however soon resulted in a truce being called between Dutch and Portuguese forces in Sri Lanka (the crowns of Spain and Portugal were united between 1580–1640) sometime between 1641 and 1645.

Nevertheless, Rajasingha's policy of intentionally burning crops and depopulation villages drove the Dutch to the negotiating table and in 1649 and the Kandyan-Dutch alliance was resurrected, albeit on slightly different terms.

The Treaty of Münster had secured Dutch independence in Europe in 1648 and they could now pursue colonial and mercantile expansion without fighting a ruinous war on their doorstep simultaneously.

The internal situation became so unstable that for a while Rajasingha was forced to abandon the palace and allow rebels to seize control of Sengkadagala, and even suspended the annual Perahara.

It was a mistake — Ambanwela Rala traded his knowledge of the workings of Kandy for a large coconut estate in Dutch territory and died a rich man.

[11] Despite this the king managed to retain control of the crown and expanded the sacred precinct of Kandy, the Dalada Maligawa, adding an extra storey to the central building.

Despite the Dutch being less determined to convert the mass populace and impose their cultural dominance, Europeans increasingly came to be seen as rapacious adventurers who were simply incapable of honouring their deals.