Sri Lanka, Dec. 15 -- The Bay of Galle was an active commercial hub for many centuries. It attracted European and Arab trading vessels that gave rise to an important harbour. The earliest records of this bay can be traced to an ancient map of Ptolemy. The Portuguese arrived here in 1505 and by 1589 Viceroy Mathias set up a Fort.

The pioneering Franciscan missionaries set up a chapel with a monastery called Misericordia. The Capuchin Order (of the Franciscans) is said to have established a convent on a hill, the highest point within the growing harbour. By 1640 the Dutch realized the commercial significance of this port and laid siege. The Dutch gained control and installed Willem Coster as the first Governor of Zeylan (Ceylon). Coster ha...