sentences:  The mountainous country of Sri Lanka with the Buddhist Kingdom of Kandy however remained independent until the British conquest in 1796, was cut off from the sea and completely isolated.Baldaeus' parish encompassed the entire coastal area of Sri Lanka, together with the islands and the Tamil southern tip of India, a territory that had been divided by the Portuguese in the 32 parishes, each with a church and a school and cared for by many monks and a Jesuit colleges.The aftermath of the Portuguese defeat and surrender at Jaffna created a vacuum for Christian preaching.