sentences:  During his time, the British who had succeeded the Dutch in the Maritime Provinces had not interfered in the politics of the Kandy.But Pilimatalava, the first Adigar of the king, started covert operations with the British to provoke the King into acts of aggression, which would give the British an excuse to seize the Kingdom.The Adigar manipulated the king into beginning a military conflict with the British, who had gained a strong position in the coastal provinces.