Charles Henry de Soysa

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Charles Henry de Soysa
S. Thomas' College, Mutwal
Occupation(s)Tea planter, Industrialist
Known forPhilanthropy, Entrepreneurship
Spouse(s)Catherine, Lady de Soysa
Children8, including Wilfred de Soysa and A. J. R. de Soysa
Parent(s)Mudliyar Jeronis de Soysa Dissanayake and Francesca de Soysa Lamatheni
RelativesBishop Harold de Soysa (grandson)
Bennet Soysa (nephew)
A. H. T. de Soysa (cousin)

Charles Henry de Soysa Dharmagunawardana Vipula Jayasuriya Karunaratna Disanayaka popularly known as Charles Henry de Soysa,

secular education for girls in the country.[6][7][8] He would have been the island's first Knight Bachelor, but having died prior, his widow was given the rare honor of the use of the style and dignity of wife of the Knight Bachelor and was known as Catherine, Lady de Soysa.[9]

Early life and education

Charles de Soysa was born at the humble abode of his maternal grandfather in Moratuwa on 3 March 1836.[10] He was the only son of Mudliyar Jeronis de Soysa Dissanayake and Francesca de Soysa Lamaethani (née Cooray). Jeronis de Soysa, an Ayurveda doctor, was one of the most successful merchants in Ceylon and established the largest native commercial enterprise of the era.[11][12][13] His grandfather Warusahennadige Joseph Soysa (1764-1839), an Ayurveda practitioner, great grandfather Bastian Soysa and earlier ancestors; Don Francisco, Juan and Manual Soysa Muhandiram were salt and grain merchants having interests in the transportation, boat building and the agricultural sector.[10][14][15] Their ancestor was the lay custodian of the Devinuwara Temple Matara at the time of its destruction in 1587.[16][17][18] Having his primary education at the Palliyagodella

S. Thomas' College, Mutwal before completing his education at home with a tutor. He became an apprentice under his father and uncle Susew de Soysa (1809–1881) in managing the large estates and trading network of the family, starting at Hanguranketha. From a young age De Soysa had displayed a benevolent nature.[11][13][19][16]

Marriage

De Soysa, a devout

Kotte Kingdom[20][21][22][23] and was a successful wholesaler and exporter of arrack.[24][25] A compromise was made to solemnise the marriage according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church and the wedding was held on 4 February 1863 at the Chevalier walauwa, Moratuwa [26][27]

Trade and Industry

De Soysa was a pioneering

auctions.[11] Guru Oya, Marigold, Hantana and others, established in 1870, were among the earliest tea plantations of the country.[31][32][33]

De Soysa also cultivated

Pettah and the De Soysa building[39] in Slave Island, Colombo.[10][40][41][42] The residential property he owned became the most sought after residential areas in latter times.[43][44]

De Soysa was also the first Ceylonese banker and he was instrumental in establishing the Bank of

pensions at a time when such a system was yet to be formally adopted by governments and institutions.[4][12][13][34]

Royal banquet

Charles Henry de Soysa residence in Colombo Alfred House.

De Soysa was accorded the unique privilege of being invited to hold a reception on behalf of the people of Ceylon for

Justice of the Peace for the Island on Charles Henry de Soysa (the latter had declined the title of Mudaliyar).[10][12][43]

Philanthropy

Health

De Soysa initiated measures to reduce the

maternity hospital; the De Soysa Lying-In-Home at Borella, which was once his childhood residence.[6][7][15] The original buildings of the Ceylon Medical College gifted by him and his uncle Mudliyar Susew de Soysa were also declared open on the same day by the Governor Sir James Robert Longden on 9 December 1879.[5][51]

The

convalescent home at the Alfred House premises for the Buddhist clergy.[37]

Education

De Soysa introduced a system of

secular education for girls in the country.[8]

De Soysa's earliest contribution to education was the establishment of the Alfred Model Farm Agriculture School in 1871

St. Sebastian's College and the Convent of Our Lady of Victories founded by her father.[15][74][75]

De Soysa also extended his patronage to literary projects. He initiated and sponsored the translation, printing and publication of the Hitopadesha, works by the poet Kumaradasa and the Ven. Weligama Sri Sumangala Thero, including the publication of the 3rd standard reader. De Soysa also arranged educational charities through the Ven. Ratmalane Sri Dharmarama Thero, the Chief Incumbent of the Vidyalankara Pirivena.[10][11]

Spiritual

At the request of the people of Lakshapathiya, De Soysa built the

Reginald Stephen Copleston (4th Bishop of Colombo).[76]

De Soysa was a

St. Sebastians Church Moratuwa, built by his father-in-law Chevalier Jusey de Silva who was also a chief contributor to St. Lucia's Cathedral, Colombo.[74]

The Marawila Buddhist temple, Soysaramaya Moratuwa, Pothgul Viharaya Hanguranketh and grants to charities through the Ven. Ratmalane Sri Dharmarama Nayake Thero, the Chief Incumbent of the

Islamic institutions also benefited from this generosity, a testimony to the broad-minded religious outlook.[5][10][11][37][79]

Other welfare activities

De Soysa set up measures to improve agricultural productivity and the diary industry in the country. In 1871 he inaugurated the Alfred

crops and livestock and provided teaching and residential facilities. The sum of 10,000 Pound Sterling and 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land was set apart for this project. It was declared open on 31 December 1871 by Governor Sir Hercules Robinson.[5][11] The Board of Directors included George Henry Kendrick Thwaites, the Superintendent of the Peradeniya Botanical Gardens.[15] However, as the project was less than successful most of the land was later utilized for the Royal Colombo Golf Course and the remainder for extending the Colombo General Cemetery and the Castle Street Hospital.[12][80] The family also gifted the De Soysa Stadium
.

De Soysa presented the

Poll Tax (which could not be paid by the many thousands of poor people in Moratuwa, at the time consisting the third largest population in Ceylon), De Soysa paid the sums involved on behalf of all the townfolk.[60][83] De Soysa is reputed to have given far more in private benefactions than his known public benefactions.[10][13][84]

Socio-political activity

On 11 November 1871, Ceylon's first mass

minority groups and to oppose the colonial policy of divide and rule. De Soysa's name headed the petition signed by 1000 persons from Moratuwa and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia requesting the Governor to amendment the Ordinance and to print it in the native language.[10][15][84]

On 24 June 1881 the Ceylon Agricultural Association was formed to safeguard the interests of the native enterprises facing stiff competition from the Europeans and to limit their control of the economic activities of the country. It also inaugurated a movement to abolish the paddy tax.

constitutional reforms in the early part of the twentieth century with such celebrities as Sir James Peiris as President and D. R. Wijewardena as Secretary. The Ceylon National Association paved the way for the rise of the Ceylon National Congress, which in turn played a decisive role along with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party in the penultimate lap on the road to independence.[5][12][24][29][47] The Ceylon Standard and the Ceylon Morning Leader newspapers, owned by the de Soysa family powerfully molded the public opinion when it was under the editorship of Armand de Souza.[13][87]

Death

De Soysa was bitten by a

rabid dog that strayed into Alfred House on 2 August 1890. It was originally decided to remove him to Paris for treatment, but he opted to remain in Ceylon and obtain native treatment. He died of rabies on 29 of September 1890. As per his wishes, he was instead buried outside the Holy Emmanuel Church in the graveyard next to his son who had died in his infancy. His mortal remains were laid to rest amidst a gathering described as the largest in the nineteenth century.[25][82]

De Soysa's statue at De Soysa Circus Colombo, erected in 1919 by public subscription was the first of a native in Ceylon.[15][88][89]

Honors

In addition to be appointed a Justice of the peace by Duke of Edinburgh, following his sudden death, his widow, became the first Sinhalese to be granted the use of the courtesy title of Lady and was known as Lady de Soysa, as a widow of a Knight Bachelor of the realm, with its style and precedence in February 1892.[5][16][9]

Legacy

De Soysa, the far sighted native entrepreneur and philanthropist played the role of a paternal figure in 19th century Ceylon. He was the first Ceylonese since the days of the Sinhalese kings to build and equip a complete hospital. He introduced a system of free education long before the state took on that responsibility. The example he set in philanthropy is unique in our annals; he catered from the

politicians, most institutions pioneered by De Soysa's personal wealth and foresight were in fact not named after himself. He was a public man of the first degree. The first steps towards a formation of a political process which later opened up the possibility of negotiating legislative reforms, self governance and independence were initiated with the stand taken by Mr. De Soysa and others. All the major political parties in Sri Lanka, with the exception of the Marxist and communalist parties can trace their origins even partly to the Ceylon Agricultural Association. De Soysa was far ahead of his times in understanding the importance of the economic, social and moral progress in the process of nation building.[5][16][11][12][24][47][84]

Family

He married Catherine de Silva (1845 - 1914), the only child of

Flying Officer Chinthaka de Soysa,[114] and golfer Amrith de Soysa.[115][116]

References

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External links

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