- Charles Henry de Soysa
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Sir Charles Henry de Soysa (born March 3, 1836) was a 19th-century Sri Lankan philanthropist. He was the wealthiest Sri Lankan during the 19th century.
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Charles' father, Jeronis de Soysa
Charles de Soysa was the only son of Mudliyar Jeronis de Soysa and Mututantrige Francesca Cooray.
The De Soysa’s were originally from the village of Devinuwara, the southern most tip of the island of Sri Lanka. As most inhabitants in Devinuwara, the De Soysas were devout Buddhists. Later the family moved to Moratuwa. They had 11 children, and Jeronis de Soysa, the father of Charles Henry, was the second son.
Jeronis’s parents originally wanted him to become a Buddhist monk, and sent him to the Palliyagodella Temple at Rawatawatta for studies in Sinhalese. Jeronis excelled in the Sinhala Language and also astrology and the Ayurvedic system of medicine. He became a medical specialist.
Jeronis de Soysa also began a trading business. He was the first Moratuwite to engage in a trade mission to Kandy He had two of his brothers sell the goods while another brother remained in Colombo to supply the requirements to Kandy. Meanwhile Jeronis became a sought after Ayurvedic practitioner in Kandy. Jeronis’s business prospered and he received several government supply contracts.
Although Jeronis de Soysa later embraced Christianity, he continued to support the various Buddhist charities and leading Buddhist prelates of the day were his personal friends.
His agricultural properties in the up-country were mostly in the Hanguranketa, Haragama and Talatu-oya areas which were then thick jungle with no roads. Jeronis took the lead and with an improvised measuring stick demarcated the areas to be cleared for road and tank buildings. He had a network of roads built and supplemented the village infrastructure by building water tanks used for irrigating paddy and chena cultivations.
On his land stood the an ancient temple called Pothgul Viharaya of Hanguranketa, which was in a state of collapse. After renovating the temple he nominated the Ven. Attadassi Thero as its Chief Incumbent.
Jeronis died, leaving Charles de Soysa, aged 26, entrusted with the management of an estate worth millions of £ sterling.
Charles de Soysa's life
As a young man Charles had been taken to Hanguranketa by his father Jeronis to acquaint him with agricultural activities. He rode on horseback, and supervised the work on the estates. He was known as ‘Punchi Mahattaya’ in the estates and although his only income then was a small stipend his father gave him, more as ‘pocket money’ than an allowance, he spent that money on the welfare of the needy.[1]
Charles, a devout Anglican, sought the hand of Catherine, the daughter of Lindamulage Jusey de Silva and Weerahennadi Weerabala Jayasuriya Patabendige Ana Fernando who were staunch Catholics. She had another suitor — a Karawa Catholic from Kalutara who rivalled his claim to Catherine’s hand. However, a compromise was made to solemnise the marriage according to the rites of the Roman Catholic Church.
Charles and Catherine had 14 children — 7 boys and 7 girls, with one son dying in his infancy.
It fell upon Catherine to look after the education and well-being of their large brood of children while at the same time playing host to the people of all walks of life who called at the ‘Walawwa’ as their Moratuwa residence was known and also to the ‘Bagatalle Walawwa’. The latter was named ‘Alfred House’ in honour of the Royal visit of 22-4-1870. Alfred House was a large mansion with extensive gardens 120 acres (0.49 km2).
Charles Henry de Soysa was bitten by a rabid dog that strayed into the Bagatalle Walawwa on August 2, 1890. It was originally decided to remove him to Paris for treatment, but Charles opted to remain in Ceylon and obtain native treatment. He was taken to ‘Moratuwa Walawwa’ where he remained until he died, at the age of 54, September 29, 1890.
Business activities
When the coffee crash occurred many European planters went back home. However, Charles' investments were not only in coffee, which enabled him to survive the coffee crisis, and increase his profits earned through coconut, cinnamon and real estate in other parts of the country.
de Soysa started planting tea in the former coffee plantations of Hanguranketa and Maturata areas and soon this tea fetched record prices at the Colombo and London auctions. When he visited England in July 1886 he saw the produce from his estates filling most of the space in the warehouses of his agents Arbuthnot Lathan & Co. of London.
In 1875, to commemorate the visit of H.R.H. the Prince and Princess of Wales, Charles decided to named the schools he was having built in Moratuwa ‘Prince of Wales’ and ‘Princess of Wales’.
To commemorate the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh he renamed the Model Farm of 160 acres (0.65 km2) for agriculture and animal husbandry, as the Alfred Model Farm. Charles had cattle imported from India and Ayrshire cattle brought from Australia, and Nellor cows. He also had horses, Indian and Chinese gees, turkeys, guinea fowls and ducks, deer, ornamental birds — local and foreign, and even elephants.
He conducted research and experiments in the model farms in order to improve agricultural productivity. To convince his farmers to modernize, he had residential facilities at Model Farm where the modern techniques in agriculture and animal husbandry were explained and demonstrated.
He was the first Ceylonese to get agricultural seeds from tropical countries and certain European countries.
Philanthropic activities
Perhaps his most noteworthy gift was the Prince & Princes of Wales Colleges in which currently over 10,000 students study. Another was the De Soysa Lying-in-Home — the maternity hospital at Borella which he also equipped with the modern machinery of the day. Charles de Soysa built and donated the De Soysa Lying-In-Home, and his uncle Mudliyar Susew de Soysa built and donated the ‘Medical Museum’ attached to the Medical College. These two institutions were declared open by the Governor Sir Robert Longdon on December 9, 1879.
The Holy Emmanuel Church in Idama, Moratuwa, a project began by Jeronis, was later completed by Charles.
There are incidents relating to his generosity recorded in the ‘De Soysa Saga’ ,edited by the Civil Servant V. S. M. de Mel. The stories tell of him helping the townfolk. For instance, it is said that he helped Kirimenika of Hewaheta, a widow with 4 children, to redeem her mortgaged land by giving her £10. He aided Kiriya, a resident of 4 gravets who was infected with foul smelling body sores by sending him to hospital when others tried to chase him away. He helped the widowed wife of a conductor of their estate in Talatuoya to set up a business.
When he visited England in 1886 he saw the famous Sri Lankan artefacts, including the ‘Yapahuwa Gate’ and other historical monuments on display at the Colonial and Indian exhibition. These he purchased and presented to the Royal institute.
Charles sponsored the Moratuwa Carpenters’ Guild. He also founded the Low Country Products Association. He along with other like minded citizens formed the ‘Moratuwa Association’ to spearhead the various social welfare activities of the town.
S. Thomas’ College, then at Mutwal, was his alma mater, although as the custom then with the elite, his early education was at the hands of resident teachers who were lavishly paid and well looked after even in their retirement with generous land grants. Even after their demise, their families were looked after. He donated a sum of Rs. 30,000 to S. Thomas’ College.
During that time, there were various forms of taxes that the people had to pay. One such tax was the ‘Poll Tax’ which could not be paid by the thousands of poor people in Moratuwa and they ran the risk of their properties being seized. Charles paid the sums involved on behalf of all the townfolk.
He had roads and bridges built in various parts of the country including the road from Galle Road to Lunawa and the bridge across the lagoon which serves the people to this day. Charles also had the Katubedda Road at Moratuwa constructed and donated land to build the Lunawa Railway Station.
During his visit to England Charles donated large sums of money to British Medical Institutes such as Children’s hospitals, Women’s hospitals and Dock workers’ hospitals. Most of these charitable activities in England were channelled through his agents Arbuthnot Latham and Co. of London.
Charles also extended his patronage to literary projects. When his friend the Ven. Weligama Sri Sumangala Thero, High Priest of Pulinathalaramaya, Kalutara wrote the 3rd standard reader, he met the entire cost of printing and insisted that a copy should be sold only at the cost price of 39½ cents per copy. Another noteworthy literary contribution of de Soysa was the printing and publication of the Sanskrit poem, ‘Janaki Haranaya’ — compiled by poet Kumaradasa. In spite of being a Christian, de Soysa arranged these educational charities through the Ven. Ratmalane Sri Dharmarama Nayake Thero, the Chief Incumbent of the Vidyalankara Pirivena.
External links
References
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Categories:- 1890 deaths
- 1836 births
- Sinhalese people
- Burgher people
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