Thome Rodrigo (Prince)

Thome Rodrigo (born around mid-1500s) was a Karava Prince who was one of the three local nobles who signed the 'Malwana convention' in 1597, which was an agreement between Portuguese colonisers and the Sinhalese chiefs of Ceylon. He was one of the rulers of the Sinhalese monarchy of the Kingdom of Kotte in Western Sri Lanka.

Thome Rodrigo
Prince of Kingdom of Kotte
Bornmid-1500s
Kingdom of Kotte
DiedUnknown
Kingdom of Kotte
HouseKingdom of Kotte
ReligionBuddhism

The Malwana convention

The Convention of Malvana (also spelled Malwāna, Sinhala: මල්වාන ගිවිසුමෙන්ද) was a 1598 agreement between Portuguese colonisers and took place with the Sinhalese royalty of Ceylon[1][2] - these consisted of the three main noble leaders, including Thome Rodrigo. The convention was organised by the Portuguese General Jerónimo de Azevedo who felt as though the Sri Lankan natives did not demonstrate ample allegiance to King Philip I of Portugal. Following the 1597 death of Dharmapala of Kotte, ruler of the Kingdom of Kotte, Azevedo summoned two deputies from each Korale to a convention. The event took place on 29 September at Malwana or Colombo—the exact location has been disputed.[3][4]

At the convention, Azevedo initially suggested to the deputies for the native Sri Lankan inhabitants to abandon their traditional customs, in favor of political loyalty and cultural assimilation to King Philip and Portugal. Following two days of deliberation, the deputies, including Rodrigo, described their resistance to abandoning their customs.[5] Azevedo consented to respecting the natives' way of life, including their laws and customs, provided they swear allegiance to King Philip and recognise and respect the sovereignty of the Portuguese colonial government.[1][6] A group of eight representatives from the pool Sinhalese delegates, all reportedly Christian, promised their loyalty to the King of Portugal.

Criticism

The convention has been widely criticised as a Portuguese attempt at providing the facade of legality and justification for their colonisation of Ceylon.[7][1]

Family

The descendants of Thome Rodrigo were the Rodrigo Family of Panadura, who were one of the wealthiest families in Sri Lanka. They created the 'Rodrigo Family Friend in need Society', which is the oldest family society of Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1823. His notable descendents include Celestina Dias, the main female philanthropist of Ceylon, sportsmen Mahesh Rodrigo and Aravinda de Silva and many independence activists including Arthur V. Dias, Wilmot A. Perera, Cholomondeley Goonewardene and Leslie Goonewardene. All of whom were born to wealth, and gave much, if not all of it away by death.[8]

References
  1. "Convention of Malvana | Portugal-Ceylon [1597]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  2. TamilNet. "TamilNet". www.tamilnet.com. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  3. Abeysinghe, T. B. H. (January–June 1964). "The Myth of the Malvana Convention" (PDF). The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies. 7 (1): 67.
  4. Pieris, Paulus Edward (1999). Ceylon and the Portuguese, 1505-1658. Asian Educational Services. pp. Chapter VII. ISBN 8120613724. OCLC 493463704.
  5. "The discussion at Malwana | The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka". Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  6. Abeysinghe, T. B. H. (January–June 1964). "The Myth of the Malvana Convention" (PDF). The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies. 7 (1): 67.
  7. Abeysinghe, T. B. H. (January–June 1964). "The Myth of the Malvana Convention" (PDF). The Ceylon Journal of Historical and Social Studies. 7 (1): 67.
  8. "Karava of Sri Lanka - The Rodrigo family of Panadura". karava.org. Retrieved 20 March 2020.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.