Dominicus Corea

Dominicus Corea (Sinhalese family name Edirille Bandara) also known as Domingos Corea and Edirille Rala, was the son of Don Jeronimo Corea and Anna Corea. Don Jeronimo Corea was also known as Mudaliyar Vikramasinha, Commander-in-Chief of King Mayadunne's army. Jeronimo Corea was executed by King Mayadunne's son, Rajasinghe.
Dominicus Corea was born in Colombo in 1565. At that time, the Portuguese had colonised Ceylon, and his parents converted to Catholicism.

Following the death of Don Jeronimo Corea, his two sons, Dominicus and Simon were sent to Colombo for safety – at the time King Dharmapala was reigning in the Kingdom of Kotte. Dominicus and Simon were baptised as Catholics and grew up with the young Prince Konappu Bandara – later on he reigned as King Vimala Dharma Suriya of the Kandyan kingdom.

De Queyroz, the great Portuguese historian writing about Dominicus Corea noted that "he was able to read and write like a well bred man." Trained from boyhood warlike pursuits, he was skilled in arms, and was dreaded as being one of the most expert swordsmen in his time.

King of Kotte and Sitawaka

Dominicus Corea was crowned King of Kotte in 1596. He was given the kingdoms of Kotte and Sitawaka by King Vimala Dharma of Kandy around 1596. John M. Senaveratna, in his book 'Great Sinhalese Men and Women of History' (Volume 3) wrote: 'He (King Vimala Dharma) according him (Dominicus Corea) the precedence of a King, and, in order to cement the friendship between the two, gave him a Royal Princess – Subadra Devi.' (She was the daughter of sub-King Veediya Bandara, ruler of the Principality of the Seven Korales.)

Vimala Dharma made a proclamation throughout his capital, that on the following day would be celebrated the marriage and coronation of 'Edirimanne Suriya Bandara' – which was the name (It was his wife's family name) adopted by Corea for his investiture with Royal rank – and ordering that all the grandees of the kingdom should be present in gala dress. Edirimanne Suriya Bandara, the new-made King, wearing a crown of gold on his head, was then accommodated on the seat of the back of the middle elephant; while two influential chiefs – the oldest Mudaliyars of the (Kandyan) Court – rode each on an elephant by the side.'

The 'Mahavamsa', the recorded chronicles of Sri Lankan history (starting from the 3rd century BCE), refers to Edirille Rala as a 'war hero.' The Mahavamsa recalls the meeting of Edirille Rala and Commander Veediya Bandara who led the armies of the Kandyan kingdom. Edirille Rala married his daughter when he was crowned King of Kotte and Sitawaka. According to the Mahavamsa, 'He (Veediya Bandara), went and stopped at the Seven Korale. By this time, the ruler there was a war hero. He was Edirimanne Suriya, better known as Edirille Rala. He had made Mudukondapala, a place close to Kurunegala, his capital city. When he saw Commander Veediya Bandara, he was delighted and welcomed him with all love and respect. He was well treated. Then both of them broke into conversation. Edirille Rala, just like Veediya Bandara, was an erstwhile enemy of the Portuguese. As such, this meeting of theirs was extra special. Both of them were enemies of the King of Sitawaka as well. This common feature was something to be happy about.'

'Sabaragamuwe Vamsa Kathawa,' ('Sabaragamuwa – in Legend and History'), a book published by the Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council, mentions Edirille Rala: 'Some of the very heroic and colourful figures in our history are sons of Sabaragamuwa – Parakramabahu I, born in Dedigama, the warrior King Rajasinghe I also known as Sitawaka Rajasingha, Edirille Rala born in Colombo and baptised Domingo Corea, who returned to the village of his ancestors Atulugama near Sitawaka and turned against the Portuguese.'. In his lifetime he fought for all the contending forces of the period, often changing his allegiance.

Death

Corea rebelled against the Portuguese, and inflicted massive defeats between 1594 and 1596. Professor K. M. de Silva in his book 'A History of Sri Lanka,' writes about Edirille Rala's revolt against the Portuguese: 'From the beginning however, there was resistance to Portuguese mastery over Kotte. While Dharmapala was alive there were two major revolts, one led by Akaragama Appuhamy in 1594, and the other by Edirille rala in 1594–96.' King Dominicus Corea was captured by the Portuguese and executed on July 14, 1596, at the age of 31 in Colombo.

"Such was the sad end of Domingos Corea, Edirimana Suriya Bandara, the greatest Sinhalese of his day," said Sri Lankan historian John M. Seneviratna. 'Great Warriors like Mayadunne, Veediya Bandara, Seethawaka Rajasinghe, Vimaladharmasuriya I, Senarath, Rajasinghe II, Nikapitiye Bandara and Edirille Rala who fought the Portuguese to preserve our territorial integrity and kept the Portuguese at bay despite all odds,' wrote Janaka Perera in the Asian Tribune.

The descendants of King Dominicus Corea

The Sri Lankan author Kumari Jayawardena, writing about the Coreas observed: 'Unconnected to the liquor trade but making their money on plantation ventures was the Corea Family of Chilaw, an influential goyigama group with a history going back to Portuguese rule when they were warriors to Sinhala kings. During Dutch and British rule, members of the family were officials serving the state in various ways and rewarded with titles. Some members of the family took to the legal and medical professions, most notably the sons of Charles Edward Corea (a solicitor), who were active in local politics and in the Chilaw Association which campaigned against British land policies – especially the Waste Lands Ordinance, and for political reforms. The most active of Corea's sons was C.E.(Charles Edgar) who spoke up for peasant rights and was militant in his stand against the government. He was President of the Ceylon National Congress in 1924. C.E.Corea's brother, Alfred Ernest, was a doctor and the youngest Victor Corea was a lawyer who achieved fame for leading a campaign (and going to jail) in 1922 to protest the Poll Tax on all males; he was the first President of the Ceylon Labour Union led by A.E.Goonesinha and was active in the Ceylon Labour Party. While being professionals and political activists, the Coreas were also important landowners. '

The descendants of Edirille Rala, King Dominicus Corea, still play leading roles in various professional fields in Sri Lanka and around the world. Among the notable contributions to society are ones made by Charles Edgar Corea and his brother Victor Corea who were founder members of the Ceylon National Congress and the Legislative Council of Ceylon. C.E.Corea was elected President of the Ceylon National Congress in 1924. Both were distinguished freedom fighters and were prominent in the independence movement of Ceylon. James Alfred Ernest Corea, brother of C.E.Corea and Victor Corea, was born in 1870 – he joined the medical service in Ceylon. He was a clever doctor and what was unique about him was that he charged no fees from the poor for his services. Gate Mudaliyar James Edward Corea was in charge of the rural police in Pitigal Korale. Sir Claude Corea was Ceylon's High Commissioner in the United Kingdom and was appointed Ambassador to the United States in 1948. He was elected President of the United Nations Security Council in May 1960 and was featured in ''Life Magazine''. His son Harindra Corea was appointed Deputy Foreign Minister of the Government of Sri Lanka in the 1990s and was also the member of parliament for Chilaw. Srikuradas Charles Shirley Corea was a distinguished parliamentarian, MP for Chilaw and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Ceylon from 1967 to 1970.

J.C.A. Corea was the first Sri Lankan Principal of Royal College, Colombo. Reverend Canon Ivan Corea was Rural Dean of Colombo and Chaplain to the Bishop of Colombo in the Church of Ceylon. His sons went on to play significant roles in the media and in the Diplomatic Corps – Vernon Corea was a pioneer broadcaster with Radio Ceylon (SLBC) – he was appointed the Ethnic Minorities Advisor to the BBC
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