Sir John D'Oyly, 1st Baronet (6 June 1774 – 25 May 1824) was a British colonial administrator.

Life

He was the second son of Matthias D'Oyly, Archdeacon of Hastings and his wife Mary. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and matriculated at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in 1793, graduating B.A. in 1796, M.A. in 1799. D'Oyly went out to Ceylon in 1801, initially as a writer in the civil service and then as President of various provincial courts. He mastered the Sinhalese language during a tenure at Matara under the tutelage of the scholarly Buddhist Monk; Karathota Dhammarama Nayake Thera, and for this proficiency, he was appointed as the Government's chief translator in 1805. He became an Agent of Revenue for the District of Colombo the following year. Further promotions saw him elevated through the ranks of civil and military and he was ultimately appointed to the post of Civil Auditor-General. D'Oyly had a key role in arranging for the British takeover of the

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

an kingdom in 1815. Being fluent in Sinhala, he was the intermediary between the British Governor Thomas Maitland and the disaffected Kandyan chiefs who were intriguing to "sell out" the king, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha. D'Oyly is credited with drafting the Kandyan Convention of March 2, 1815 which set out the terms of the accession. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

in 1821 and chose to stay in Kandy, eventually dying there in 1824. A Briton who visited Kandy before 1815 had described him as living like a "Cingalese hermit". His earlier association with a woman poet,

Gajaman Nona Donna Isabella Koraneliya ( si, දෝන ඉසබෙලා කොරනෙලියා) ( Gajaman Nona) (10 March 1746-15 December 1815) was a Sri Lankan author who was noted for having the ability to write and recite impromptu Sinhala poetry ...

, in Matara led to some speculation. He died in 1824 and was buried in Garrison Cemetery, Kandy. His Obituary, from the ''Ceylon Gazette'' of May 29, 1824, read:

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Oyly, John, Sir, 1st Baronet of Kandy 1774 births 1824 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of the University of Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom People of the Kingdom of Kandy Sri Lankan people of British descent Auditors General of Sri Lanka British colonial governors and administrators in Asia Ceylonese baronets