Jeronis de Soysa
| Mudaliyar Jeronis de Soysa Dissanayake | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 19 April 1797 Ceylon, Moratuwa |
| Resting place | Holy Emmanuel Church |
| Nationality | Ceylonese |
| Education | Palliyagodella Buddhist Temple |
| Occupation | Coffee Planter, Industrialist and Ayurvedic Physician |
| Known for | Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy |
| Title | Wasala Mudaliyar |
| Spouse(s) | Francesca de Soysa Lamaethani |
| Parent(s) | Warusahennedige Joseph Soysa (1764-1839) Kurukulasuriya Senadige Francisca Peiris |
| Relatives | Sir Charles Henry de Soysa Sir Wilfred de Soysa Bishop Harold de Soysa A. J. R. de Soysa A. H. T. de Soysa Sir Bennet Soysa |
Gate Mudaliyar Jeronis de Soysa (19 April 1797 – 28 May 1862) was a pioneering Ceylonese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a pioneer coffee planter and an industrialist who became the wealthiest Ceylonese of the 19th century by establishing the largest native commercial enterprise of the era. He was instrumental in the establishment of the first Ceylonese bank and is often referred to as a father of private enterprise. He was the first Mudaliyar to be elevated in recognition of his philanthropy.
Jeronis de Soysa was born on 19 April 1797 at Moratuwa. He was the second son of Warusahennadige Joseph Soysa (Jose Rala), an Ayurveda practitioner and Kurukulasuriya Senadige Francisca Peiris. He had seven brothers and three sisters and was affectionately known as Babaseñor. Both his father and 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 sectors. Their ancestor was the lay custodian of the Devinuwara Temple, Matara at the time of its destruction in 1587. De Soysa’s parents originally wanted him to become a Buddhist monk and sent him to the Palliyagodella Temple Rawatawatta Moratuwa for studies. He excelled in the Ayurvedic system of medicine, the Sinhala language and Astrology. He became an Ayurvedic practitioner and possessed a charming personality. De Soysa married Francesca Coorey, daughter of Mututantrige Bastian Cooray and Kurukulasuriya Senadige Justina Pieris in 1833. Mututantrige Sebastian Coorey, an ancestor of Francesca had built the Rawatawatte Dutch Chapel in 1675.
De Soysa inherited a small fortune from his uncles Daniel Peiris and Hendrick Peiris III, who were ship owners with Yatra building yards at Oruwella, Panadura and Grandpass, Colombo. He invested this in expanding the trading network between the Maritime and Kandyan Provinces with the assistance of his brothers. In 1820 he established himself as a general merchant in Kandy, becoming one of the first Sinhalese to do so. He introduced cart transportation between the seaports and the plantations which had till then been carried out on foot and was able to dominate the industry till the building of the railway. Meanwhile, de Soysa also became famous as Babasingha Vedamahatmaya, a sought after Ayurvedic physician in Kandy and was reputed to have saved the lives of numerous plantation Tamils. De Soysa’s business prospered and he received several government supply contracts, including one that involved in the construction of the Colombo-Kandy road. These investments enabled him to accumulate the large capital necessary to buy/rent the monopoly for the supply of arrack. Later, he curtailed his investment in the distillery and tavern industry.
...
Wikipedia