James Alfred Corea
Encyclopedia
James Alfred Corea who was born in 1871 was a senior civil servant of the Colonial Government of Ceylon. He was appointed a Government Agent
or Mohandiram by the Governor-General of Ceylon
. A Government Agent is a Sri Lankan civil servant of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service
appointed by the central government to govern a certain district of the country. The GA is the administrative head of public services
in the District, this post is one of the oldest civil service
positions first established during the British
colonial era in Ceylon. J.A.Corea was appointed by the Governer-General to oversee the Madampe
area in the Chilaw
District of Sri Lanka. He was the son of Henry Richard Corea, who was Mudaliyar of Alutkuru Korale.
to Mudaliyar Henry Richard Corea and Cornelia Wilhelmina Perera. He was the grandson of Simon Corea J.P and Mudaliyar of Alutkuru Korale, and Cornelia Dias Bandaranaike. Sri Lankan author Kumari Jayawardena, writing about the Coreas noted: 'Unconnected to the liquor trade but making their money on plantation ventures was the Corea Family of Chilaw, an influential govigama
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.' Kumari Jayawardena goes on to state: 'While being professionals and political activists, the Coreas were also important landowners. ' As a child, like some members of the Corea family, he attended S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia. He was the only son in the family, he had three sisters, Annie, Missie and Agnes who married men of high standing in Sri Lanka
.
estates - Potuwille and Mugunuatuwane. J.A.Corea married Eugenie Matilda Sarah Attygalle on June 7 1906, the third daughter of Dr. John Attygalle and Charlotte Karunaratne. They lived in a Corea family home known as Corea Court which is located in Madampe, where James Alfred served as a Mohandiram of the town. They had two children, a daughter called Amybelle and a son called Henri who was a notable policeman of very high ranking. Henri Corea was also a dedicated family historian and mapped a pedigree chart of the Corea family going back hundreds of years to when Sri Lanka was under the rule of Parakrama Bahu VI, who was one of the greatest kings ever to rule Sri Lanka. King Parakrama Bahu VI was famous for uniting the whole of Sri Lanka under one flag. Henri Corea also spearheaded the Edirimanne Corea Family Union
.
Writing in 1907 about Mohandiram James Alfred Corea, the English author, Arnold Wright in 'Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon,' said: ' Mr. J.A.Corea, a descendant (eleventh generation) of Wickremasinghe Bandara, chief of the Seven Korales under the Kandyan emperor (1520-1560) is the son of Henry Richard Corea, Mudaliyar of Alutkuru Korale North....' Wright goes on to state that in '1899 he became Mohandiram of Madampe.' His book contains photographs of Mr. J.A.Corea with the title, 'Government Agent Corea and Native Headmen.'
, also known as Edirille Rala or Edirimanne Suriya Bandara. He was a Sinhala warrior who fought for his country against the Portuguese
. He was given the Kingdoms of Kotte
and Sitawaka by King Vimala Dharma of Kandy
and was crowned King of Kotte and Sitawaka in 1596. The Portuguese historian De Queyroz describes him as being "one of the most expert swordsman of his time". Dominicus Corea
was executed in July 1596, after being captured by the Portuguese.
Government Agent
A function called Government Agent exist or existed in the past in several countries, such as* Sri Lanka - see Government Agent * Canada - see Government Agent...
or Mohandiram by the Governor-General of Ceylon
Governor-General of Ceylon
The Governor-General of Ceylon was the representative of the Ceylonese monarch, and head of state, who held the title of Queen of Ceylon from 1948 when the country became independent as a Dominion until the country became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972.-Role:The monarch, on the advice of the...
. A Government Agent is a Sri Lankan civil servant of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service
Sri Lanka Administrative Service
The Sri Lanka Administrative Service is the key administrative service of the Government of Sri Lanka, with civil servants working for both in the Central Government as well as in the provincial councils. It was formed as the Ceylon Administrative Service in 1963 as the successor to the Ceylon...
appointed by the central government to govern a certain district of the country. The GA is the administrative head of public services
Public services
Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly or by financing private provision of services. The term is associated with a social consensus that certain services should be available to all, regardless of income...
in the District, this post is one of the oldest civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
positions first established during the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
colonial era in Ceylon. J.A.Corea was appointed by the Governer-General to oversee the Madampe
Madampe
Madampe is a town situated in the Puttalam District, of North Western Province, Sri Lanka.-Maduganga and Madampe Lakes:Two lakes, Maduganga and Madampe, are located on the south-western coast of Sri Lanka. They are twin lakes connected by a narrow channel of 3 km in length. The surface areas of the...
area in the Chilaw
Chilaw
Chilaw is a western seaboard town on the island of Sri Lanka.It is a bustling town with a famous fishmarket and beach...
District of Sri Lanka. He was the son of Henry Richard Corea, who was Mudaliyar of Alutkuru Korale.
Early life
Mohandiram James Alfred Corea was born on November 23 1871 at NegomboNegombo
Negombo is a town of about 121,933, approximately 37 km north of Colombo, in Sri Lanka. It is located at the mouth of the Negombo Lagoon, about 7 km from the Bandaranaike International Airport...
to Mudaliyar Henry Richard Corea and Cornelia Wilhelmina Perera. He was the grandson of Simon Corea J.P and Mudaliyar of Alutkuru Korale, and Cornelia Dias Bandaranaike. Sri Lankan author Kumari Jayawardena, writing about the Coreas noted: 'Unconnected to the liquor trade but making their money on plantation ventures was the Corea Family of Chilaw, an influential govigama
Govigama
Govi, Govigama, Goigama, Goygama, Goyigama, Goviyo is the most influential and the dominant Caste in Sri Lanka and certainly comes as the leading cast in the hierarchy of cast system in Sri Lanka.The term Govi denotes farmer.From time immemorial the Govigama have been the landlords and have been...
group with a history going back to Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
rule when they were warriors to Sinhala kings. During Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
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.' Kumari Jayawardena goes on to state: 'While being professionals and political activists, the Coreas were also important landowners. ' As a child, like some members of the Corea family, he attended S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia. He was the only son in the family, he had three sisters, Annie, Missie and Agnes who married men of high standing in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
Family
His father, Henry Richard Corea, was a Mudaliyar of Alutkuru Korale. His sister Missie, married Cyril Gilbert Alahakoon Wijesiriwardana De Alwis, who was a Gate Mudaliyar. James Alfred's Grandfather was a Justice of the Peace and succeeded his brother Johannes as Mudaliyar of Alutkuru Korale after his death in 1835. James Alfred lived in Corea Court with his family in Madampe.Later life
Mohandiram James Alfred learnt planting under his father after school, then he was appointed Mohandiram of Madampe in 1899. He was a member of the Chilaw Association and the Agricultural Society. He also owned vast coconutCoconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
estates - Potuwille and Mugunuatuwane. J.A.Corea married Eugenie Matilda Sarah Attygalle on June 7 1906, the third daughter of Dr. John Attygalle and Charlotte Karunaratne. They lived in a Corea family home known as Corea Court which is located in Madampe, where James Alfred served as a Mohandiram of the town. They had two children, a daughter called Amybelle and a son called Henri who was a notable policeman of very high ranking. Henri Corea was also a dedicated family historian and mapped a pedigree chart of the Corea family going back hundreds of years to when Sri Lanka was under the rule of Parakrama Bahu VI, who was one of the greatest kings ever to rule Sri Lanka. King Parakrama Bahu VI was famous for uniting the whole of Sri Lanka under one flag. Henri Corea also spearheaded the Edirimanne Corea Family Union
Edirimanne Corea Family Union
The Edirimanne Corea Family Union is a group set up to 'foster interaction' among the members of the powerful Corea familyin the island of Sri Lanka. The Corea family is one of the leading families of Sri Lanka...
.
Writing in 1907 about Mohandiram James Alfred Corea, the English author, Arnold Wright in 'Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon,' said: ' Mr. J.A.Corea, a descendant (eleventh generation) of Wickremasinghe Bandara, chief of the Seven Korales under the Kandyan emperor (1520-1560) is the son of Henry Richard Corea, Mudaliyar of Alutkuru Korale North....' Wright goes on to state that in '1899 he became Mohandiram of Madampe.' His book contains photographs of Mr. J.A.Corea with the title, 'Government Agent Corea and Native Headmen.'
Ancestry
James Alfred Corea was a direct descendant of Dominicus CoreaDominicus Corea
Dominicus Corea 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....
, also known as Edirille Rala or Edirimanne Suriya Bandara. He was a Sinhala warrior who fought for his country against the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. He was given the Kingdoms of Kotte
Kotte
Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte , also known as Sri Jayawardenapura or Kotte කෝට්ටේ, is the administrative capital of Sri Lanka. It is located beyond the eastern suburbs of the commercial capital Colombo and is often called New Capital Territory...
and Sitawaka by King Vimala Dharma of Kandy
Kandy
Kandy is a city in the center of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an...
and was crowned King of Kotte and Sitawaka in 1596. The Portuguese historian De Queyroz describes him as being "one of the most expert swordsman of his time". Dominicus Corea
Dominicus Corea
Dominicus Corea 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....
was executed in July 1596, after being captured by the Portuguese.
Death
James Alfred Corea died on the 11th of July 1915, he was buried in Marawila, leaving behind his wife, Eugenie Matilda Attygalle and his two children Henri and Amybelle Corea.See also
- Sri Lanka Administrative ServiceSri Lanka Administrative ServiceThe Sri Lanka Administrative Service is the key administrative service of the Government of Sri Lanka, with civil servants working for both in the Central Government as well as in the provincial councils. It was formed as the Ceylon Administrative Service in 1963 as the successor to the Ceylon...
- Ceylon Civil ServiceCeylon Civil ServiceThe Ceylon Civil Service, popularly known by its acronym CCS, originated as the elite civil service of the Government of Ceylon under British colonial rule in 1833 and carried on after independence, until May 1, 1963 when it was abolished and the much larger Ceylon Administrative Service was...
- Government of Sri Lanka
- List of political families in Sri Lanka
- Edirimanne Corea Family UnionEdirimanne Corea Family UnionThe Edirimanne Corea Family Union is a group set up to 'foster interaction' among the members of the powerful Corea familyin the island of Sri Lanka. The Corea family is one of the leading families of Sri Lanka...
- Dominicus CoreaDominicus CoreaDominicus Corea 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....
- Vijaya CoreaVijaya CoreaVijaya Corea is a radio and television broadcaster and one of Sri Lanka's most well known media personalities. Corea is a household name in Sri Lanka, synonymous with broadcasting and show business for over four decades, and has often been referred to as Sri Lanka's #1 Compere.-Early life:He grew...
- ChilawChilawChilaw is a western seaboard town on the island of Sri Lanka.It is a bustling town with a famous fishmarket and beach...
- MadampeMadampeMadampe is a town situated in the Puttalam District, of North Western Province, Sri Lanka.-Maduganga and Madampe Lakes:Two lakes, Maduganga and Madampe, are located on the south-western coast of Sri Lanka. They are twin lakes connected by a narrow channel of 3 km in length. The surface areas of the...