Thome Rodrigo (Prince)


Thome Rodrigo 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.

The Malwana convention

The Convention of Malvana was a 1598 agreement between Portuguese colonisers and took place with the Sinhalese royalty of Ceylon - 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.
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. 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. 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.

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, and many independence activists including Cholomondeley Goonewardene, and Leslie Goonewardene. All of whom were born to wealth, and gave much, if not all of it away by death.