Dharmapala of Kotte

Dharmapala or Dom João Dharmapala Peria Bandara (1541 – 27 May 1597) was last king of the Kingdom of Kotte, in present-day Sri Lanka, from 1551 until 27 May 1597. He is also known as Dom João Dharmapala, the first Christian king in Sri Lankan history.[1][2] He is widely despised by the majority Buddhist Sinhalese for having betrayed his religion of birth i.e., Buddhism and converted to the religion of the foreign conquerors, who carried a reign of terror. Dharmapala allowed Buddhist Temples in his Kingdom including the highly venerated Temple of Kelaniya to be ransacked and burnt down by the Portuguese.

Dharmapala
King of Kotte
Reign1551 – 27 May 1597
PredecessorBhuvanekabahu VII
SuccessorRajasinha I of Sitawaka
Born1541
Royal Palace, Kotte
Died27 May 1597 (aged 55/56)
Portuguese Fort, Colombo
Burial
St. Francis Shrine, Colombo 01. (now - President's House)
ConsortDona Isabella
Dona Margarida
Dona Catherina
IssuePrincess Mayurawatti queen consort of King Bayinnaung
Princess Alingosse queen consort of King Nanda Bayin
Names
Dom João Dharmapala Peria Bandara
HouseHouse of Siri Sanga Bo
DynastyKingdom of Kotte
FatherLord Veediya Bandara
MotherCrown Princess Samudra Devi
ReligionRoman Catholicism prev. Theravada Buddhism
SignatureDharmapala's signature

Birth

Dom João Dharmapala (Don John Dharmapala) was born as the eldest child of Weediye Bandara, a Prince from Madampe and his wife Samudra Devi, daughter of King Bhuvanekabãhu VII the King of Kotte. His exact date of birth is unknown, but the year is commonly regarded as 1541. A golden statue was sent to Portugal to be crowned by the Portuguese. It was sent by his predecessor King Bhuvanekabahu VII.

Personal life

He had a younger brother, Prince Wijayapala. His mother was murdered by his father when he was young, so his maternal grandfather King Bhuvanekabahu VII raised him under the supervision of the Portuguese.

First, he married Princess Isabella of Kandy, daughter of King Jayaweera Wickramabahu of Kandy. After she died, he married Queen Dona Isabella's niece, Princess Margarida of Kandy, who was the eldest daughter of King Karaliyadde Bandara of Kandy.

After his grandfather's assassination by a Portuguese soldier in Kelaniya in 1551, he used to reside in the Colombo fortress under the protection of the Portuguese as his conversion to Christianity was widely opposed by the largely Buddhist Sinhala population of Kotte. The Portuguese military occupation of Kotte during the reign of Don Juan Dharmapala ended in 1565 when they were forced to withdraw from Kotte by the unrelenting attacks of the Sinhalese King Sitawaka Rajasinghe.

After his conversion from Buddhism to Catholicism in 1557[3] he would bequeath (in 1580) his entire realm to the King of Portugal. The Portuguese takeover of Kotte, however, was resisted by the Sinhalese Buddhists and would only be completed during the captaincy of Dom Jerónimo de Azevedo (1594 - 1612).[4]

See also

References
  1. Fernando, Mario (2007). Spiritual Leadership in the Entrepreneurial Business: A Multifaith Study. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 9781847208613. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  2. "Portuguese encounter with King of Kotte in 1517". Denis N. Fernando. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  3. Thomaz, Luís Filipe (2018). L'expansion portugaise dans le monde, XIV-XVIIIe siècles : les multiples facettes d'un prisme (in French) (2e édition révisée et augmentée ed.). Paris: Chandeigne. p. 181. ISBN 978-2-36732-175-2. OCLC 1081316746.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  4. Disney, A. R. (2009). A history of Portugal and the Portuguese empire : from beginnings to 1807. Volume 2, The Portuguese empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-511-65024-6. OCLC 558951192.


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