Sir John D'Oyly, 1st Baronet, of Kandy

Sir John D'Oyly
1st Baronet, of Kandy
Ehelepola, Molligoda and Kapuvatta with D'Oyly
7th Civil Auditor General
In office 1 September 1814 – 1815
Preceded by	A. Bertolacci
Succeeded by	E. Tolfrey
Personal details
Born	6 June 1774
Died	25 May 1824(1824-05-25) (aged 49)

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

He was the second son of Matthias D'Oyly and his wife Mary.

D'Oyly had a key role in arranging for the British takeover of the Kandyan kingdom in 1815. Fluent in Sinhala, he was the intermediary between the British Governor 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 in 1821^[1] and chose to stay in Kandy, eventually dying there. 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, in Matara led to some speculation.

References

• Leigh Rayment' s baronetage page