page_title: Charles Edgar Corea
section_title: Early life
hierarchical_section_title: Charles Edgar Corea / Early life
caption_attribution_description: English: 'Edirille Gedera' in Chilaw was the home of a National Hero of Sri Lanka, the freedom fighter Charles Edgar Corea. He was a founder member and President of the Ceylon National Congress and the Chilaw Association. He campaigned long and hard for the independence of Ceylon. Mahatma Gandhi and distinguished politicians such as D.S.Senanayake, F.R.Senanayake, Sir Baron Jayathilake, E.W. Perera, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, A. E. Goonesinha, Sir James Peiris and others have all visited 'Edirille Gedera,' to see C.E.Corea and his family. This historic house was named after the Sri Lankan war hero Edirille Rala who was crowned King Dominicus Corea, King of Kotte and Sitawaka in 1596. Gandhi visited this historic home in 1927 on his first and only visit of Ceylon.
context_page_description: Charles Edgar Corea was a politician and a prominent freedom fighter of Sri Lanka.
context_section_description: C.E.Corea was born in the west coast town of Chilaw, in Sri Lanka. His parents were Charles Edward Bandaranaike Corea, a leading lawyer from Chilaw and Henritta Seneviratne. He was educated at Royal College Colombo where he excelled in his studies. He earned a reputation as a first rate orator. Charles Edgar Corea was the eldest of five children. His brothers and sisters were – James Alfred Ernest Corea, Victor Corea, Agnes Corea, and Evangeline Henrietta Corea.The family came from a wealthy background, owning vast tracts of coconut estates and paddy lands. The Sunday Times newspaper of Sri Lanka writing about the three sons of Charles Edward Bandarnaike Corea, noted: 'Of the three boys, the eldest, Charles Edgar Corea, was educated at Royal College and having excelled in studies and cricket, he passed out as a proctor of the Supreme Court, took to politics and in 1924 was elected president of the Ceylon National Congress. Warden Stone of S. Thomas' College, Mount Lavinia, described old Royalist C.E. Corea as one of the finest speakers of the English language. The second boy in the family was Dr. Alfred Ernest Corea who was educated at S. Thomas' College. He passed out as a doctor of medicine and chose to practise in Chilaw. He was a clever doctor and what was unique about him was that he charged no fees from the poor for his services. '  
  Writing in 1907, The English author, Arnold Wright in 'Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon,' said: 'Charles Edward has left three sons, the eldest of whom, Charles Edgar, a Proctor, is the unofficial leader of the Chilaw Bar, a member of the Royal Asiatic Society, and Chairman of the Chilaw Association. In 1899, he was elected by the various native associations of Ceylon, and a public meeting in Colombo, to proceed to England as a delegate of the people of Ceylon, to lay before the Imperial Government a representation against the Waste Lands Ordinance. The second son, Alfred Ernest, is a physician, and the youngest, Charles Edward Victor, is an Advocate of the Supreme Court.' 
  The 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 goyigama 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. The most active of Corea's sons was C.E.(Charles Edgar) who spoke up for peasant rights and was militant in his stand against the government. He was President of the Ceylon National Congress in 1924. C.E.Corea's brother, Alfred Ernest, was a doctor and the youngest Victor Corea was a lawyer who achieved fame for leading a campaign (and going to jail) in 1922 to protest the Poll Tax on all males; he was the first President of the Ceylon Labour Union led by A.E.Goonesinha and was active in the Ceylon Labour Party. While being professionals and political activists, the Coreas were also important landowners. '
caption: C.E.Corea lived at 'Edirille Gedera' in Chilaw, Sri Lanka. Mahatma Gandhi and distinguished Sri Lankan politicians Don Stephen Senanayake, F.R.Senanayake, Sir Baron Jayathilake, E. W. Perera, Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, A. E. Goonesinha, Sir James Peiris and others have all visited this historic home.
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