Rip Van Dam

Rip Van Dam (* around 1660 in what would later become Albany , in what would later become the province of New York (other sources give Holland as his country of birth), † June 10, 1749 in New York City ) was acting British governor of the province in 1731 and 1732 New York.

Life

Rip Van Dam became a successful trader and soon gained political influence in the British province of New York. He held various public offices in New York City. In 1699 he was elected to represent the city in the Provincial Assembly , the colony's colonial parliament, where he became the leader of the opposition. Together with several other New York merchants, he opposed the trade policies of Colonial Governor Richard Coote , who served between 1698 and 1701. The policies of this governor, who successfully fought piracy, had harmed the interests of trade and increased the New York colony's indebtedness. Because of his opposition to him, Coote had some of Van Dam's merchant ships confiscated. Van Dam and his colleagues complained about Coote's behavior with King William III. Soon afterwards the governor died (March 1701). He was replaced by Edward Hyde . This dismissed some of Cootes supporters from the council of the governor. One of the positions that became vacant fell to Rip Van Dam in 1702, who was to be a member of this body for 30 years. In the course of time he rose to be president there. On various occasions he also represented the respective colonial governor if he was unable to do so.

After the death of Governor John Montgomerie on July 1, 1731, Van Dam was appointed acting governor of the province of New York as the longest serving member of the council . He held this office until the arrival of the new governor William Cosby in 1733. During this time he opposed the planned Molasses Act and received 1000 pounds from the colonial parliament. Soon after Cosby took office, tension arose between him and Van Dam. Cosby, who was too liberal in his colony, asked Van Dam to repay half of his income from his time as acting governor. Its refusal led to a lawsuit against Van Dam. The process became a political issue in which liberal forces and Cosby's supporters faced each other. The presidency was held by the Chief Justice of the Colony Lewis Morris (1671-1746), who was for Van Dam. When the verdict was reached, however, he was outvoted. Cosby won the trial. Because of his dissenting attitude, Morris was removed from office as Chief Justice by Cosby. At the same time, Van Dam was dismissed from the council . In the same year the liberal party won the elections for the colonial parliament. That was Cosby's political defeat.

The events surrounding the Cosby-Van Dam trial and the dismissal of Judge Morris led to further domestic political tensions. Opposition to Governor Cosby grew and found a public mouthpiece in the New York Weekly Journal , edited by John Peter Zenger . Van Dam, who naturally joined the opposition, also published some articles critical of the government in Zenger's paper, which he did not, however, sign. The governor eventually indicted Zenger and ensured an unfair trial. The surprise was all the greater when Zenger was acquitted by the jury and celebrated a victory for freedom of the press.

After Cosby's death in 1736 there was a brief dispute between Van Dam and George Clarke , who both claimed the office of acting governor. The dispute was decided by London in favor of Clarke. Rip Van Dam died in New York City on June 10, 1749.

Web links

• Mention of Van Dam in connection with the John Zenger trial
• Online biography of Van Dam