William Cosby

William Cosby

William Cosby (* 1690 in Stradbally Hall , in what was then Queens County, present-day County Laois , Ireland ; † March 10, 1736 in New York City ) was the acting colonial governor of the British Leeward Islands in the Caribbean in 1729 and British governor of the province from 1732 to 1736 New York and New Jersey .

Life

Since 1709, William Cosby served in the British military, where he served in various regiments over time and was promoted to colonel in 1717. In 1718 he was transferred with his unit to Menorca , where he served as colonial governor for a short time. In 1729 he was also briefly acting governor of the British Leward Islands in the Caribbean.

On January 13, 1732, King George II appointed Cosby as the new colonial governor of the province of New York and New Jersey. A little later, Cosby also received a substantial donation of land from the king in what would later become Herkimer County . His country estate became known as Cosby's Manor . Soon after Cosby took office, tensions arose between him and Rip Van Dam , who had been acting as colonial governor until then. 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, which he had been a member for 30 years. In the same year the liberal party won the elections for the colonial parliament. That was Cosby's political defeat.

Cosby was conservative and opposed liberal movements in the province of New York. Tensions mounted over Judge Morris's dismissal. In the New York Weekly Journal published by John Peter Zenger , the opposition to Cosby found a mouthpiece. Van Dam also published some articles against Cosby there. This had Zenger arrested and charged for his critical reporting. Cosby caused an unfair trial to the disadvantage of Zenger. The surprise was all the greater when Zenger was acquitted by the jury and celebrated a victory for freedom of the press. That meant Cosby's defeat at the same time.

In New Jersey, Cosby seized land from some colonists and bequeathed it to his royalist allies. In both New York and New Jersey, Cosby tried to enforce excessive salaries for his political allies, but this only succeeded to a limited extent, as the local parliament had a say in this. William Cosby remained in office as colonial governor of New York and New Jersey until his death on March 10, 1736.

Web links

• Key figures in the Zenger Trial
• Cosby vs Van Dam

• William Cosby in the database of Find a Grave (English)