William Cosby - Legacy

Legacy

Eighteenth-century observers believed that Governor William Cosby was motivated by two goals: defending British interests and building his private fortune. Royal governors in British North America were seldom popular, but to some colonists, Cosby became a symbol of just how oppressive a royal governor could be. Cosby's political opponent Lewis Morris characterised Cosby's governorship as a reign of "a God damn ye," underlining Cosby's indifference to the wishes and welfare of those he governed.

Although Cosby's governorship was not a rewarding period for colonial New York, the struggles of the 1730s ultimately helped define the roles of the royal governor, the assembly, and the courts in provincial politics. They also fostered the development of the colony's first political parties. Historian Michael Kammen characterises Cosby's era as a period of "political awakening and modernization" in New York politics. Once the structural problems were addressed, politicians could turn their attention to the substantive issues and engage a larger portion of the population in political activity.