interests and building his private fortune. The British Crown's governors in British North America were seldom popular, but to some colonists, Cosby became a symbol of just how oppressive such governors 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