Thanks for the recommendation, Nancy! I found Dean Unger's historical research notes helpful in writing this piece. A Den of Thieves is on my reading list!
Yes...wasn't aware of this period in Amor de Cosmos's life. So thanks for this.
No fines, no incarceration. No real evidence of illegal activity.
It wasn't the first time Amor was a land speculator. Back in 1858, a few months after he arrived on Vancouver island, he (and others) heard rumours that the little Fraser River hamlet of Derby (near Fort Langley) was to be the site of the new capital city of the mainland colony. Hustled up river and started buying up property. Too bad! New Westminster got the nod instead! Win some, lose some.
Of course, he wasn't the only real estate developer around what was still called Fort Victoria. The biggest one was Alfred Waddington--and he and de Cosmos struck up a mutually beneficial friendship right away. Bonus! De Cosmos owned the first newspaper in the colony--which became a PR outlet for Waddington's Bute Inlet Road Company...again, incursion into "Indian territory." This time paid for in blood.
Read more in my book, The Chilcotin War. The only real "Indian war" in Canadian history.
seeing the same stuff done by those older-timers helps see it in a new light.
I was really hoping that the Royal Commission might have caught them... It always nice when there are anti-corruption processes that work. And it can happen.
I would kinda like it to be true that we keep inching our way toward justice. In your history reading -- are you finding this to be true? you listed Rustad's financial holdings -- the fact that we have this information is evidence that somewhere along the line, 'we' determined that it was in the public interest to know where your money is and what you own... presumably to reduce conflict of interest?
What do you think -- are we reducing scandals over time? Can we keep on, and reduce scandals to negligible levels? How much cynicism is the right amount in your opinion?
Great questions! I read the report of the Royal Commission and it's funny because they interview de Cosmo and his buds to ask them what they did. The one guy (John Robson) who filed the complaint points out in his testimony that of course de Cosmos is just going to lie. It also drives home how small the circle of political elites in Victoria was, led by Justice Begbie who was a part of the same social scene. It seems like it was a pretty toothless investigation from the start.
The question about if things are improving is a great one. Definitely one I've been thinking about a lot lately, and challenging myself to be less cynical. Or at least to recognise gains where and how they happen.
Ideologically I think I resonate most with David Graeber in "The Dawn of Everything" - progress in non-linear. Things are improving in some areas, getting worse in others. I found it interesting to see how the successful resistance to de Cosmos was in the form of (mini) insurection, rather than Royal Inquiry. But in other ways, it was the British crown (in the form of Douglas) that was a major resistance to the unrestricted capitalism and widespread land theft of gold crazy settlers. Things got notably worse in terms of Indigenous land rights after BC was free from British authority. Which runs counter to my previous understanding of British colonialism.
Try Dean Unger's Historical Fiction "A Den of Thieves, Vol. 1 & 2". It is a page turner and involves this very topic.
Thanks for the recommendation, Nancy! I found Dean Unger's historical research notes helpful in writing this piece. A Den of Thieves is on my reading list!
Yes...wasn't aware of this period in Amor de Cosmos's life. So thanks for this.
No fines, no incarceration. No real evidence of illegal activity.
It wasn't the first time Amor was a land speculator. Back in 1858, a few months after he arrived on Vancouver island, he (and others) heard rumours that the little Fraser River hamlet of Derby (near Fort Langley) was to be the site of the new capital city of the mainland colony. Hustled up river and started buying up property. Too bad! New Westminster got the nod instead! Win some, lose some.
Of course, he wasn't the only real estate developer around what was still called Fort Victoria. The biggest one was Alfred Waddington--and he and de Cosmos struck up a mutually beneficial friendship right away. Bonus! De Cosmos owned the first newspaper in the colony--which became a PR outlet for Waddington's Bute Inlet Road Company...again, incursion into "Indian territory." This time paid for in blood.
Read more in my book, The Chilcotin War. The only real "Indian war" in Canadian history.
Cheers.
Rich Mole
Hi, Craig. Nice research, learned some stuff, the c'mon! Do better than to "hint" about the Conservative leader. Keep your bias out of it.
More in a bit
Rich Mole
what a surprise ending! the cycle continues?
seeing the same stuff done by those older-timers helps see it in a new light.
I was really hoping that the Royal Commission might have caught them... It always nice when there are anti-corruption processes that work. And it can happen.
I would kinda like it to be true that we keep inching our way toward justice. In your history reading -- are you finding this to be true? you listed Rustad's financial holdings -- the fact that we have this information is evidence that somewhere along the line, 'we' determined that it was in the public interest to know where your money is and what you own... presumably to reduce conflict of interest?
What do you think -- are we reducing scandals over time? Can we keep on, and reduce scandals to negligible levels? How much cynicism is the right amount in your opinion?
Great questions! I read the report of the Royal Commission and it's funny because they interview de Cosmo and his buds to ask them what they did. The one guy (John Robson) who filed the complaint points out in his testimony that of course de Cosmos is just going to lie. It also drives home how small the circle of political elites in Victoria was, led by Justice Begbie who was a part of the same social scene. It seems like it was a pretty toothless investigation from the start.
The question about if things are improving is a great one. Definitely one I've been thinking about a lot lately, and challenging myself to be less cynical. Or at least to recognise gains where and how they happen.
Ideologically I think I resonate most with David Graeber in "The Dawn of Everything" - progress in non-linear. Things are improving in some areas, getting worse in others. I found it interesting to see how the successful resistance to de Cosmos was in the form of (mini) insurection, rather than Royal Inquiry. But in other ways, it was the British crown (in the form of Douglas) that was a major resistance to the unrestricted capitalism and widespread land theft of gold crazy settlers. Things got notably worse in terms of Indigenous land rights after BC was free from British authority. Which runs counter to my previous understanding of British colonialism.
give it to me in black and white - i just want a simple story. (jk).
I tend to trust writers who complicate things. And i think you're complicating things effectively.
ya, this makes sense and sounds about right... the world is complicated. And there are no simple stories.
:)