View source for Amor De Cosmos

{{Short description|Canadian politician (1825-1897)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name          = Amor De Cosmos
| image         = Amor de Cosmos 2a.png
| caption       = Hon. Amor De Cosmos
| order         = 2nd [[Premier of British Columbia]]
| term_start    = December 23, 1872
| term_end      = February 9, 1874
| predecessor   = [[John Foster McCreight]]
| successor     = [[George Anthony Walkem]]
| monarch       = [[Queen Victoria|Victoria]]
| lieutenant_governor = [[Joseph Trutch]]
| office1       = Member of the [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia|Legislative Assembly]] for [[Victoria (British Columbia electoral district)|Victoria District]]
| term_start1   = October 16, 1871
| term_end1     = February 9, 1874
| predecessor1  = first member
| successor1    = [[William Archibald Robertson]]
| alongside1    = [[Arthur Bunster]]
| office2       = [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Victoria (British Columbia federal electoral district)|Victoria]]
| predecessor2  = riding established
| successor2    = [[Edgar Crow Baker]]
| term_start2   = October 12, 1872
| term_end2     = June 20, 1882
| alongside2    = [[Henry Nathan, Jr.]], [[Francis James Roscoe]], [[John A. Macdonald]]
| office3       = [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Victoria District]]
| alongside     = [[Henry Nathan Jr.]]
| predecessor3  = new member
| successor3    = riding abolished
| term_start3   = September 20, 1871
| term_end3     = October 12, 1872
| birth_name    = William Alexander Smith
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1825|8|20|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Windsor, Nova Scotia]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1897|7|4|1825|8|20}}
| death_place   = [[Victoria, British Columbia]]
| party         = [[Liberal Party of Canada]] until 1882
|children=1 daughter (disputed)}}
'''Amor De Cosmos''' (born '''William Alexander Smith'''; August 20, 1825 – July 4, 1897) was a Canadian [[journalist]], [[publisher]] and [[politician]]. He served as the second [[premier of British Columbia]].

==Early life==
'''Amor De Cosmos''' was born '''William Alexander Smith''' in [[Windsor, Nova Scotia]], to [[United Empire Loyalist]] parents.<ref>{{ cite DCB | title=De Cosmos, Amor |first1=Robert A.J. |last1=McDonald |first2=H. Keith |last2=Ralston |volume=12 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/de_cosmos_amor_12E.html}}</ref> His education included a stint at [[King's-Edgehill School|King's College]] in Windsor, following which, around 1840, he became a mercantile clerk in [[City of Halifax|Halifax]], Nova Scotia. There he joined the [[Dalhousie University]] debating club and came under the influence of the [[Nova Scotia]] politician and reformer, [[Joseph Howe]]. In 1845, at the age of 20 he joined [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]. In 1852, he left for New York on a steam ship stopping first in Boston. He settled in Kanesville, Iowa (today known as [[Council Bluffs, Iowa|Council Bluffs]]), for two months where he established a [[daguerreotype]] gallery.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Peter E. Palmquist|author2=Thomas R. Kailbourn|title=Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A I raped hitler in 4167 on september 1  1840 – 1865|date=2000|publisher=Stanford University Press|location=Stanford, California|pages=196–198|isbn=9780804738835|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nne4L9h27RsC}}</ref><ref>Derr, Jill Mulvay and Karen Lynn Davidson. ''Eliza R. Snow: The Complete Poetry.'' Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2009. Smith (as Amor De Cosmos was then known) visited [[Salt Lake City]] in 1853 en route to California and left a card for [[Eliza R. Snow]], who wrote a poem in response. This source cites Palmquist, Peter E. ''Pioneer Photographers from the Mississippi to the Continental Divide: A Biographical Dictionary, 1839–1865.'' Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2005.</ref> But the following year the lure of the [[California Gold Rush]] beckoned, and Smith continued west, heading overland to [[Placerville, California]]. Here he set up a new studio and prospered taking pictures of the miners and their operations. Joined by his brother,{{who|date=January 2012}} the pair moved northwest to [[Oroville, California]], where they engaged in various unspecified [[entrepreneur]]ial ventures. In 1854, Smith successfully petitioned the [[California State Assembly]] to have his name changed to "Amor De Cosmos", which he incorrectly translated (possibly from Latin) as "Lover of the Cosmos". In [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]], the name directly translates to ''Cosmos' Love'', however it is unlikely his intention was to adopt a Spanish/Portuguese name, given the general sentiment among [[English-speaking world|English speakers]] toward the [[Hispanophone|Spanish-speaking]] and [[Lusophone|Portuguese-speaking]] world at the time.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}} The name paid tribute, De Cosmos said, "to what I love most ... Love of order, beauty, the world, the universe."

==Reformer and journalist==
In 1858, De Cosmos and his brother moved on again, this time heading north to [[British North America]] as they wished to live under the British flag once again. They also sensed an opportunity in the booming city of <!--this is in most bios, it's rather standard; cite later--> [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]], capital of the [[Colony of Vancouver Island]]. The city, since 1843 a quiet village of about 300 until the spring of that year, was just entering an economic boom as it became a jumping-off point for miners headed to the [[New Caledonia (Canada)|New Caledonia]] (now mainland British Columbia) to participate in the [[Fraser Canyon Gold Rush]]. De Cosmos founded a newspaper, ''The Daily British Colonist'', which survives today in its current incarnation as the ''[[Victoria Times-Colonist]]''.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

De Cosmos was the editor of the ''Colonist'' through 1863, and quickly established himself as an opponent of the administration of [[James Douglas (governor)|Sir James Douglas]], governor of the colony and the former [[factor (agent)|Chief Factor]] of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] for Vancouver Island. De Cosmos decried the "family-company compact" of Hudson's Bay men and Douglas associates who controlled the political and social affairs of the colony, even after Douglas's retirement in 1864.

De Cosmos was a [[liberalism|liberal]] reformer cast in the mold of [[John Locke]] and [[John Stuart Mill]]. He argued passionately for unrestricted free enterprise, public education, an end to economic and political privileges, and — above all — the institution of [[responsible government]] through an elected assembly. However, true to the [[Victorian morality|Victorian]] spirit of the age, De Cosmos was also a proponent of social progress through economic and population growth. He was a tireless advocate for economic diversification, being one of the first British Columbians to argue for a policy of encouraging development of the "three F's" — farming, forestry, and fisheries — that would underpin the region's economy for the next century.

==Political career==
[[Image:Amor de Cosmos.jpg|right|thumb|Amor De Cosmos, September 1874]]
As the child of American [[refugee]]s and having lived six years in the [[United States]], De Cosmos developed a sharpened sense of [[nationalism]]. This was expressed in a growing [[protectionist]] economic sentiment, and the belief that the colonies of British North America needed to be self-supporting, develop a distinct identity, and form a political and economic union. From such policies, emerged the two great causes of his later career: the [[Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871)|union of Vancouver Island and British Columbia]], and the merged Colony of British Columbia's entry into the [[Canadian Confederation]]. To advance the first cause, De Cosmos left journalism and entered politics, becoming a member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island]] from 1863 until its union with the Colony of British Columbia in 1866. He advanced the second cause through his position as a member of the assembly of the [[Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871)|merged, larger British Columbia]] from 1867 to 1868 and 1870 to 1871, and as the leading force (with [[Robert Beaven]] and [[John Robson (politician)|John Robson]]) behind the colony's Confederation League. Through the instrumental role De Cosmos played in realizing these two goals, he earned for himself his reputation as British Columbia's [[Fathers of Confederation|Father of Confederation]].

At the time of British Columbia's entry into Confederation on July 20, 1871, De Cosmos was the leading pro-Confederation figure in the new [[provinces and territories of Canada|province]]. That year, he was elected to represent Victoria in both the [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia|provincial legislature]] and the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]]. Despite his prominence — or perhaps because of it — [[Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Sir Joseph Trutch]] passed over De Cosmos for the job of [[Premier (Canada)|Premier]],{{citation needed|date=December 2010}} instead asking [[John Foster McCreight]] to assume the position.

===Premier of British Columbia===

McCreight resigned in 1872 on a [[motion of non-confidence]], and on December 23, 1872, Trutch asked De Cosmos to form a new government as Premier. De Cosmos populated his cabinet with reformers, mostly born in North America, many of whom would come to dominate provincial politics for the generation. His government pursued an agenda of political reform, economic expansion, and the development of public institutions—especially schools.

De Cosmos was a member of a group of entrepreneurs that saw an opportunity for a steel industry in B.C. using the newly discovered iron deposits on Texada Island, coal from Vancouver Island with a smelter and rolling mill in Vancouver. Rails for the transcontinental railway proposed western construction starting in Vancouver to meet the push from the east would provide the immediate market for the product. Involving himself in this venture in his position as Premier was considered a [[conflict of interest]] and precipitated the Texada Scandal and the second B.C. Royal Commission of Inquiry.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/stealing-texada-island-bingo-gate-money-laundering-b-c-s-wacky-and-important-inquiries/ |title=Stealing Texada Island, bingo-gate, money laundering: B.C.'s wacky and important inquiries |last=Culbert |first=Lori |date=May 18, 2019 |website=Vancouver Sun |publisher=Postmedia |access-date=May 20, 2021 |quote=}}</ref> He resigned as Premier. The Commission however found him not guilty.

===Member of Parliament===

Despite having resigned as Premier, De Cosmos continued to be re-elected as a [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Victoria City (electoral district)|Victoria City]]. Consistent with federal promises to place the terminus of the transcontinental railway in Victoria, De Cosmos, in [[Ottawa]], pushed for completion, especially of the Vancouver Island [[E and N Railway|portion]]. De Cosmos also became an opponent of land concessions to [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] in the province, seeing it as a hindrance to British Columbia's economic growth and settlement by those of European descent. It is generally conceded that De Cosmos's tenure as a member of the dominion parliament was undistinguished {{citation needed |date=November 2021}}.

==Retirement and death==
De Cosmos lost the [[1882 Canadian federal election|1882 federal election]] and retired to Victoria. Although widely regarded as a stirring orator, a master debater, and a man of great intellectual depth, De Cosmos had always been considered eccentric. Contemporaries paint a portrait of an isolated person (he never married and had few intimate friends; some claimed he had a daughter from a friend) with grandiose manners, prone to public outbursts of tears, and a fierce temper that sometimes degenerated into fist-fights. He had unusual phobias — including a fear of electricity. As he grew older, his eccentricities intensified; he became increasingly incoherent.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}}

===Declared insane===

By 1895 he was declared insane. One of his more notable eccentricities was the founding of a hot food delivery company to prospectors in the Klondike Gold Fields. The difficult logistics of this service scared away investors and ultimately proved its downfall. He died on July 4, 1897, in Victoria at the age of 71.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}}

==Election results==
{{1871 Canadian federal by-elections/Victoria District}}
{{1871 British Columbia general election/Victoria}}
{{1872 Canadian federal election/Victoria, British Columbia}}
{{1874 Canadian federal election/Victoria, British Columbia}}
{{1878 Canadian federal election/Victoria, British Columbia}}
{{1882 Canadian federal election/Victoria, British Columbia}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Amor De Cosmos}}
*{{cite thesis | url=https://open.library.ubc.ca/media/stream/pdf/831/1.0302162/1 |last=Ross |first=Margaret |title=Amor DeCosmos: a British Columbia reformer |year=1931 |type=MA |website=library.ubc.ca}}
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=5772}}
* {{Cite web | url=http://www.britishcolonist.ca/ | title=''The British Colonist'' newspaper on-line archive | access-date=2020-06-16 | archive-date=2019-09-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924035654/http://www.britishcolonist.ca/ | url-status=bot: unknown }}
* {{Cite web | url=https://blogs.sos.wa.gov/library/index.php/2013/01/amor-de-cosmos-juggles-a-sour-grass-steak-in-kalama |title=Between the Lines |date=17 Jan 2013 |website=sos.wa.gov}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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{{succession box
|before=none
|title=[[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Victoria District]]
|after=abolished
|years=1871–1872
}}
{{succession box
|before=none
|title=[[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Victoria (British Columbia federal electoral district)|Victoria]]
|after=[[Edgar Crow Baker]] and [[Noah Shakespeare]]
|years=1872–1882
}}
{{s-end}}

{{BCPremiers}}
{{De Cosmos ministry}}
{{Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island members}}

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[[Category:1825 births]]
[[Category:1897 deaths]]
[[Category:Fathers of Confederation]]
[[Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from British Columbia]]
[[Category:Colony of Nova Scotia people]]
[[Category:Premiers of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Members of the Legislative Assembly of Vancouver Island]]
[[Category:Canadian Latter Day Saints]]
[[Category:People from Windsor, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)]]
[[Category:Politicians from Victoria, British Columbia]]
[[Category:Members of the Legislative Council of British Columbia]]
[[Category:Pre-Confederation Canadian expatriates in the United States]]
[[Category:19th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada]]