William McCoskry was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

merchant who served as Consul at Lagos, then as acting Governor of

Lagos Colony Lagos Colony was a British colonial possession centred on the port of Lagos in what is now southern Nigeria. Lagos was annexed on 6 August 1861 under the threat of force by Commander Beddingfield of HMS Prometheus who was accompanied by the Ac ...

Lagos trader

McCoskry reached Lagos in early 1852, soon after the Oba Kosoko was expelled. He had already represented the British firm of W.B. Hutton in West Africa for seven years. McCoskry, a Scotsman, was known as "A l'agbon pipon" (man with the red beard) by the

Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitut ...

. Apongbon in the west of

Lagos Island Lagos Island (''Ìsàlẹ̀ Èkó'') is the principal and central local government area (LGA) in Lagos, it was the capital of Lagos State until 1957. It is part of the Lagos Division. As of the preliminary 2006 Nigerian census, the LGA had a p ...

derives its name from this phrase. McCoskry got on bad terms with Benjamin Campbell, who arrived on 21 July 1853 to take up the position of Consul. He even attempted to ship palm oil without paying duties. Campbell later recommended McCoskry as vice-consul for

Badagry Badagry (traditionally Gbagli) also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that con ...

. He held this position briefly between 1855 and 1856. In March 1856, McCoskry was acting for Consul Campbell, who was away from the colony on a visit to the

Benin River The Benin River is a river that flows through the south west of Nigeria. The river starts under the name " Ethiope" in the south east of the state Edo. Subsequently, it runs through various cities and villages, such as Umutu, Owah Abbi, Obiar ...

, when a plot was discovered to overturn the

Oba of Lagos The Oba of Lagos, also known as the Eleko of Eko, is the traditional ruler ( Oba) of Lagos. The Oba is a ceremonial Yoruba sovereign with no political power, but is sought as a counsel or sponsor by politicians who seek support from the resident ...

Dosunmu Dosunmu (c. 1823 – 1885), referred to in British documents as Docemo, reigned as Oba of Lagos from 1853, when he succeeded his father Oba Akitoye, until his own death in 1885. He was forced to run away to Britain under the threat of force in A ...

. When three cruisers appeared off the bar the plot fizzled out.

Acting consul

A new consul, Henry Grant Foote, arrived at Lagos on 21 December 1860. He appointed McCoskry unpaid vice-consul. In May 1861, while on an expedition into the interior, Foote died of fever and McCoskry took over as Acting Consul. In July 1861, McCoskry signed treaties with Porto Novo and Badagry to facilitate trade with Lagos. At the end of July 1861 Her Majesty's ship ''Prometheus'' arrived in the lagoon. A few days later, on 3 August the commander, N.B. Bedingfeld paid a visit to the

accompanied by McCoskry and a detachment of armed marines, and demanded that Dosunmu sign a treaty to surrender Lagos. The king initially refused. However, on 6 August 1861, Bedingfeld and McCoskry entered into a treaty ( The Lagos Treaty of Cession) on behalf of the Queen of Great Britain with "Docemo" (

), King of Lagos. Dosunmu transferred sovereignty of the island and territories of Lagos to the British in return for an annual pension.

Acting governor

McCoskry was appointed acting Governor soon after annexation. The slave trade had been outlawed, but slavery continued. McCoskry hinted that after annexation of

unrest among the slaves increased substantially. He remarked that problems related to domestic slavery were giving him "more trouble than all the rest of the business together". He noted that there were many runaway slaves looking for protection in Lagos Colony, which they saw as a refuge. McCloskey recognized the rights of slave owners to retain their property or to receive compensation for liberation. He set up a court to hear cases of abuse against slaves and of runaway slaves from the interior, and established a "Liberated African Yard" to give employment to freed runaways until they were able to look after themselves. He did not consider that abolition of slavery in the colony would be practical. In 1865 McCloskry testified before a parliamentary committee on the conditions at Lagos. He said that rather more than 500 fugitive slaves had arrived in the colony since 1861. McCloskry, and other merchants in the colony, were opposed to the activities of missionaries which they felt interfered with trade. In 1855 he had been among signatories of a petition to prevent two missionaries who had gone on leave from returning to Lagos. McCloskry communicated his view to the explorer

Richard Francis Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...

, who visited Lagos and

Abeokuta Abeokuta is the capital city of Ogun State in southwest Nigeria. It is situated on the east bank of the Ogun River, near a group of rocky outcrops in a wooded savanna; north of Lagos by railway, or by water. , Abeokuta and the surrounding a ...

in 1861 while acting as consul at Fernando Poo.

Later career

After serving as acting governor, McCloskry again became a private merchant at Lagos. He was appointed one of three Land Commissioners, making recommendations to the governor on grants of land, in many cases giving formal title to the existing occupants.

References

Sources * * * * * * * {{refend Governors of the Lagos Colony History of Lagos