The American colonies were not like those in other parts of the world. Royal governors came to plunder but found that American planters and merchants could not easily be bossed around. Sir Danvers Osborn, a Briton who was made governor of New York in 1753, was so upset when the New York assembly refused to support him in the style he felt his rank deserved that he asked: “Then what am I come here for?” At which point he hanged himself.
Sources
The Economist, Jan 10th 2008
