New Netherlands

The first people to live in the colony known as New York were the Iroqouis and Algonquian Indians. The first Europeans to settle in the area were the Dutch people from the country called Netherlands. A Dutch explorer named Henry Hudson discovered this area he called New Netherlands while he was working for a Dutch trading company.  He was actually looking for a river that would take him to Asia, but instead found New York.

The First Settlement

In 1624, the Dutch West India company sent eighteen families to New Netherland.  The colony’s first governor was Peter Minuit.  He bought Manhattan Island from the Indians and renamed it New Amsterdam. The colonists built houses, farms, churches and shops in New Amsterdam. They welcomed many people from other countries to this area.  Soon, there were colonists from all over Europe living in New Netherland.

New Amsterdam

The Dutch people sent Peter Stuyvesant to New Netherland to become the governor. He made streets in New Amsterdam cleaner and safer by making colonists lead their horses through the streets, instead of having them run free.  Stuyvesant also formed the first kind of police department, and had the city’s first post office and hospital built.     

Fighting Over Land

The city New Amsterdam was doing well, and nine thousand people were living there.  Swedish settlers started a colony near New Amsterdam on Dutch land.  Stuyvesant raised an army and took over the Swedish colony.  He also led wars against several Algonquian Indian tribes.  The wars over land hurt both the Dutch and Algonquian tribes.

 The English Take Over

In 1664, King Charles II of England sent his brother James, who was the Duke of York, to take New Netherland from Stuyvesant and the Dutch.  New Netherland was soon renamed New York after James. James said that New York could no longer be its own colony.  Instead, it would be a part of a larger colony, the Dominion of New England. 

 Rich and Poor

In 1691, New York became a royal colony and was ruled by the King and Queen of England.  Many colonists did not want to live in New York.  When Dutch first settled there, they allowed wealthy men to take over large areas of land.  These wealthy men charged rent to tenant farmers who worked the land.  The tenant farmers felt that the rents were too high.

At War With the French

In 1689, the French and their Indian allies started a war when they attacked an English town.  War began in New York in 1702, and again in 1744.  Colonists were afraid to come to New York.  In 1763, the French and Indian War ended and the French had to give up their land in North America.

The Stamp Act Congress

The wars with French cost England a lot of money.  England began to tax the colonists for sugar and paper, so that they could pay off their debt.  This tax was called the Stamp Act, and the colonists thought this was unfair.  In October 1765, men from nine colonies met in New York City for a meeting called the Stamp Act Congress.  The colonists decided not to buy any goods from England.  The King was afraid he would lose money, so he canceled the Stamp Act. 

At War With England

The King continued to tax colonists for many goods and sent soldiers to the colonies.  In April 1775, a war broke out between the British soldiers and the American militia.  The Revolutionary War had begun.  In New York City, the colonists chased the English governor out of town.  They tore down the statue of King George III and then melted it to make bullets.  After eight years of fighting, the colonists won the war and became part of the United States of America.

The Empire State

On July 26, 1788, New York voted to accept the Constitution. New York City became the nation’s first capital.  George Washington called New York the “Empire State.”  He named it this because he felt it would be the center of the American empire.  Millions of people live in New York today.