New York City began as a Dutch trading settlement, when the Dutch West India Company sent colonists to the mouth of the Hudson River in the 1620s. The southern tip of Manhattan became the town of New Amsterdam, capital of the colony of New Netherland, and the Dutch director Peter Minuit is traditionally said to have bought the island from local Lenape people in 1626. England seized the colony in 1664, and the Duke of York, for whom it was renamed, was granted it. After the American Revolution it became a leading port and was briefly the national capital. In 1898 the five boroughs were joined into the modern city, which grew into the largest in the United States.
Before and after
- 1623Publication of The Tempest
- 19 June 1623Birth of Blaise Pascal
- from 1624 to 1975Dutch Empire
- 1624Founding of Chelsea
- 1624Founding of New York City
- from 28 August 1624 to 5 June 1625Siege of Breda
- 1625Founding of Quincy
- 8 June 1625Birth of Giovanni Domenico Cassini
- from 1 November 1625 to 15 November 1630Anglo-Spanish War of 1625–1630
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- c. 1500Modern period
- from 15th century to 18th centuryEarly modern period
- from 1525 to 1947Prussia
- from 1526 to 1857Mughal Empire
- from 1616 to 1912Qing dynasty
- from 22 October 1721 to 1 September 1917Russian Empire
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.