17th Century New York: The first homegrown New Yorkers were the Lenape, an Algonquin people who captured, fished, and farmed in the zone between the Delaware and Hudson rivers. Europeans started to search the region at the starting of the 16th century–among the first was Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian who moved up and down the Atlantic bank in search of a route to Asia–but none lived there until 1624. That year, the Dutch West India Company moved some 30 families to live and work in a tiny deal on “Nutten Island” (today’s Governors Island) that they announced New Amsterdam.
In 1626, the settlement’s governor-general, Peter Minuit, acquired the much wider Manhattan Island from the inhabitants for 60 guilders in exchange goods such as tools, farming apparatus, cloth, and wampum (shell beads). Fewer than 300 people resided in New Amsterdam when the agreement brought to Manhattan. But it grew rapidly, and in 1760 the city (now called New York City; population 18,000) exceeded Boston to become the second-largest city in the American territories.
Fifty years later, with a population of 202,589, it became the widest city in the Western Area. At present, more than 8 million people live in the city’s five boroughs.
Timeline In 17th Century
- 1524: Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first European to see New York Harbor reaches and names it Nouvelle-Angoulême.
- 1613: Juan (Jan) Rodriguez became the first detail non-Native American to locate on Manhattan Island. He is holding the first immigrant, the first person of African ancestry, the first person of European ancestry, the first merchant, the first Latino, and the first Dominican to land in Manhattan.
- 1614: Dutch settle on Manhattan Island.
- 1623: Dutch fort formed.
- 1625: New Amsterdam is planted by the Dutch West India Company.
- 1626: Lenape handles Manhattan Island to Dutch.
- 1626: Chattel slavery received to North America with the unloading of 11 Africans.
- 1643: Kieft’s Warfare between Lenape or Wappinger and Dutch colonists. Events partly took place within what would come to the five boroughs.
- 1648: First fire caretakers (Martin Krieger, Thomas Hall, Adrian Wyser, and George Woolsey) named by Peter Stuyvesant
- 1650: Population: roughly 1,000
- 1652: the City of New Amsterdam consolidated.
- 1653: “Burgher government” settled.
- 1654: Sephardi Jews visit from the Iberian peninsula from Congregation Shearith Israel, the ancientest Jewish gathering in the U.S.
- 1656: Streets laid out.
- 1657: Flushing Protest signed a set foundation of religious opportunity in America.
- 1659: Labor hit by bakers.
- 1664: September 24:New Amsterdam is handed over by Peter Stuyvesant to England who renamed it New York after James, Duke of York.
- 1665: June 12: Thomas Willett was elected as the city’s first mayor. Wallabout Bay in Brooklyn spot of a first registered murder trial – Albert Wantanaer blamed for killing Barent Jansen Blom.
- 1666: Thomas Delavall was elected as the city’s second mayor.
- 1667: Town becomes part of England per Treaty of Breda (1667). Thomas Willett became mayor for the second time and only the third global mayor of the city.
- 1668: First yellow fever infectious in the city. Cornelius Van Steenwyk was elected as the fourth mayor of the city.
- 1672: Boston Post Road constructed.
- 1673: The Dutch take back New York, renaming it “New Orange”.
- 1674: The Dutch cede New York forever to England after the Third Anglo-Dutch War, per Treaty of Westminster (1674).
- 1678: Thomas Delavall was reappointed as mayor for the third and last time, and 11th overall.
- 1691: Fishmarket settled.
- 1696: King’s Arms coffee house in business.
- 1698: First Trinity Church organized Population: 4,937.
17th Century New York
New York History In the 17th Century
- An Italian, Giovanni da Verrazano discovered New York Harbor in 1524. In 1609 an Englishman, Henry Hudson, crossed up the Hudson River.
- Then in 1624 the Dutch established the first stable trade post. In 1626 the first governor, Peter Minuit, acquired the island of Manhattan from the homegrown Americans. The Dutch made a little town on the southern edge of Manhattan Island. It was named New Amsterdam and it developed by trading skins. The colonists sold otter, beaver, mink, and seal skins.
- However, New Amsterdam was a small town with only about 1,500 citizens in the mid-17th century. However some farmers planted the land in Manhattan and at Brooklyn. (The Bowery takes its nickname from Bouwerie the Dutch word for farm).
- Moreover, by no means all the early immigrants were Dutch. They involved Walloons (from what is now Belgium), French societies, and English societies. The first Jews landed in New Amsterdam in 1654.
- Meanwhile the first black workers arrived in 1628. Slaves contended a major role in setting up the colony. In New, Amsterdam houses were, at first, made of wood but in time houses of stone or brick were constructed. Thatched roofs were illegal in 1657 (because of the danger of fire).
- In 1653 a wall was formed across Manhattan Island to shield the little town of New Amsterdam. The street next to it was called Wall Street.
- In 1639 a Swede announced Jonas Bronck settled in the Bronx, which is designated after him. A settlement was established at Flushing in 1645. In 1658 Dutch farmers formed a village called Nieuw Haarlem (New Harlem) after a city in Holland. In the 18th century it shifted a popular place for vendors to build country houses in.
- The first agreement on Staten Island was made in 1661. Meanwhile in 1647 Peter Stuyvesant (c. 1592-1672) became governor of New Amsterdam. Stuyvesant was the son of a Calvinist minister. He had a woody leg. In 1647 Stuyvesant rewrote ‘I shall govern you as a father his children’. (Remind that fathers were much rigid in the 17th century than they are today). He was as great as his word.
- Stuyvesant controlled very high-handedly and he soon disaffected the people. Stuyvesant charged all taverns to close at 9 pm. Nevertheless in 1653 Stuyvesant settled a municipal government for New Amsterdam depended on those of Dutch cities.
- However in 1664 an English armada showed up. Worrying the English would dismiss the colony Stuyvesant handed over.
- The Dutch briefly retook New Amsterdam in 1673 but they dropped it to the English again in 1674. This time it was renamed New York in the dignity of the Duke of York, brother of King Charles II. Meanwhile Stuyvesant departed to a farm.
- In 1689 a man nicknamed Jacob Leisler (1640-1691) played a coup-d‘etat in New York. For his cramps he was assassinated in 1691. Trinity Church was apportioned in 1698.
- Meanwhile in 1635 the Dutch set up a fort called Fort Amsterdam. The British afterward renamed it, Fort George. In 1693 92 cannons were equipped to protect New York. The area inclined known as the Battery. By 1700 New York had a population of approximately 5,000. It was a boomy town.
Maps In 17th Century
FAQ’s About 17th Century New York
What Was New York Called In The 1700S?
In 1664, England Renamed The Colony New York, After The Duke Of York (Later James II & VII.) New York City Gained Prominence In The 18Th Century As A Major Trading Port In The Thirteen Colonies.
What Was New York Originally Called?
The Dutch Originally Called The Region New Netherland. New Amsterdam, Which Was Established On Manhattan Island, Later Became New York City. The State Is Named For The Duke Of York And Albany, Who Later Became King James Ii.
What Was Life Like In The Colony New York?
Daily Life. Many Colonists Grew Their Own Food, Like Wheat, Corn, Peas, Pumpkins, And Potatoes. Houses Were Usually Very Small And Made Of Wood. Rich Families Generally Had Larger Brick Dwellings.
What Was Colonial New York Known For?
Natural Resources In The New York Colony Included Agricultural Land, Coal, Furs, Forestry (Timber), And Iron Ore. The New York Colony Was Also Referred To As A Breadbasket Colony Because One Of Its Major Crops Was Wheat. The Wheat Was Ground Into Flour And Exported To England.
What Is New York Famous For Historically?
Arguably New York’s Most Identifiable Symbol, Liberty Enlightening The World (The Statue Of Liberty), A Gift From France For The American Centennial, Was Completed In 1886. In The 1850S, Democratic Tammany Hall Became One Of The Most Powerful And Durable Political Machines In United States History.