Historical Facts about New York

The state of New York was initially inhabited by the Native Indians. The first European explorer to discover New York in 1524 was the Italian explorer, Giovanni da Verrazzano, who named the place New Angouleme in honor of a French king. A year later, Henry Hudson who worked for the Dutch claimed the area and called it New Amsterdam. Only then did the English come into the picture.

In 1663 the Duke of York bought Long Island and other Islands along the coast of New England. The following year he used armed forces to take possession of the Dutch land. Thereafter, the Duke named the area after him - Province of New York. The Dutch came back and recaptured New York in 1673, however it was quickly restored to the English by the treaty of Westminister in 1674.

New York declared itself an independent state in 1776, however it accepted the United States Constitution in 1788, a few years after the Revolutionary War. In many ways, New York was the main battleground for the Revolutionary War, since about one-third of the engagements and skirmishes were fought on New York land.