New York City is one of the most famous and iconic cities in the world. New York is home to approximately 8.5 million people, making it the most populous city in the United States. Throughout its history, New York has welcomed waves of immigrants from across the world. As such, New York City is a cultural melting pot, making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the USA.
Read on to explore the fascinating history of New York City.
Pre-Columbian New York
The modern city of New York is spread across three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. As such, the region has been an attractive area of human settlement for thousands of years.
Before the arrival of European settlers, the New York area was occupied by the Lenape people. The Lenape belonged to the Algonquian language group and were divided into small localized groups. As well as hunting and fishing, the Lenape grew vegetables and utilized the nearby waterways as a trading network.
By the time Europeans began to settle nearby, the Lenape consisted of approximately 5,000 people spread across a territory made up of around 80 villages.
New Amsterdam and the Arrival of the Dutch
The first Europeans to reach the New York area were part of a French expedition. They were led by Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer who was employed by the French king. The expedition made contact with the Lenape but didn't establish a settlement. However, they named the region 'New Angouleme'.
The area was sporadically visited by explorers and fur traders over the next century. In 1609, the English explorer Henry Hudson sailed through the area, compiling a report on the large beaver population. In 1614, the first European settlers arrived in the form of Dutch fur traders and their families. These early settlers wanted to capitalize on the lucrative trade of beaver pelts and other resources.
In 1624, the Dutch West India Company founded the settlement of New Amsterdam. To acquire more land for the new settlement, the Dutch bought Manhattan Island from the local Lenape tribes. In 1653, New Amsterdam was incorporated as a city and became the capital of New Netherland, the collective name for Dutch territories in the New World.
The British Seize Control and Establish New York
The colonies of the New World became a hotbed of competition between the major European powers. In August 1664, four English frigates sailed to New Amsterdam to force the Dutch to surrender New Netherland. The city surrendered in June 1665.
The English renamed the city as 'New York' in honor of the brother of England's King Charles II; James, Duke of York. Even after the Dutch won the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the English retained control of New York. The city continued to grow as more immigrants arrived from Europe.
However, during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, the Dutch retook New York and renamed it yet again, this time as 'New Orange'. Despite winning the war, the Dutch permanently relinquished New York to English rule in return for the territory of modern-day Suriname in South America.
While under the control of the Dutch, New York experienced a huge influx of African slaves. The trend continued under English rule. By 1740, slaves made up a fifth of New York's population. By 1756, the city's total population exceeded 13,000 people.
New York and the War of Independence
Over the decades, many American colonists began to resent British rule. This culminated in the American War of Independence, which broke out in 1775. New York quickly became one of the epicenters of the conflict as the Continental Army tried to oust the British.
In 1776, the two forces clashed in modern-day Brooklyn at the Battle of Long Island. This was the first major battle after the Americans had declared independence. However, the British defeated the Americans, who lost over 2,000 men.
George Washington, the leader of the American forces, retreated to Manhattan, attempting to hold out at Fort Washington. The British pursued, resulting in the Battle of Fort Washington. Attacked from three sides, the Americans were defeated and Washington was forced to abandon New York City.
For the rest of the conflict, the British directed their war operations from New York. However, when the tide turned, the British were pushed back. In November 1783, the last British troops left Manhattan and the Americans secured their independence.
An Independent New York Thrives
In 1785, New York became the capital of the independent United States and remained so until 1790. By 1790, New York's population had eclipsed 33,000 people, making it the largest city in America.
During the 1800s, New York grew rapidly thanks to waves of immigrants from around the world. The city infrastructure improved, especially under the Commissioner's Plan of 1811. This project expanded the city's grid of streets across the entirety of Manhattan Island.
In 1845, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) was formed. In 1856, a design competition was held to build a large city park. The winners were Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, and their design ultimately became Central Park, which was completed in 1876.
By 1860, New York was home to over 800,000 people. Approximately 25% of the city's population were Germans, while another 25% consisted of Irish immigrants who had fled the Great Irish Famine.
In 1861, the American Civil War broke out. Although New York has strong ties to the Confederate South, it remained on the Union side. As the war progressed, Congress passed the Enrollment Act in 1863 to draft male citizens into the army.
However, many wealthy white men could pay a $300 fee to escape the draft, while Black men were exempt. This angered many of New York's white, working-class Irish Catholic citizens, leading to the outbreak of the Draft Riots.
Although the rioters initially targeted the wealthy, the disturbance quickly devolved into a race riot. Black people were attacked across the city and 11 black men were lynched. The riots lasted for three days, killing 120 people before the military arrived to restore order. To this day, it remains the largest civil urban disturbance in American history.
In the decades following the Civil War, New York experienced another steep rise in immigrants. In 1886, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated and quickly became a symbol for those dreaming of a new life in America.
In the late 1890s, four previously independent cities; the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, agreed to merge with Manhattan to form Greater New York. The city had officially taken its modern form.
New York in the 20th Century
New York experienced immense growth during the 20th Century despite two World Wars. By 1900, New York's population had reached almost 3.5 million. The city's infrastructure improved rapidly to compensate. In 1904, the first part of New York's subway system opened, while the Grand Central Terminal was built in 1913.
Despite the impact of the Great Depression, New York continued to grow throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Many of the city's most famous buildings, including the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building, were built during this period as the Art Deco style flourished.
After World War Two, New York became one of the most important and prosperous cities in the world. The city became the official home of the United Nations with the completion of the organization's main headquarters in Manhattan in 1951. Thanks to the growth of Wall Street, New York also became one of the epicenters of the global financial industry.
However, New York declined in the 1960s and 1970s due to population decline and rising crime rates. Many of the city's boroughs experienced gang warfare and race riots. In 1975, the city almost filed for bankruptcy before being bailed out by a federal loan.
Despite high crime and unemployment rates, New York began to recover in the 1980s and 1990s. The crime rate peaked in the mid-90s before beginning to fall. The city's new growth was fueled by fresh waves of immigrants from Latin America and parts of Asia. New York also benefited from the dot-com boom as numerous technology companies moved into the Flatiron District, which became known as Silicon Alley.
Modern New York: National Tragedy and Recovery
Since 1973, the World Trade Center and its Twin Towers had been one of the jewels in New York's crown. However, on September 11th, 2001, terrorists commandeered two passenger jets and flew them into the World Trade Center.
Over 2,750 of the 2,996 people who died during 9/11 were killed in New York, including over 350 members of the city's emergency services. The attack shocked the city, the nation, and the world. However, New York gradually recovered, opening the 9/11 Memorial in 2011 on the site of the Twin Towers.
Despite the legacy of 9/11, modern-day New York continues to be a thriving metropolis teeming with cultural diversity. Over 55 million tourists visited New York in 2022, proving that the city is still one of the most important urban centers in the world.
Famous Landmarks:
- Central Park – Completed in 1876
- Metropolitan Museum of Art – Built in 1880
- Brooklyn Bridge – Opened in 1883
- Statue of Liberty – Dedicated in 1886
- Flatiron Building – Completed in 1902
- St. Patrick's Cathedral – Consecrated in 1910
- Grand Central Terminal – Opened in 1913
- Chrysler Building – Completed in 1930
- Empire State Building – Completed in 1931
- Rockefeller Center – Finished in 1939
- 9/11 Memorial – Opened in 2011