New York - Historical Background

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New York, a city of staggering contrasts, diversity and culture, ranks among history's great trade and cultural centers. From Wall Street to the United Nations, the world's most powerful and influential men and women prize success in New York above all other places. Its population hails from every country on the globe, bringing a variety of culture and viewpoints. However, above all else, New York has always been about money and ambition.

1524 to 1664

Europe's first contact with this area occurred in 1524, when Italian explorer Giovanni de Verrazano viewed New York from the base of Manhattan. The following year, a black Portuguese explorer named Esteban Gomez reached the Hudson River. Despite these early encounters, the Dutch settled New York first, after explorer Henry Hudson lent his name to the world's largest tidal river. In 1625, six farms called "bouweries" were started in Manhattan.

The next year, Governor Peter Minuet purchased Manhattan from the native American Indians for USD24 worth of trinkets. By 1640, the predominately Dutch New Amsterdam (as it was then called) was teeming with the diversity of the New World, as the tolerant Dutch welcomed all.

Rapid expansion soon pitted early Dutch Manhattanites against English Puritans who had moved to the colony. Less than tolerant, the Puritans had banned bowling and even the celebration of Christmas. While initially seen as outsiders, the prosperous and hardworking Puritans soon had the political upper hand. After an invasion by British troops in 1664, an Anglo-Dutch treaty handed the city over to the English.

British Rule

Under British rule, the renamed New York City saw its population grow from 6,000 to 20,000 by the end of the 17th century. Events in Europe also brought turmoil to the city. Wars between England and France gave birth to privateering, or legalized piracy, that allowed the likes of Wall Street resident William Kidd to go capture enemy ships off the coast of New York. During this time, New York City tolerated (and in some circles encouraged) the slave trade, and a large and prosperous slave market was located on Wall Street.

As the 18th century wore on, England's passage of restrictive acts of trade and imposition of tariffs on the American colonies brought about protest and ultimately revolution. New York City was strategically vital during the American Revolutionary War. Early on, from Brooklyn to Harlem, General George Washington's army suffered a series of defeats and barely escaped capture. The British took the city and stationed itself there. At the end of the war, Washington was sworn in as the first president on the steps of New York's Federal Hall.

From Capital to Trade Center

New York's stint as the United States capital was short lived. Political wrangling dictated the newly created District of Columbia would be the new nation's capital. However, the 1792 founding of the New York Stock Exchange launched the city as a financial center.

The explosive expansion and revolutionary invention of the 19th century forever transformed New York City. The Erie Canal, in its day the world's greatest engineering feat, had New York's ports at its terminus and strengthened the city's position as a national trade center. Later, the city commissioned Central Park, designed and planned to save breathing space as the population boom moved uptown.

Inventions and Immigration

The American Civil War brought much sorrow and misery to New York, but also great prosperity as war profits soared. Yet, New York's status as a Union stronghold became threatened with the passage of the nation's first conscription act. Poor immigrants, angered that the wealthy could buy their way out of the draft, rioted violently.

As the century passed, New York displayed more technological marvels. A workforce thousands strong constructed the Brooklyn Bridge, then the tallest and longest in the world. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, and soon electric streetlights illuminated lower Manhattan. The Statue of Liberty, a gift from France, was erected near the Battery. The present St. Patrick's Cathedral was also built. At the end of the 19th century, a string of palatial mansions rose along New York's Fifth Avenue.

At the same time, economic conditions in Europe brought massive immigration to New York City, primarily consisting of Irish, Germans, Italians and Eastern Europeans. Immigrants worked long hours under harsh conditions and lived in unhealthy tenements. Reformers, galvanized by the success of the abolitionist movement as well as the gaining momentum of the suffragist and temperance movements, actively joined the fight to assist the immigrant poor.

From the Jazz Age to the UN

By the 1920s, all of Manhattan was populated. Harlem, which had started as a Dutch farm, now attracted New York blacks as well as those migrating from the South. Jazz and blues and Prohibition-era speakeasies made the neighborhood an entertainment mecca for all races. Black musicians, artists and writers together formed a movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. On Broadway, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein and George and Ira Gershwin led the popular music industry. The hedonistic decade ended, however, with a crash on Wall Street, leading to the Great Depression.

A backlash against corrupt politics ushered Fiorella LaGuardia into the mayor's office, and the city began to work its way out of the Depression. Robert Moses built parks, and the Rockefellers erected Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center.

New York emerged from the Depression and World War II with a new fervor for industry and building. The United Nations complex started the post-war boom and was completed in the 1950s.

Modern Era

In 1972, a major change to the lower Manhattan skyline took place with the completion of the World Trade Center, the 110-story structures commonly known as the "twin towers." Tragically, on Sept. 11, 2001 - after almost 30 years of enduring as a symbol of New York City - both buildings were destroyed by terrorists.

But at the dawn of the new millennium, New Yorkers know they will survive this tragedy and come together to build a better city. Fifth Avenue is still a bastion of the wealthy, and numerous other neighborhoods are home to yet another wave of immigration from Latin America, the Far East and Eastern Europe. New York still attracts hordes of ambitious people - historian Peter Quinn, commenting on New York's nature, said the city that started with Peter Minuet's $24 purchase is still the same, and if possible, even more so: "Donald Trump would have tried to pay $22."

To learn more about the city, here are just some of the places you may wish to look:

Abigail Adams Smith Museum

Ellis Island Immigration Museum

National Museum of the American Indian

New York Historical Society







Copyright 1999-2009 Wcities, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Wcities

St. Patrick's Cathedral


Epicenter of New York Catholicism
 460 Madison Avenue
Between 50th and 51st streets
New York, NY 10022
+1 212 572 3060 / +1 212 753 2261
http://archny.org/about-us/st-patricks-cathedral/
St. Patrick's Cathedral
Harlem
New York
Harlem
Brooklyn
New York
Brooklyn
Wall Street


Money capital of the world
 from Trinity Place to South Street
New York, NY 10005
+1 212 427 7200
http://nyc.chamber.com/NY-B-ORG.html
Wall Street
New York Historical Society


New York's attic
 170 Central Park West
New York, NY 10024
+1 212 873 3400
http://www.nyhistory.org
New York Historical Society
New York Stock Exchange


Heart of Wall Street
 11 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
+1 212 656 3000
http://www.nyse.com/
New York Stock Exchange
Statue of Liberty


Symbol of Liberty
 Liberty Island
(New York Harbor)
New York, NY 10004
+1 212 363 3200 / +1 212 269 5755 (Ferry)
http://www.nps.gov/stli/
Statue of Liberty
Ellis Island Immigration Museum


Point of arrival
 Ellis Island
(in Hudson River)
New York, NY 10004
+1 212 883 1986
http://www.nps.gov/stli/serv02.htm
Ellis Island Immigration Museum
Central Park


A park like no other
 14 East 60th Street
Between Fifth Avenue and Central Park West
New York, NY 10022
+1 212 310 6600
http://www.centralparknyc.org
Central Park
United Nations HQ


Fly the flags
 First Avenue
(at 46th Street)
New York, NY 10001
+1 212 963 8687 (963 TOUR)
http://www.un.org
United Nations HQ
Rockefeller Center


Sup, skate, and shop
 47th to 51st streets
Between 5th Avenue and 7th Avenue
New York, NY 10020
+1 212 332 6868 / +1 212 632 3975
http://www.rockefellercenter.com
Rockefeller Center
Brooklyn Bridge


New York's most famous bridge
 Near Municipal Building, Park Row
Cadman Plaza, Manhattan
New York, NY 10002
+1 212 484 1200 (Tourist information)
Brooklyn Bridge
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden


18th century house
 421 E 61st St
(at York Ave)
New York, NY 10021
+1 212 838 6878
http://www.mvhm.org
Mount Vernon Hotel Museum & Garden
National Museum of the American Indian


The First Americans
 1 Bowling Green
The George Heye Center
New York, NY 10004
+1 212 514 3700
http://www.americanindian.si.edu/
National Museum of the American Indian
Federal Hall


Presidential Presentation
 26 Wall Street
New York, NY 10005
+1 212 825 6888
http://www.nps.gov/feha/
Federal Hall
New York
New York - Art & Entertainment
New York - Where to Stay
New York - Neighborhood Guide
New York - Dining & Drinking
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