Locations
Rochester
New York City
Albany
Brooklyn
Rochester
New York City
Peace with the Natives!
Here in New York, we are at peace with the Native tribes who surroundour territory, due to our mutual economic gain from the fur trade!
Government
- In 1664, King Charles II gave New York as a proprietary colony to the Duke of York, the future King James II. Quite quickly, he was able to seize New Amsterdam and renamed it New York. The Duke chose to give citizens a limited form of self-government. Ruling powers were given to a governor.
- In 1683, James II guaranteed New York a representative legislature and personal freedoms through the governor's authority.
Leaders
Peter Minuit
Peter Minuit, a native of Germany, bought Manhattan Island from the Indians in 1626. In September of that year, the Dutch West India Company made him the director general of the new land. He built a fort at the southernmost tip of the island for settlers and founded New Amsterdam. He would be recalled to Holland in 1631, possibly for granting patroonships that came at the expense of the Dutch West India Company.
Killiaen van Rensselaer
In 1629, Killiaen van Rensselaer was given a large amount of land and the title of patroon by the Dutch West India Company. This made van Rensselaer a landholder who was expected explore the land and find valuable resources. By getting people to settle the new land, van Rensselaer was able to have these farmers and artisans become his tenants while they created successful communities. Van Rensselaer's land is now a part of Albany, New York, the state capital.
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant came to the Dutch colony in 1647. He had previous experience as a director general in the West Indies for the Dutch West India Company and drew on that experience to make immediate changes to a chaotic and corrupt government in New Amsterdam. Stuyvesant forced the closure of taverns and brothels. He also made laws that all citizens had to attend church. While he tried to keep immigrants he did not like out of the colonial state, he also demanded fair payment to Indians for services given. In 1664, Stuyvesant gave up the colony to the British when they arrived by ship to invade the Dutch colony.
Thomas Dongan
An Irish colonel in the Royal Army who served in Africa, Thomas Dongan was appointed governor of New York in 1683 by the British government. He was able to manipulate relations with the English, French and Indians well. Dongan was instrumental in the formation of the first General Assembly of New York. While a good statesman and superb general in the face of military encroachment, Dongan's sympathies with the people he governed rankled the King of England. This caused his removal from the post in 1688.
Economics
Agriculture & Manufacturing
One of our primary economic activities is agriculture. Some of the products we grow include:
- cattle
- grain
- rice
- indigo
- wheat
Manufacturing is another one of our main economic activities. It mainly centers around shipbuilding and iron work.
Merchants
First Dutch and then English merchants built the city’s local economy largely around supplying ships for the trade in slaves and in what slaves produced, including:
- sugar
- tobacco
- indigo
- coffee
- chocolate
- cotton
Frequently Asked Questions
Schools were established by churches with government support as early as 1638 in New Amsterdam. It was not until 1791, however, that the state's first public school was established. Education is MANDATORY for ages 6 to 17. So don't worry! Your children will get the education they deserve!
Well, we can't exactly promise anything, but we've got Catholics, Jews, Lutherans, Quakers, and more! No one religion dominates the colony of New York, and residents are free to worship as they choose!
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