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New York (pronounced /n(j)uːˈjɔɹk//)
is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions
of the United States, and is the country's third most populous
state. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and shares a water border
with Rhode Island as well as an international border with
the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario.
New York City, which is both the largest city in the state
and in the United States, is known for its history as a
gateway for immigration to the United States and its status
as a financial, cultural, transportation, and manufacturing
center. It was named after the 17th century Duke of York,
James Stuart, future James II and VII of England and Scotland.
New York was inhabited by the Algonquin, Iroquois, and
Lenape Native American groups at the time Dutch and French
nationals moved into the region in the early 17th century.
First claimed by Henry Hudson in 1609, the region came
to have Dutch forts in Fort Orange, near the site of the
present-day capital of Albany in 1614 and was colonized
by the Dutch in 1624, at both Albany and Manhattan; it
later fell to British annexation in 1664. About one third
of all of the battles of the Revolutionary War took place
in New York. New York became an independent state on July
9, 1776 and enacted its constitution in 1777. The state
ratified the United States Constitution on July 26, 1788
to become the 11th state. According to the US Department
of Commerce, it is also the state of choice for foreign
visitors, leading both Florida and California in tourism.
History
During the 17th century, Dutch trading posts established
for the purchase of pelts from the Iroquois and other tribes
expanded into the colony of New Netherlands. The first
of these trading posts were Beverwyck (1614, now Albany);
New Amsterdam, (1623, now NYC); and Esopus, (1653, now
Kingston). The British captured the colony during the Second
Anglo-Dutch War and governed it as the Province of New
York. Agitation for independence during the 1770s brought
the American Revolution, which for New York was also a
civil war.
The Woolworth Building, in New York City, was one of the
world's first skyscrapers (1913).New York endorsed the
Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776.[7] The New
York state constitution was framed by a convention which
assembled at White Plains, New York on July 10, 1776,
and after repeated adjournments and changes of location,
terminated its labors at Kingston, New York on Sunday
evening, April 20, 1777, when the new constitution was
adopted with but one dissenting vote. It was not submitted
to the people for ratification. It was drafted by John
Jay. On 30 July 1777, George Clinton was inaugurated
as the first Governor of New York at Kingston.
The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga provided the cannon and
gunpowder necessary to force a British withdrawal from
the Siege of Boston in 1775. The first major battle of
the American Revolutionary War after independence was declared
- and the largest battle of the entire war - was fought
in New York at the Battle of Long Island (a.k.a Battle
of Brooklyn) in 1776, and the first of two major British
armies were captured by the Continental Army at the Battle
of Saratoga in 1777, influencing France to ally with the
revolutionaries. The withdrawal of General George Washington
from Manhattan Island was followed by the British making
New York City their military and political base of operations
in North America for the duration of the conflict, and
consequently the center of attention for Washington's intelligence
network. The notorious British prison ships of Wallabout
Bay saw more American combatants die of intentional neglect
than were killed in combat in every battle of the war,
combined. Four of the Iroquois nations fought on the side
of the British. They were defeated in the Sullivan Expedition
of 1779.[8] Suffering privations, many members moved to
Canada. Most, absent or present, lost their land after
the war. Some of the land purchases are the subject of
modern-day claims by the individual tribes.[9] As per the
Treaty of Paris. the last vestige of British authority
in the former Thirteen Colonies - their troops in New York
City - departed in 1783, which was long afterwards celebrated
as Evacuation Day.[10]
The creation of the Erie Canal led to rapid industrialization
in New York.New York state was one of the original thirteen
colonies that became the United States. It was the 11th
state to ratify the United States Constitution, on July
26, 1788.[11]
Transportation in western New York was difficult before
canals were built in the early part of the nineteenth century.
The Hudson and Mohawk Rivers could be navigated only as
far as Central New York. While the St. Lawrence River could
be navigated to Lake Ontario, the way westward to the other
Great Lakes was blocked by Niagara Falls, and so the only
route to western New York was over land. Governor DeWitt
Clinton strongly advocated building a canal to connect
the Hudson River with Lake Erie, and thus all the Great
Lakes. Work commenced in 1817, and the Erie Canal was finished
in 1825.[12] The canal opened up vast areas of New York
to commerce and settlement, and enabled port cities such
as Buffalo to grow and prosper
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