When it was discovered in 1524 by Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, 5,000 Lenape Native American Indians inhabited the region. Giovanni da Verrazzano called it "Nouvelle Angoulême". In 1614, a Dutch settlement was founded on Manhattan, which was later called New Amsterdam. The island was purchased from the Lenape in 1626. The city was taken over by the English in 1664, who renamed the settlement New York in honor of the English Duke of York. The Lenape population had dropped to 500 by 1700.
New York City's stature as a trading port increased under the British. King George II founded Columbia University in 1754. During the Revolutionary War, the city went through several important battles which became known as the New York Campaign. New York City was the meeting place of the Continental Congress, and in 1789 George Washington was inaugurated as the United States' first President at Wall Street's Federal Hall. New York City served as the United States' capital until 1790.
The city underwent major changes during the 19th Century, thanks to development and immigration. The 1811 Commissioners' Plan enlarged the city's street grid so that it covered Manhattan completely, and in 1819 the Erie Canal was opened, which allowed access to the immense agricultural markets within the nation's interior. New York City became the largest city in the United States in 1835, stripping Philadelphia of that honor. Central Park was established in 1857, and the New York City Subway was opened in 1904. By 1948, New York City had the highest population of any city in the world, displacing London, which had held that position for over one hundred years.
During the 19th Century, there were a considerable number of free-blacks in Manhattan, as well as in Brooklyn. Slavery had been practiced in the city through 1827, but during the 1830s interracial abolitionist activism was based in New York. New York City became the favored destination for African Americans relocating from the south in what was known as the Great Migration.
The Draft Riots of 1863 were due to citizen's resistance to forceful military conscription, which was practiced throughout the American Civil War. The time of Prohibition saw the blossoming of the Harlem Renaissance, which took place as the same time as New York City underwent a rapidly developing skyline of skyscrapers in construction.
After the end of the Second World War, veterans and incoming immigrants brought about a new economic upswing, as well as the construction of housing tracts in Queens. New York came out of the war unscratched, with Wall Street spurring America's rise as the world's leading financial force, as the establishment of the United Nations headquarters emphasized New York's political power and the ascendance of Abstract Expressionism in New York help bring about its replacement of Paris as the art world's capital.
The city was attacked by unknown entities on September 11th, 2001, when nearly 3,000 people were killed in the initial attack upon and later controlled demolition of the World Trade Center. Many thousands more of the first responders on the day of the tragedy are now suffering from fatal health problems as a result of the cover-up of the toxicity levels at the site. The so-called "Freedom Tower" has been planned for construction on the site, with a planned completion date of 2012.
Today, New York retains everything which has always made it great - amazing culture, colorful people, great food and all-night fun. It's one of the best places to visit in the entire world.
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