The first settlers in what is now New York were American Indians Many different tribes lived in the area Some of these tribes were the Delaware Mohawk Oneida and Seneca Several tribes came together as one nation to form the mighty Iroquois Confederacy The island of Manhattan which is now part of New York City was originally the home of the Lenape tribe Manhattan comes from the Lenape word mannahatta which means land of many hills Dutch merchants bought the land in 1626 and called it New Amsterdam England took over in 1664 and added surrounding areas to create a larger British colony The colony was named New York in honor of the Duke of York a member of the English royal family As immigration from Europe increased white settlers pushed the natives out In many cases 6
The settlement of New Amsterdam looked quite different from the New York City of today this was done violently In the mid-1700s the French and Indian War claimed many native lives New York played a major role in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783 And after the US victory New York was one of the original 13 states It became a state on July 26 1788 Today New York is 54,475 square miles 141,090 square km in size That makes it the 27th-largest state in the country in terms of area The state can be divided into several regions 7
The New York metro area surrounds New York City and its nearby suburbs Just north of that is the Hudson Valley with small towns lining the banks of the Hudson River The Capital Region is centered in and around Albany the state’s capital city The Southern Tier and Central New York cover the middle part of the state They are more rural than the eastern part of the state The Finger Lakes and the Mohawk Valley regions are located in the central and western parts of the state These areas have natural resources such as forests and lakes Each region of New York has its own culture and character For example life in central New York’s dairy farm country is quiet and peaceful But there is always something going on in noisy crowded New York City With a population of 8
more than 8.5 million people New York City is the largest city in the United States Other major cities in New York include the capital of Albany and the upstate cities of Buffalo Rochester and Syracuse Most of New York’s major cities have one or more colleges or universities MAP OF NEW YORK REGIONS Lake Huron W N S E Lake Erie CANADA Lake Ontario Finger Lakes Central New York Western New York Southern Tier ME VT NH North Country Mohawk Valley Capital Region MA Mid-Hudson CT OH PA NJ RI Atlantic Ocean Long Island New York City 9
