A Walk Through the History of New York and New York City

The history of New York began in around 10,000 BCE when the first Native Americans arrived here. Later on in 1524 the European discovery of New York was led by the French. The city was first claimed by the Dutch and as part of New Netherlands the colony grew in fur trade and finally became an agricultural resource.

In 1626 the Dutch had bought the Manhattan island from the Native Americans and later in 1664, England renamed the city ‘New York’ after the Duke of York. New York City remained the national capital at various occasions dating from 1785 to 1790.

During the 19^th Century the city became the main entry point for all the immigrants from Europe to the United States. The Statue of Liberty opened in 1886 and eventually became a symbol of hope. New York experienced a boom during the 1920s until the Wall Street Crash in 1929.

The state’s economy was shaken completely During the World War 2 and the state experienced suburbanization which lead to shrinking of most of the cities. However, in the 20^th century the city continued to grow. In the 1980s a huge number Asians migrated to the city and the population of the city stood at around 7 million at that time.

Many of the famous buildings were built in the 20^th Century like the Flat Iron Building, the Grand Central Station, the Chrysler building and the Empire State Building. Furthermore the Times Square is named after the New York Times which moved there in 1904. Besides these many museums were built during the century.

Despite all the apparent developments the 20^th Century proved to be an era of great struggle for all the American cities and similarly New York was no exception. However, on September 11, 2001, the New York City faced the deadliest terrorist attack when a group of terrorists crashed two hijacked jets in to the tallest building of the city, the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

This destroyed the building and around 3000 people were killed. Despite the disaster the city remained a tourist magnet and New York managed to recover from the attack. In modern times New York is still a busy port and remains a major financial center. It is also a remarkably significant tourist location where about 8 million people live now. Many of the city dwellers were born outside the United States which is why the city has a diverse life and it remains as a cultural capital of the country.