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Schule > Englisch > Landeskunde > USA - Landscape and Environment > The History of New York

The history of New York

The beginning of New York:
Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian businessman and navigator in ordinary of the French King Francois ler le Roi-Chevalier from “Angouleme” detected on his search of the north-west passage in 1524 the today’s “New York Bay”. Verrazzano encountered there to the Algonquin-Indians, who called there island Manhattan. The “Verrazano-Narrows Bridge”, which connects Brooklyn with other states today, carries from there his name. When the Dutch-west Indian company arranged the fur-trade “New Amsterdam” there in 1625, the today’s territory Manhattan was settled by Indian aborigines. The new settlers built their houses there at a risk, what you can see still today on the irregular design and lay-out of the road in “lower Manhattan”. The Broadway was once an Indian trail, “Harlem” kept its Dutch name. Below Peter Stuyvesant the colony conserved an administration, but it didn’t bring the hoped profit.
In 1626 Peter Minuit, a German businessman from “Wesel”, bought the island of Manhattan for about 24$. He wanted to become the first governor of Manhattan. Beside the fur-trade, the agriculture rose, for what African slaves were taken.
In 1649 Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor, was sent from the Dutch- West Indian company to “New Amsterdam”. He began with a planning of a colony and began to arrange laws to got order. As a believing protestant, he tried to avoid the immigration of Jews. The fur-trade and export to the Netherlands got better and better and the agriculture grew.
In 1653 “New Amsterdam” got bigger and bigger. Peter Stuyvesant had a protector (the today’s “Wall Street”) built and a hospital. He made friends with rich Jews from Amsterdam and allowed the immigration of Jews. The population went up to 1500 people. In 1664 the British took over the island, following the order of James, duke of York in Brooklyn. The Briton Richard Nicolls won with 450 soldiers against Stuyvesant. Nicolls became governor and called the city New York.

New York in the colonial period:
In the year 1702 Lord Cornbury became the governor of New York.
In 1754 there was a war against France and the Indians. The “King’s College” was built (Columbia University). In 1763 England won the war against France and the Indians controlled north-America.
Below British leadership New York registered a quick upturn, the population grew rapidly. Corn-converting and shipbuilding were the largest trade. During this time of the colonial period a social elite has been established, for whose houses noble furniture and silver goods were manufactured.
England showed more interests in profit, not in welfare of their colonies. Burden of taxes procreated hate and disposition in rebellion, even thought just in New York were different loyalties. Shortly before the revolution, New York was the second biggest of the thirteen colonies with 20000 inhabitants.

New York in the time of the revolution:
After England had won the war against France and the Indians, they had to cover the costs. In 1765 the tax of imports from syrup of sugar was upraised, “Sugar Act“. The “Stamp Act“ requested a stamp for every deal. Both caused oppositions on the site of the colonists.
In 1766 the “Stamp Act“ was reversed, but replaced by the “Townshend Act“. The taxation of imports from Europe led to the boycott of all European products.
But later the “Townshend Act“ was reversed as well.
The misunderstandings achieved there had their highlight in 1773 at the “Boston Tea Party“, where tax rebels threw 342 boxes of tea in the harbour of Boston.
In 1774 there was also a “Tea party“ in New York. The New Yorker got an English ship in their grip and threw the cargo in the water because of protest against the tea tax.
In 1776 the American war of independence began, when a declaration of independence was called out. Demonstrators knocked over the Statue of King George III. in “Bowling Green”. General George Washington got in Boston a victory against the British and chose -because of the heavy British crew- New York as the next target.
“Fort Washington” was built as a fortress in the north of Manhattan. George Washington’s enemy, General William Howe assigned “Staten Island”. After unsuccessful fights, Washington left Manhattan in October 1776. New York was in the hand of the British.
The American war of independence brought lots of affliction for the American militaries which were in New York: trenches, bombardment by the British militaries and repeated blasts. When the British were in possession of New York in 1776, lots of citizens from other states arrived in New York. American militaries returned to Manhattan until 1783, when the peace treaty in Paris was signed. In November of the same year the British troops left from New York as well.
In 1785 New York became to the capitol of the USA but 5 years later “Philadelphia” was the new capitol of the USA because it had more than 35000 inhabitants.
“Philadelphia” was the second biggest city in the USA and began to develop to the economic power in the USA.
In 1789 George Washington became to the first president of the United States of America. Three years later the “Stock Exchange” at the Wall Street was built.

New York in the 19th century:
In 1807 Robert Fulton started to build a new ship which was powered by steam, “the Northern River Steam Boat”. He made possible that people could travel with ships to the today’s capitol of New York State - Albany in 72 hours. The trade with the west of New York got better and better.
In 1820 the population in New York grew to about 123000 and the city became the biggest one in the USA and because of the excellence seaport, New York became more and more better off.
In the year 1825 the “Erie- Canal” that connects the great lakes with Albany at the “Hudson River” was opened. Through the direct lake connection to Chicago the position from New York as a seaport with an ideal binding to the outback rose. For the New Yorker it brought a big profit. In 1830 nearly 40 percent of the international trade of the USA was completed in New York. The closeness of the harbour enabled the productions of goods; businessman like John Jacob Astor earned millions. The rich people moved uptown in the outskirts, the public local traffic was upgraded. But with the quick growth there were metropolis problems: serious fire, epidemic plagues and lack of money.
More and more immigrants came to New York and with the overpopulation the slums grew. In 1846 every seventh New Yorker was impoverished.
Between 1820 and 1860 millions of immigrants came to the USA. Nearby one million Germans immigrated in the years between 1842 and 1856. The people emigrated, because in their home country they could not make a living. More than 4000 were political fugitives after the failed revolution in 1848. The German immigrants settled in the “Little Germany“, the today’s “East Village”. Shops, factories and handcraft companies were based, so that the quarter was called “German Broadway“.
In the year 1858 Frederick Law and Calvert Vaux designed the “Central Park” and achieved the job to construct the “Central Park”.
The civil war between the confederate States and the Union began in 1861. New York was on the side of the Union. There were not enough volunteers who were on disposal; the compulsory military service was introduced. But there were conflicts, because of the rich people, who could buy themselves off for 300$ from the military service.
In July of 1863 the hardest rebellions “the Draft Riots“ took place in the USA. The mob wandered through the streets and destroyed houses, set them on fire and despoiled them. Lots of regiments could stop the destruction of the city after four days.

The epoch of the extravagance:
The bosses of economy in New York became richer and richer; for the city a golden time began, where noble buildings were built. Millions floated in the arts. Beside deluxe hotels for example the “Plaza” and the “Waldorf-Astoria” which was once the biggest hotel in the world, also elegant stores were built for the rich people. In this time many events left a groove in the history of New York.
In 1867 the “Prospect Park” in Brooklyn was finished.
The wonder of the technique happened in the year 1883 when the “Brooklyn Bridge” was established. It was possible that people could travel from Brooklyn to Manhattan across the bridge. In the same year the “Metropolitan Opera” was opened. This time was crowned with the success of the economy.
In October of 1886 the “Statue of Liberty” was inducted. In the year 1891, the “Carnegie Hall” was opened with a big concert directed by Peter Tschaikowski.
One year later the start of construction of the “Cathedral of St. John the Divine” and in “Ellis Islands” a centre for immigrants was opened. Till the shutdown in the year 1954, more than 17 million immigrants immigrated over “Ellis Island” to America. Since 1898 the official “Greater New York” consisted. It consists –as mentioned- of five boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, “Staten Islands” and Brooklyn.

New York in the 20th century:
In 1900 New York was the industrial centre of America. 70 percent of all companies had their place of business in New York. Nearly two- thirds of all imports arrived to the USA through the harbour of New York. The rich people became richer and richer and the poor people became poorer. The slums were attacked by epidemics but the immigrants kept their lifestyle.
The “International Ladies Garment Workers Union” was based, so that children and women could work for little money. The begin of the construction works for the first underground line in the city was also in this year and one year later the first subway drove through New York.
One year later in 1902 the “Flatiron Building” on the “Madison Square” was completed. It was one of the first skyscrapers in New York and had the very first elevator.
In 1905 the city took over the “Staten Island Ferry” and in 1907 the first taxis were introduced and the “Plaza Hotel” on “Central Park” with about 800 rooms was opened.
A subway connection to Brooklyn and to the Bronx was built. The “Metropolitan Life Tower” became to the biggest office building of the world with 213 meters.
In 1910 the mayor of New York William J. Gaynor was shot by a deckhand. The impressing “Pennsylvania Station" was opened and the population in Manhattan grew up to 2, 3 million.
By the serious fire in the “Triangle Shirtwaist Company” in 1911, about 146 women died. Because of the troubles of the public about the bad working conditions in the factories, it became better. On a day in April a record was broken when 11745 immigrants from “Ellis Islands” came to New York. In 1913 the “New Grand Central Terminal” was opened, today’s most important train station by far.

New York between the world wars:
The beginning of the “Great War” led to the shutdown of the “Stock Exchange” for about six months. Overfilled public schools declined more than 70000 immigrant children.
In 1917 they tried to stop attacks of submarines by placing steel cable underwater and the “Hall Grate Bridge” connected New England with New York.
The 1920er years were a symbol of the groove in New York. Women got women suffrage. Jimmy Walker the mayor of New York took centre stage, because he owned a company with illegal bars. By the market crash in the year 1929 it ended and the big world depression began.
In 1930 there were more and more slums in New York in all the five boroughs. The next year the “George Washington Bridge” was opened. At this time it was the largest rope bridge in the world. The “Chrysler Building” was the biggest building for a few months with 319 metres but in 1931 the “Empire State Building” was finished and it was the biggest building of the world with 381 metres.
In the year 1932, Walker resigned from his position as mayor and a quarter of the population in New York became unemployed. With the new mayor Fiorello LaGuardia in 1933 there was an upturn.
In 1939 the New Yorker world exposition welcomed about 45 million visitors in Queens. The “North Beach Airport” was built, so that people from the entire world could come to the world exposition. The “Bronx- Whitestone Bridge” was finished and offered access to the new airport and to the world exposition.
In this year the “Rockefeller Center” was also completed.
In 1941 the USA entered into the “Second World War”. Out of fear of the “Second World War”, the children had to wear clothing marks in public schools. In 1945 the “Second World War” ended.

New York since 1945:
In 1946 John D. Rockefeller assigned land for the “United Nations” and constructed the head quarter in New York which was opened in 1950.
In the year 1959 the “Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum” was opened. It was the only one from Lloyd Wright in the city. On free-standing surfaces, multi-story buildings were build, so that immigrants could find shelter.
When the “Verrazano Narrows Bridge” was introduced in 1964, it was possible that people could travel from Brooklyn to “Staten Islands”.
In the 1970er, the capitol of finances nearly failed. In the 1980er at the “Wall Street” were listed peaks, but the city experienced the worst marked crash since 1929.
In 1973 the “World Trade Center” was finalized. The two towers provided 50000 jobs.
When New York nearly had to accept the bankrupt in 1975, a federal credit rescued the city.
In 1983 there was an economical high, the prices of properties rose.
In 1990 David Dinkins became to the first black mayor of New York. Ellis Islands became a museum.
Since the beginning of the 1990er the crime rate got lower continuously and important emblems like the “Grand Central Station” and the new “Time Square” became restored.
In the year 1994 Rudolph Giuliani became mayor.
In 2001 there was a terrorist attack to the “World Trade Center”. On September 11th both towers collapsed back upon itself. More than 3000 people died. The president of the USA, George W. Bush initiated the war to terrorism.
Michael Bloomberg became the new and current mayor of New York in 2002.
The plans for the new “World Trade Center” are being specified.

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