Hills, forests, rivers, swamps and wildlife such as bears, wolves, frogs and hawks: Manhattan Island once had greater ecological diversity than the famous Yellowstone National Park in the western United States. The people of Algonquin called it ‘Manahatta’, the island of many hills. Today, NY is an important commercial and financial center, as well as a destination.
In the 16th and early 17th centuries, European sailors such as Giovanni da Verrazzano and Henry Hudson first discovered and explored the area around the island on the east coast of what is now the US. Shortly afterwards the first trade began, eventually with a monopoly of a Dutch company.
Global metropolis with Dutch roots
Colonization began in 1624 when the first immigrants from what is now the Netherlands, Belgium and France settled on the island. In 2024, New York will celebrate its 400th anniversary, have expanded its urban area to include two additional islands and the US mainland, and have become a major global metropolis with approximately eight million inhabitants.
The early years of colonization continue to shape the metropolis today
“The Dutch brought capitalism in its early form and a groundbreaking policy of tolerance, laying the foundation for the most dynamic metropolis in the world,” says the “New Amsterdam Project.” “They also brought slavery with them and failed to live up to their ideals in other ways. These ideals and failures eventually became ours.”
Protective wall became Nobel Street
The immigrants all initially settled in the southern tip of Manhattan, where the financial center is now located and where there are plaques marking the early days and a few stone remains. To protect against raids, the Europeans built a protective wall that would later become the famous Wall Street. The former native trade route through Manhattan later became the famous Broadway.
In 1664, New Amsterdam passed to the English and became New York, but remained controversial for a while until the United States finally became independent in 1774. In the early years of the US, New York was even briefly the capital.
Source: Krone
I am an experienced and passionate journalist with a strong track record in news website reporting. I specialize in technology coverage, breaking stories on the latest developments and trends from around the world. Working for Today Times Live has given me the opportunity to write thought-provoking pieces that have caught the attention of many readers.
