New York Homeland Security and Emergency Services Resources

The first Dutch settlement was founded at Fort Orange, now Albany in 1624. The following year, Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan Island for what would now equal about $24, from the Indians and established the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. After 40 years, the English conquered the colony and renamed it New York, in honor of the Duke of York.

The English quickly took control in 1664, although Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, had been prepared. With funding from the Dutch West India Company he had built a spiked wall that spanned 2,400 feet on the northern end of the island. The wall was little help when the attack came by sea. That section of the island became what is now, Wall Street home of the largest stock market in the world!

New York entered the Union on July 26, 1788 as the 11th state. It became the gateway to the Atlantic Ocean with the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, which has some of the busiest sea ports in the world. The state has one of the most diverse economies in the nation, manufacturing, publishing, theatrical productions, apparel, foreign trade and banking among many other industries.

Many things combine together to make tourism one of the state’s main resources. The state is home to one of the busiest airports in the world, JFK International Airport. The Statue of Liberty which was completed in 1886 and Broadway which began to flourish in the early 20th century all attract millions of tourists each year.

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