New+York

﻿ **__ History- __** Charles II gave the colony to his brother James, duke of York, in March of 1666; but was not officially colonized into New York until February 6, 1685. King James II was the ruler of this new royal colony. New York was a very diverse colony, and is still a very diverse state today. Back then New York was about 50 % Dutch, but also included so English. Within the northern colonies New York had the highest slave population from about 7-10%. Most people came and settled down in New York because of it’s religious toleration; which was fairly good compared to other colonies in this time. New York’s economy centered around the Dutch and Indian fur trade through Fort Orange, present day Albany. After the English took over in 1664, along with the fur trade they expanded to a provincial trading post located in Fort Oswego. New York’ major export was grain throughout the colonial era. New York was very religious; after the changeover to English rule, the most prominent religion went from Dutch Reform Church into the sophisticated rural Pietistic. In the 1750’s Presbyterian, Lutheran, Anglican, congregational, and Baptist groups existed; along with Roman Catholic churches and Jewish synagogue’s.

**__ Geography- __**
==== The geography in New York was very diverse throughout. New York is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the east coast, bordered by Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. Some main geographic features include the Adirondack Mountains, and parts of the Appalachian Mountains. Some major water sources include the Hudson River and the St. Lawrence River valleys. The Mohawk Rover was a gateway through which traders and westerners were led to the Great Lakes and the Mississippi basin streams. There was such a great plantation system in the southern colonies that it stimulated the economy in the north. Northern colonies provided fish, bread, lumber and meat. New York was very dependent on the exports of the southern colonies goods. By the 1720’s, though, New York, along with bordering colonies made a living by exporting their own corn, wheat, and bread to the south as well as the West Indies. Geography affected New York in different ways including the bordering of mountains. The Adirondack Mountains form a border to the north of New York and the parts of the Appalachians to the south form a border. This allows for a boundary, making it harder to enter and exit. The Hudson river makes it easier to trade, meaning they can export more and make more money. ====

**__Economy-__** The colonist in New York made a living by fur trapping, lumber trading, shipping, and slave trade as their main ways to support themselves. The most important furs were otter, beaver, mink and marten skins; most of which were furs exported to England which was one of their main trading partners. Slavery in New York was common; the use of black slaves in New York began in 1626, when the first cargo of 11 Africans was unloaded by the Dutch West India Company.     **__ Political- __**

Initially, New York was a proprietary colony, the first of the Middle Atlantic region. The proprietor was James, who was also the Duke of York, granted freedom of principles to its people, which entailed a limited form of self-government. However, he was not directly responsible for the running of New York, and instead gave up his power to a governor. This governor was Richard Nicolls; who was the first acting governor of the New York colony. Yet the proprietary form of government did end in 1685 under Edmund Andros, when New York became a Royal colony.

**__Social –__**

The language that was spoken in the colony of New York was Dutch; somewhere around 18 different languages were spoken all throughout the colony of N ew York. The Netherlands controlled the Hudson River valley from 1609 to 1664. New Netherlands had a series of trading posts, towns, and forts up and down the Hudson River that still exist today. Fort Orange, the most northern Dutch outpost, is known today as Albany. New York City's original name was New Amsterdam. One religion in New York was not more dominant than others. Many people were Presbyterian, Anglican, Lutheran, Congregational, Baptist, Jewish and Roman Catholic. These are just some of the religions practiced; something interesting about the colony of New York that separates it from the rest is that it made the first synagogue. A synagogue is a house of Jewish worship. Unlike some colonies, New York had religious tolerance and freedom. Women in the colony of New York were not treated well. They had many obligations and people had high expectations for them. Many times, women had to get married between the ages of thirteen and fourteen and became property of their husbands. Since there were not laws against domestic violence, husbands had complete control over their wives. The women cooked, cleaned, and were the care takers of the family. ** __ Terms- __ ** Mercantilism: Mercantilism is a economic theory that what one country loses the other gains so in order for the English to be prosperous they had the colonies act as players in their game of trade. New York specifically had raw materials that were useful towards to profit for England. They exported fur, timber, horses, beer, fine flour, and iron bars. Triangular Trade: was the trading among three points in the Atlantic World including America, Europe and Africa. During the slave trading in the Mid-Atlantic colonies, New York profited from selling insurance on the ships that were transporting the slaves. Salutary Neglect: Salutary neglect was when the British didn’t interfere much with the government of the colonies. Ships carrying foreign goods were not allowed into harbors of the colonies, since the British didn’t involve themselves too much with them. There were many shipping ports in New York so the lack of imports coming into that colony greatly affected them. Cash Crops: Cash crops are crops that are grown for direct sale rather than livestock feed. In New York, the cash crops were wheat, barley, rye, other grains and fruits. Great Awakening: The Great Awakening was the revival of religious feeling. The Congregationalists believed that the colonists had lost touch with their faith of their Puritan ancestors and that they should revive and renew religious enthusiasm. Since New York was bordering the Mid-Atlantic colonies and the New England colonies, it almost acted as a message route, transferring the ideas of the Great Awakening in the north, all the way down to the southern colonies with the help of many Presbyterian leaders.

**__ French and Indian War- __**

Camp George was quickly constructed on New York's Lake George during the summer of 1755 by an American-Iroquois alliance. This then advanced the French-Algonquin positions farther north. New York was a main battle sight for much of the French and Indian War; specifically Lake George and Lake Champlain. The British also had military bases all along the Hudson River in New York. As a result of this war New York was forced to pay taxes to help repay the British for the cost of this war. In New York's Mohawk Valley a large percent of the popluation were loyalist; the loyalist were most closley related to the anglicanism religion. Even in other regions of New York the population was mostly loyalist. Being that most of New York colonist were loyalist they did not support the ideas of the revolution. **__ Revolution - __**

James Duane was a delegate from New York who attended the First Continental Congress. He was a continuously appointed delegate who supported the Galloway Plan as an alternative to the pressures of independence. Also, John Jay played a major role in the revolution. He was also a delegate representing New York at the Continental Congress. He served as the president. He was a radical loyalist and attempted to reconcile the colonies with the British up until the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The largest number of loyalist was found in the middle colonies; that includes New York. Many farmers of New York supported the king of Great Britain. Loyalist refugees even came to New York because of the large population of loyalists throughout. New York did not agree to the Constitution at first, along with Virginia. When the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution New York then agreed to the Constitution.