Giovanni Da Verzano Research Paper

Giovanni da Verrazzano was the first European visitor to the area of New York. The French ship “La Dauphine” brought Verrazzano and his crew to New York in 1524. European was not until much later on September second, 1609 by Henry Hudson of the Dutch East India Company. At this time, New York was still named “New Amsterdam”. Beavers were abundant in New York at this time, which fueled a business as for the fashion in Europe was beaver pelts. The beaver’s importance was so great for New York’s history that it is now the city’s official seal. At around 1626, Fort Amsterdam construction began. Later the Dutch got African slaves; these slaves would help the Americans build the wall that protected the city against the English and Indian

At the end of the seventeenth century, around forty percent of the settlers in New York were African slaves. Slaves would aid in the building of the fort and stockade. When the English took control of the colony in 1664, they would still take slaves from both the Caribbean and Africa. Forty-Three percent of New York households during 1703 had a slave. The libel trial of John P. Zenger was a seminal influence on the freedom of the press. It would soon become a standard for the basic articles of freedom in the United States Declaration of Independence. The Stamp Act and various other measures caused disagreements, especially with the Sons of Liberty who had a long fight with local British troops over Liberty Poles in 1776. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York in 1765. This meeting was the first organized fight against the British authority. The Continental Army had a defeat in the Battle of Long island towards the end of 1776. General George Washington withdrew to Manhattan, but with subsequent defeat at the Battle of Fort Washington, the island was left to the British. For the rest of the war, the city became a haven for the