1. Old New York Was Once New Amsterdam
The fall of New Amsterdam by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, 1863-1930, artist. Published 1932. Print shows Peter Stuyvesant, in 1664, standing on shore among residents of New Amsterdam who are pleading with him not to open fire on the British who have arrived in warships waiting in the harbor to claim the territory for England. (Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)
Did you know that New York was known as New Amsterdam 350 years ago? New Amsterdam was a result of 17th Century Dutch Settlement when Dutch people chose to settle in Manhattan (1624). The name, New York only came into consideration in honor of the Duke of York (1664).
After the Second Anglo-Dutch War, England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands agreed for the Treaty of Breda. The English abandoned the island of Run to the Dutch and Dutch gave up their claim to the entire town. So today what is now New York City was once New Amsterdam!