The region was discovered in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer, who called it "Nouvelle Angoulême" (New Angoulême). European settlement started with the founding of a Dutch settlement, later called "New Amsterdam," in 1625. In 1664, the British took over and renamed it "New York" after the English Duke of York and Albany.
The region grew in importance as a trading port while under the British. The city was the site for a series of battles known as the New York Campaign during the Revolutionary War, and was occupied by the British for over seven years.
The Continental Congress met in New York City and in 1789, George Washington was inaugurated on Wall Street. New York City was the capital of the United States until 1790.
By 1835, New York City had overtaken Philadelphia as the largest city. Central Park was founded as the first landscaped park in an American city in 1857.
In 1898, the modern City of New York was formed with the consolidation of Brooklyn, which until then had been an independent city.
The opening of the New York City Subway in 1904 helped transportation across the city. Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the city became a world center for industry and commerce.
The city became the most populous city in the world in 1925. The United Nations headquarters (built in 1952) showed New York's political influence. New York suffered a decline in jobs, manufacturing, and rising crime rates, and race riots in the 1960s.
In the 1980s, a resurgence in the financial industry improved the city. By the 1990s, racial tensions had calmed, crime rates dropped dramatically, and waves of new immigrants arrived from Asia and Latin America.
The city was the main site of the September 11, 2001 attacks, when nearly 3,000 people died in the destruction of the World Trade Center. The Freedom Tower is scheduled for completion on the site in 2012.
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