New York, a state in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Québec on the north and by Lake Ontario and Lake Erie on the northwest and west. Pennsylvania lies west and south of New York, and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean lie to the south. On the east the state is bordered by Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Albany is the capital of New York. New York, commonly known as New York City, is the largest city.

New York has long been a leader in the political, cultural, and economic life of the United States. It has been called the Empire State since before 1800, a reference to its wealth and variety of resources and probably derived from a comment, attributed to George Washington, that predicted that New York would become the seat of the new empire. Although California surpassed it in population in 1963 and in manufacturing in 1972, choices made in New York influence much of the country’s commerce, finance, and the creative arts. Although New York City is the largest city in the country, much of New York is still rural.

New York is also rich in history, extending to when Native Americans first occupied its shores and river valleys. The state was named in the 1660s for the duke of York, later James II of England, though many place names are from the time when the region was a Dutch colony known as New Netherland. New York entered the Union on July 26, 1788, as the 11th of the original 13 states. The Erie Canal, now incorporated into the New York State Canal System, set the pattern of commerce early in U.S. history. The Statue of Liberty, in New York Harbor, was the first vision of America seen by millions of immigrants arriving at New York City. The United Nations, whose headquarters are located on Manhattan Island, works toward a future more peaceful than the past. The Official State Website is http://www.ny.gov/

In 1609 Henry Hudson explored the river that bears his name, and in the 1620s the Dutch West India Company established settlements at Fort Orange (Albany) and Manhattan, influencing immigration by other northern Europeans. English, mostly from New England, came to Long Island where the boundary between New Netherland and New England had to be settled by treaty in 1650. The Dutch claimed New Netherland from the New York to the Delaware rivers but were overthrown in 1664 by the English, who renamed the colony for the Duke of York. A brief comeback was staged by the Dutch in 1673, but after a year New York reverted to English control. In 1688-90 New York was part of the Dominion of New England, and some documents were generated in Boston.

By the time of the Revolutionary War, New Englanders had crossed westward into the eastern counties of New York, and settlers from Long Island and New Jersey had migrated to the lower Hudson valley. Huguenots had settled in New York City, New Rochelle, and elsewhere in the late 1600s, and Ulster Scots came to the Hudson area and settled in Orange and Ulster counties. The first major immigration of Germans to New York was in 1710, when 847 Palatine families settled in the Hudson Valley.

The Revolution was a major part of New York’s history. The British occupied New York City and controlled all of Long Island and part of Westchester County. This provided a refuge for many Loyalists, including some from New Jersey, while patriots fled from Long Island to New York and from elsewhere up the Hudson. Major battles were fought upstate and every effort was made to prevent the British from taking control of the Hudson Valley and dividing the colonies.