what was new york called before it was new york
New Amsterdam New Amsterdam was renamed New York on September 8, 1664, in honor of the Duke of York (later James II of England), in whose name the English had captured it. After the Second Anglo-Dutch War of 1665â€“1667, England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands agreed to the status quo in the Treaty of Breda. The English kept the island of Manhattan, the Dutch giving up their claim to the town and the rest of the colony, while the English formally abandoned the island of Run in the East Indies to the Dutch, confirming their control of the valuable Spice Islands. Today much of what was once New Amsterdam is New York City.
Dutch colonization of the Americas In 1664, an English naval expedition ordered by Prince James, Duke of York and of Albany (later King James II & VII) sailed in the harbor at New Amsterdam, threatening to attack. Being greatly outnumbered, Director-General Peter Stuyvesant surrendered after negotiating favorable articles of capitulation. The Province then took a new name, New York (from James's English title). Fort Orange was renamed Fort Albany (from James's Scottish title). The region between the lower Hudson and the Delaware was deeded to proprietors and called New Jersey.