New York is the largest city in the world and the biggest seaport. It is the money center of the United States.
New York is situated in the northeast of the USA, in the state of New York, also called the Empire State.
Compared with ancient historical cities such as Rome, London, or Paris, New York is quite young. It was founded in 1613 by Dutch settlers. A Dutchman, Peter Minuit, bought Manhattan Island from the local people for 24 dollars and a barrel of rum. In 1613, the Dutch had built only four small houses on Manhattan. The city was first called New Amsterdam. After the English took over in 1626, it was renamed New York, after the Duke of York, who was commander of the English army.
During the War for Independence, New York was an important political center, and for five years from 1785 to 1790, it was the capital of the USA.
The population of New York is about 8 million people, and together with its suburbs, it comes to 16 million (1970).
It is a multi-national city; people speak seventy-five different languages.
Manhattan is the name of an island that forms the heart of New York. The island is 13 miles long, 2 miles wide, and lies at the mouth of the Hudson River. The population of Manhattan is about two million people. Here is the heart of America’s business and culture: the city of skyscrapers, Broadway, and Wall Street, which is the center of American money business. The street got its name in the old days when one of the Dutch governors of New Amsterdam built a wall across Manhattan to protect the colonists. The wall was later broken down, but the name remained.
Manhattan also has older residential areas with historic houses, schools, and hospitals. Like many large cities, New York has areas with very different living conditions.
