Part One
The city of New York is more than three hundred years old, but that is not very old for a city. New York is more interesting to us than many other cities because it is one of the biggest and most important cities in the world. But not everybody knows the history of this great American seaport. Not everybody knows that the history of new York began in Holland.
At the beginning of the 17 th century, Holland was one of the strongest countries on the sea. Her ships went everywhere; the Dutch bought and sold food and clothes and gold and silver in the East. But the way from Holland to the East was very long. The Dutch often lost their ships in the terrible storms at sea. They decided that they must find a shorter way to the rich islands of the East.
In 1609 the Dutch asked Henry Hudson, an English sea captain, to look for a way to the East round the north of Russia. “We'll pay you part of the money before you go,” they said. “And if you find a way, we'll pay you much more.” Hudson agreed and went to the north with two Dutch ships.
History does not tell us why Hudson did not try to find a way round the north of Russia. But we know that he did not go far north. He went to the west, and after some time he came to the east coast of a new country. It was the coast of the small island where New York now stands.
Hudson soon went back to Holland. He did not bring back gold and silver and the rich things that ships in those days usually brought from India. But he told everybody about the wonderful new world. He spoke about the great forests full of animals and birds, and the great rivers full of fish. He showed everybody maps that he drew of the place and told them how to go there.
But the Dutch did not want to find beautifull new places. To them the most beautiful thing in the world was money. They needed a short way to the East, a way that could make them richer and stronger.
Almost fifteen years passed before they sent people to live in the new country. Many of these people came from Amsterdam, the capital of Holland, and they gave the new place the name – New Amsterdam.
Part Two.
For almost forty years New Amsterdam was a Dutch city. The people spoke the Dutch language and tried to make their life the same as life in Holland.
But many things happened in Europe at that time. The English became stronger on the sea. Competition began between England and Holland; rich people in the two countries wanted to be richer, and they tried to take everything they could from each other.
England had cities in America-Boston and Philadelphia and others, and she wanted to have New Amsterdam too. In 1664 English warships suddenly came to New Amsterdam. The Dutch could not fight, because they had no warships in New Amsterdam and not enough soldiers. The English took the city and named it New York.
In Europe the competition between the two countries continued and became stronger, and in 1672 England and Holland began a war. The next year the Dutch came and took back New York, but at the end of the war New York again became an English city, and more and more English people came to live there.
The people of America thought that they were the same as the English people in the United Kingdom. But the English king did not think so; he wanted to take everything he could from America, but he didn't want to give the Americans anything. He even wanted to make the Americans pay for his wars with Holland and later with France. Life became more and more difficult for the people of America.
This could not continue very long. Soon there was a new war – this time between America and England. We cannot tell you the history of that war; the story is too long. The Americans loved their country and they fought very bravely, because they wanted to be free. America was not so strong as England, but the Americans won the war. All the people fought, and when people fight to be free, they must win.
When war was over, they named their country the United States of America, and they made New York the capital.
Answer the questions.
• Is America south, north, west or east of England?
• What part of the United States is New York in?
• Is New York south or north of Canada?
• Is New York an island or not?
• Is New York a big seaport or a small port?