New York In the Late 1600's and Mid 1700's

In 1524, Giovanni de Verrazzano came across and explored what we now call New York Bay,but it wasn't until nearly a century has passed that New York became a settlement for the Dutch. In 1609, an English explorer from the Dutch East Indian Company arrived to a river, later being named the Hudson River. Hudson settled there, and began to trade with the nearby Indians for fur. The nearby Indians were none other than the great Iroquois, a large group of Indians that had many tribes around the colony of New York. It is uncertain about how many Iroquois lived in the area, but it was comprised how about six tribes: the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Tusacarera, and the Seneca.

The Dutch had originally named the part where they landed Amsterdam, for their home back in the Netherlands.  During the time that New York was being founded, King JamesII was ruling Britain. The land was named New Netherlands until an attack by the British mounted a heavy attack on the province. After being victorious, its was named New York after the current king, King James II, or as he was the Duke of York, in 1664. Another major person responsible for the map of New York in the early time of it's settling was Samuel de Champlain, a French navigator, explorer, and geographer. 

Religion in the beginning was free, so that meant you were primarily allowed to practice whatever your beliefs were. Then when King James II came into place it was more of a protestant take-over, making Catholicism the main sort of religion of the time. People made their living off of fur trapping,lumber trading, slave trade, shipping, and as merchants in town. Corn was a main diet in their food since the people and animals ate it. Being farmers, most of them also grew, wheat, flax, which is a blue-flowered herb that is used in textile fiber, vegetables, and of course tobacco. The colony was also the center of the French and Indian wars, which lasted the about 70 years all together, because of this, tribes also fought against one another depending on which side they supported.