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New York Colony Facts & Worksheets

The New York Colony belonged to the original thirteen colonies situated along the Atlantic coast of North America.

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The New York Colony belonged to the original thirteen colonies situated along the Atlantic coast of North America. There were three geographic areas that composed the original thirteen colonies named New England, the Middle, and the Southern colonies. The New York Colony was categorized under the Middle Colonies.

See the fact file below for more information on the New York Colony or alternatively, you can download our 21-page New York Colony worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ESTABLISHMENT

  • In 1614, the New York Colony originally served as the Dutch trading outpost of New Netherland. On May 4, 1626, the New Amsterdam was founded by some officials from the Dutch West India Company in New Netherland and other colonists from Manhattan Island. New Amsterdam became the city of New York.
  • On March 12, 1664, the English forces successfully captured the colony, even though the Dutch rule remained until November 10, 1674.
  • Declared as the province of New York, the colony owed its name to James, the Duke of York and Albany and the brother of King Charles II of England.
  • On February 6, 1685, when the Duke of York was crowned as King James II, the New York Colony was formally considered a royal colony.

LIFE IN THE COLONY

  • After being captured by the British, the Dutch residents of the New York Colony were given generous terms of surrender. Property rights remained to those who decided to stay in the colony, although the settlement was mostly confined to the Hudson Valley, Long Island, and the eastern parts of the Mohawk River.
  • Religious freedom was also tolerated in the colony. This allowed the predominant Dutch Reformed Church to be divided into New York City’s orthodox religious orientation and the Pietistic beliefs across the rural areas.
  • In 1750, although the Reformed churches still had the majority of believers, other denominations had been founded, including the Presbyterian, Lutheran, Anglican, Congregational, and Baptist churches. The New York Colony likewise had one Jewish synagogue and one Roman Catholic church at the time.
  • There was also a sense of diversity inside the colony. While half of its population consisted of Dutch people, there were other nationalities, such as English and European people.
  • However, African slaves and freedmen also existed in the New York Colony. In fact, during the mid-eighteenth century, the colony had the highest slave population among all those that belonged to the northern colonies. It was estimated that seven to ten percent of the colony’s population were slaves.
  • In terms of resources, the New York Colony had enough agricultural land, coal, forestry, furs, and iron ore. The colony likewise produced major crops, particularly wheat, making it the breadbasket colony. The wheat became the source of flour, which was then exported to England.
  • Using iron ore as raw material, workers in the colony also produced tools, nails, ploughs, and kitchen goods like kettles.
  • The topography of the New York Colony included lowlands, farmland, coastal plain, and mountains. Due to its balanced climate of cold winters and hot summers, the area was good for farming, allowing the people to develop farms that usually measured around 50 to 150 acres of land. This included a house, fields, and a barn as well.
  • Consequently, the lower Hudson River valley was dominated by influential families and clans who controlled great land tracts of manorial estates.
  • Meanwhile, trade relations flourished in the New York Colony. The colony’s economic performance was central to the fur trade between the Dutch and the Indian through Fort Orange, which is now known as Albany.
  • Despite the changeover to English rule, the Dutch traders in Albany remained steadfast in maintaining their hold on the northern fur trade. They had managed to expand to a provincial trading post at Fort Oswego along Lake Ontario by 1727.

REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD

  • When the Battles of Lexington and Concord took place, the colonies gathered and held a meeting at the Continental Congress. The like-minded colonies were convinced to declare independence from Great Britain, but New York did not support the move. When the vote for independence happened, the New York Colony initially abstained but later agreed.
  • On July 9, 1776, after local and state officials, took over the government, the Fourth Provincial Congress of New York asserted its sovereignty and finally declared its independence from the English colonists.
  • It officially adopted its own constitution on April 20, 1777. In June of the same year, George Clinton was elected as the first governor of New York.
  • On July 26, 1788, the New York Colony formally became one of the states of America. New York City also served as the country’s first capital city.
  • Following this, Albany was declared as the capital city of the state of New York in January 1797.
  • It is said that almost one-third of the American Revolution took place in the New York Colony. It is also believed that approximately 40 percent of all Americans had at least one ancestor in Ellis Island located in New York.

New York Colony Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the New York Colony across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use New York Colony worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the New York Colony which belonged to the original thirteen colonies situated along the Atlantic coast of North America. There were three geographic areas that composed the original thirteen colonies named New England, the Middle, and the Southern colonies. The New York Colony was categorized under the Middle Colonies.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • New York Colony Facts
  • Locating New York
  • Find the Words
  • New York Colony: Origin
  • New York Colony: Timeline
  • Life in the Colony
  • Statement Analysis
  • Primary Source Analysis
  • During the American Revolution
  • New York: Then and Now
  • In a Nutshell

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Use With Any Curriculum

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