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Sailing up the coast Henry Hudson blundered into the mouth of
the river subsequently called the Hudson River. He was exploring for
nine days the place which is now New York's harbour. In 1624 two
ship-loads of Dutch colonists arrived and under the leadership of Peter
Minuit (1580-1638) set up their first settlement, named New
Amsterdam. Peter Minuit bought Manhattan for trinkets worth 24
dollars. New Amsterdam was a genuine Dutch outpost in the New
World, marked by gabled roofs, a windmill and a canal running up the
middle of what eventually became Broad Street.
In August 1664 English ships under the command of Colonel
Richard Nicolls sailed into the harbour of New Amsterdam. The Dutch
who feared Manhattan would be destroyed gave up without firing a
shot the town that had been laid out four decades before.
The English Flag went up over Fort Amsterdam and soon afterward
New Amsterdam was renamed New York in honour of the English
King's brother James, Duke of York. Nicolls began to rule New York
as the Duke's deputy governor.
In 1775 American War for Independence began and in 1776 George
Washington (1732-1799) battled British in New York.
In 1783 British evacuated the city, Washington delivered his famous
farewell address to his officers at Fraunces Tavern.
After the Civil War New York served as the young Republic's first
capital (the federal government moved to Philadelphia in 1790 and
then to newly built Washington D.C., in 1800).
George Washington, as first President of the United States, was
inaugurated in New York on April 30, 1789 and took the oath of
office on the balcony of Federal Hall, a building that stood at the
corner of Nassau and Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.

COSMOPOLIS

Words and their meanings:

cosmopolis - місто всесвітнього значення, що населене різними
народами
pour - вливатися
stream - текти
predecessor - попередник
handle - мати справу