New York City York metropolitan area produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of US$1.73 trillion. If greater New York City were a sovereign state, it would have the 12th highest GDP in the world. New York City traces its origins to a trading post founded by colonists from the Dutch Republic in 1624 on Lower Manhattan; the post was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed "New York" after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. New York served as the capital of
History of New York City During the mid 17th century, farms of free blacks covered where Washington Square Park later developed. The Dutch briefly regained the city in 1673, renaming the city "New Orange", before permanently ceding the colony of New Netherland to the English for what is now Suriname in November 1674. Some place names originated in the Dutch period and were named after places in the Netherlands, most notably Flushing (Dutch town of Vlissingen), Harlem (Dutch town of Haarlem), and Brooklyn (Dutch town of Breukelen). Few buildings, however, remain from the 17th century. The oldest recorded house still in existence in New York