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
New York City English prestigious British feature, consistently starting among the upper classes in New York City in the nineteenth century before spreading to other socioeconomic classes. After World War II, social perceptions reversed, and the "r"-preserving (rhotic) pronunciation became the prestige norm throughout the whole United States. Thus, what was once an upper-class feature only remained strong among vernacular speakers, due to the loss of Britain's imperial status, the national embracing of non-East Coast features, and widespread postwar migrations of rhotic speakers directly to New York from other regions of the country. Today, most New York City English is variably rhotic, a remnant