History of Albany, New York (1664–1784) state capital in the United States. In the period leading up to the Second Anglo-Dutch War, King Charles II of England granted the land from Maine to Delaware, which included all of New Netherland, to his brother James, Duke of York. In April 1664 four ships with a combined 450-men fighting force set sail for New Amsterdam. Fort Orange was surrendered to the English 16 days after New Amsterdam (the city of New York). Surrender terms at New Amsterdam were quite generous. Fort Orange was renamed Fort Albany, and the village of Beverswyck was renamed Albany, in honor of the
New York City English predominates in central and western New York State, especially along the Great Lakes. However, New York City English does extend beyond the city proper, including in western Long Island (although the boundaries there are not clearly established). Moreover, the English of the Hudson Valley forms a continuum of speakers who gather more features of New York City English the closer they are in geographic relation to the city itself; some of the dialect's features may be heard as far north as the city of Albany. The northeast quarter of New Jersey, prominently Bergen, Hudson, and Essex counties, including the cities