New York City City and port in
se New York State, at the mouth of the
Hudson River; largest city (by population) in the USA.
Manhattan Island was settled in 1624 and was bought (1626) from Native Americans by the Dutch West India Company. New Amsterdam was founded at the
s end of the island. In 1664, the British took the colony and renamed it New York. The founding of the Bank of New York by Alexander
Hamilton, and the opening of the
Erie Canal in 1825 made New York the principal commercial and financial centre in the USA. After the American
Civil War and in the early 20th century, the city received a great influx of immigrants. It is made up of five boroughs:
Manhattan, the Bronx,
Brooklyn,
Queens, and Staten Island. Sights include the
Statue of Liberty, the
Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. It is one of the world's major ports and a vital financial centre. On September 11, 2001, terrorists piloted two hijacked airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center, killing
c.2750 people and destroying the towers. Industries: clothing, chemicals, metal products, scientific instruments, shipbuilding, broadcasting, entertainment, tourism, publishing. Pop. (2000) 8,008,278.
