The Wall Street of to-day, where so many fortunes are made and lost, stands on the site of the old wall built by Peter Stuyvesant to protect the city.
The first windmill was built in 1662.
In 1664 Charles II. of England, jealous of the productiveness of this Dutch colony, determined to secure it.
In 1621 James I. had claimed it by right of first occupancy.
In 1632 Charles I. reasserted this claim; and in 1654 Cromwell ordered an expedition for the conquest of the New Netherlands.
The treaty with Holland stopped these proceedings, and the colony was left in peace until 1664, when Charles II. granted the entire territory to his brother, the Duke of York.
In August of that year an expedition arrived to capture the city, which surrendered to the English fleet without resistance. The name of the city was then changed to New York, in honor of its ducal owner.
In 1673 the Dutch recaptured the city, and christened it New Orange. The following year, by a treaty of peace with Holland, it was restored to the English and again called New York.
In 1702 Wall Street was paved, and in 1711 a regular slave market was established.
In 1775, at the beginning of the war, New York declared for independence, but in 1776 it fell into the hands of the English, who retained possession until 1783, when they finally evacuated it.