Immigration History of New York City: Getting to Know the City Better
The history of New York City begins in September 3, 1609 with European settlement. This was exactly the time when Hudson was looking for a westerly passage to Asia. Although he never found one, he noticed the abundant beaver population. In fact it was this report of Hudson on beaver population that served as the impetus for founding Dutch trading colonies.
Long before Hudson explored, the Italian explorer, Giovanni da Verrazzano in command of a French Ship visited this region in 1524. It is believed that he sailed through the Upper New York Bay where he encountered native Lenape and then returned back through the narrows to continue with his voyage. It was he who named this area as present day New York City.
Modern New York City traces its development to the consolidation of five boroughs in 1898 and an economic and building boom following the great depression and World War 2. Throughout its history New York City has served as a main port of entry for many immigrants and it is this cultural and economic influence that has made this city one of the most important urban areas in United States and the World.
Today if you observe, you would notice that sixty percent of New York City residents are immigrants or children of immigrants. In fact New York is a heterogeneous city where you can hear 17 languages in the streets of Amsterdam as early as 1640's. Earlier Italian male migration was heavy followed by Jewish men and women.
Italians largely came from agricultural backgrounds while Jews mostly had industrial and urban backgrounds. Their relatively high skills and literacy accelerated them to take up their own independent businesses. Thus New York City became the center of Italian life in United States. This wave of immigration has definitely helped New York City in expanding its population.
