Geography

====New York is classified as a middle colony. Many settlements were located along the Hudson River and on Manhattan Island. These were ideal places to settle because of the nearby Atlantic Coastline where ports were available for the use of trading. However, land in the Western region of New York was unsettled because of the threat coming from the French. The main rivers in New York are the Hudson River and the Delaware River which were used for resources and trading. The Adirondack Mountains run through New York. The Lenape, an Algonquian group of Native Americans, used the New York Harbor for fishing and travel originally. The strait between Staten Island and Long Island is called The Narrows. This strait connected upper and lower New York Bay. The first European settlement that was permanent was started on Governors Island in 1624. Also, Brooklyn and Governors Island would have a ferry that provided transport between the two. The Manhattan bank located on the lower East River was the location of the first wharf. Dutch General Peter Stuyvesant had this construction done in 1648 to protect the area from harsh winds and ice. When the British took control of New York and turned it into a colony, it was properly equipped to become an amazing port for not only the British, but for the U.S. as well. The Delaware and Hudson Rivers provided good farming conditions for various crops that couldn't be grown on Manhattan lands like wheat and rye were. These crops could then be sent to the mother country and other colonies. The geography was crucial to the development of the colony because the rivers provided resources and ports to trade on. The rivers also provided fertile land that could be used for farming.====