Albany

Title

Albany

Description

View of the city of Albany with sailing ships and a paddle steamer, USA.

ca. 1850

Artist

Kunstanstalt Hildburghausen (1828-1874)

The German publishing company Bibliographisches Institut was founded 1826 in Gotha by Joseph Meyer, moved 1828 to Hildburghausen and 1874 to Leipzig. Its production over the years includes such well-known titles as Meyers Lexikon.

Historical Description

European settlement of the area began in 1614 with the construction of the Dutch Fort Nassau, which was abandoned after four years. In 1624, it was replaced by Fort Oranje, which was located west of today's Dunn Memorial Bridge and had the task of securing the fur trade. Fort Oranje was the first permanent settlement of the colony of New Netherland. Over time, Fort Oranje developed into a trading post for furs, and Pieter Stuyvesant founded the settlement of Beverwyck in 1652. When the English conquered the colony of New Netherland in 1664, they changed the names of the settlements. In honor of the Duke of York and Albany, Nieuw Amsterdam became New York and Beverwyck became Albany. From 1685, the settlement belonged to the British Crown Colony of New York. With the Dongan Charter, Albany was granted city status in 1686. In 1807, steam navigation began on the Hudson between Albany and New York City. From 1819, the city was connected to the Great Lakes of North America via the Erie Canal.