Province of New York

Province of New York
1664–1783
Flag Seal of the Province of New York, 1767
Map of the Province of New York
Status	Colony of England (1664–1707) Colony of Great Britain (1707–1783)
Capital	New York City
Official languages	English
Minority languages	Dutch Iroquoian languages Algonquian languages
Government	Proprietary colony (1664–1686) Crown colony (1689–1783)
King
• 1664–85	Charles II (first)
• 1760–76	George III (last)
Royal Governor
• 1664–1668	Richard Nicolls (first)
• 1783	Andrew Elliot (last)
Legislature	Council (1664–1686, 1689–1775) Provincial Congress (1775-1777)
• Upper house	New York Executive Council
• Lower house	New York General Assembly
History
• Capture of New Amsterdam	28 August 1664
• Declaration of Independence	4 July 1776
• Treaty of Paris	3 September 1783
Currency	New York pound
Preceded by Succeeded by New Netherland New York Vermont Republic
Today part of	United States  ∟New York  ∟Vermont

The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to the Great Lakes and North to the colonies of New France and claimed lands further west.

In 1664, Charles II of England and his brother James, Duke of York raised a fleet to take the Dutch colony of New Netherland, then under the Directorship of Peter Stuyvesant. Stuyvesant surrendered to the English fleet without recognition from the Dutch West India Company. The province was renamed for the Duke of York, as its proprietor.^[1] England's rule was established de facto following military control in 1664, and became established de jure as sovereign rule in 1667 in the Treaty of Breda and the Treaty of Westminster (1674). It was not until 1674 that English common law was applied in the colony.

In the late 18th century, colonists in New York rebelled along with the other Thirteen Colonies, and supported the American Revolutionary War that led to the founding of the United States. British claims in New York were ended by the Treaty of Paris of 1783, with New York establishing its independence from the crown. The final evacuation of New York City by the British Army was followed by the return of General George Washington's Continental Army on November 25, 1783, in a grand parade and celebration.