Province of New York

The Province of New York was created in 1664 when a fleet raised by King Charles II and his brother James, Duke of York, captured the Dutch colony of New Netherland, with New Amsterdam surrendering that September; the province took its name from its proprietor, the Duke of York. It was governed as a proprietary colony under James until his accession to the English throne as King James II in 1685, after which it became a royal crown colony, with its charter re-enacted in 1691. English control was confirmed by the Treaty of Westminster in 1674 following a brief Dutch reoccupation. New York endorsed the Declaration of Independence on July 9, 1776, though British forces held New York City until their final evacuation on November 25, 1783, after the 1783 Treaty of Paris ended British claims to the province. As a colony governed first by proprietor and then by the crown, it is grouped here among Kingdoms and Principalities, the closest available classification for a monarchical dependency pending a dedicated colonial-provinces category.