New York

New York, one of the largest cities in the world, was founded three hundred years ago at the mouth of the Hudson River. The centre of New York is Manhattan Island. The first Europeans came to Manhattan island from Holland in 1605. In 1613 the Dutch built only four small houses on Manhattan as a fur trading station. In 1623 the Dutch started a town there. It was named New Amsterdam in honour of the capital of their country in Europe.

In 1626 Manhattan island was bought from the Indians for a handful of trinkets that cost twenty-four dollars. Today Manhattan is the centre of business and commercial life of the country. Many sky-scrapers house banks and offices of American businessmen. Broadway begins here, the Stock Exchange is located here. Very few people live in Manhattan, although the majority work here. Numerous bridges link Manhattan Island with the opposite shores.

In 1789 in New York on the steps of Federal Hall George Washington took the oath of office when he became the first president of the United States of America. From 1785 to 1790 New York was the capital of the United States. New York is inhabited by people of almost all nationalities. It is even called "Modern Babylon". At the beginning of the 20-th century a lot of people came to the USA from different countries of the world. They entered the USA through New York "the Gateway of America".

New York is one of the leading manufacturing cities in the world. The most important branches of industry are those, producing paper products, vehicles, glass, chemicals, machinery. The city has its own traffic system. The sea encircles many of the city areas and ships go over or under New York traffic.