Manhattan is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Manhattan is coextensive with New York County, which is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York, and one of the smallest in the United States. Located almost entirely on Manhattan Island near the southern tip of the state, Manhattan is centrally located in the Northeast megalopolis and represents the urban core of the New York metropolitan area. Manhattan serves as New York City's economic and administrative center and has been described as the cultural, financial, media, and entertainment capital of the world.
Before European colonization, present-day Manhattan was part of Lenape territory. European settlement began with the establishment of a trading post by Dutch colonists in 1624 on Manhattan Island; the post was named "New Amsterdam" in 1626. The territory came under English control in 1664 and was renamed "New York" after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, the Duke of York. New York, based in present-day Lower Manhattan, served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790.
The Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, part of Manhattan, greeted millions of arriving immigrants in the late 19th century and symbolizes the United States and its ideals. Manhattan became a borough during the consolidation of New York City in 1898, and houses New York City Hall, the seat of the city's government. Harlem in Upper Manhattan became the center of what is now known as the cultural Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s. The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, is considered the birthplace in 1969 of the modern gay-rights movement, cementing Manhattan's central role in LGBTQ culture. Lower Manhattan was the site of the original World Trade Center, which was destroyed during the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, the borough is bounded by the Hudson, East, and Harlem rivers and includes several small adjacent islands, including Roosevelt, U Thant, and Randalls and Wards Islands. It also includes the small neighborhood of Marble Hill, now on the U.S. mainland. Manhattan Island is divided into three informally bounded components, each cutting across the borough's long axis: Lower, Midtown, and Upper. Manhattan is one of the most densely populated locations in the world, with a 2020 census population of 1,694,250 living in a land area of , or .
Manhattan is known for its fast pace and continuous urban energy. New York County is by a significant margin the most expensive U.S. county for the average home price per square foot, and produces the highest U.S. county GDP by both absolute and per capita measures. The borough houses Billionaires' Row and Wall Street, as well as the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.Neufeld, Dorothy. "Mapped: The Largest Stock Exchanges in the World", Virtual Capitalist, October 18, 2023. Retrieved December 26, 2023. Many multinational media conglomerates are based in Manhattan, as are numerous colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, Rockefeller University, and the City University of New York. The headquarters of the United Nations is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan.
Manhattan hosts three of the world's top 10 most-visited tourist attractions: Times Square, Central Park, and Grand Central Terminal. New York Penn Station is the busiest transportation hub in the Western Hemisphere. Fifth Avenue is an ultra-luxury international shopping corridor that is undergoing additional infrastructure investment. Chinatown has the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere.
The borough connects with many well-known bridges and tunnels. Manhattan's numerous notable skyscrapers include the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and One World Trade Center. It is also home to the National Basketball Association's New York Knicks and the National Hockey League's New York Rangers.
History
Lenape settlement
Manhattan was historically part of the Lenapehoking territory inhabited by the Munsee, Lenape, and Wappinger tribes.Benchley, Nathaniel. "The $24 Swindle" American Heritage, 1959, Vol. 11, Issue 1. Retrieved January 5, 2024. There were several Lenape settlements in the area including Sapohanikan, Nechtanc, and Konaande Kongh, which were interconnected by a series of trails. The primary trail on the island, which would later become Broadway, ran from what is now Inwood in the north to Battery Park in the south.Broadway , Society of Architectural Historians. Retrieved November 30, 2023. "Predating the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, Broadway was initially a Native American trading trail running the length of Manhattan. Various indigenous peoples living on the island—including Lenni Lenape, Delaware Lenape, and Wickquasgeck—used the route, known as the Wickquasgeck Trail, to exchange goods with each other. Following Dutch settlement in 1609 and the establishment of Fort Amsterdam in lower Manhattan, the Wickquasgeck Trail's southern endpoint became a site for trading between the indigenous peoples and the European colonists." There were various sites for fishing and planting established by the Lenape throughout Manhattan.
Toponymy
The etymology of the name Manhattan is most likely – amongst other theories, and via loaning by Dutch — from the Lenape's local language Munsee, manaháhtaan (where manah- means "gather", -aht- means "bow", and -aan is used to form verb stems). The Lenape word has been translated as "the place where we get bows" or "place for gathering the (wood to make) bows". According to a Munsee tradition recorded by Albert Seqaqkind Anthony in the 19th century, the island was named for a grove of hickory trees that was considered ideal for bowmaking. An alternate theory claims a "Delaware source akin to Munsee munahan ("island")."
Colonial era
In April 1524, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, sailing in service of Francis I of France, became the first documented European to visit the area that would become New York City.Giovanni da Verrazzano , Mariners' Museum and Park. Retrieved December 24, 2023. "Verrazzano sailed onward, continuing his search for the Northwest Passage. In mid-April 1524, Verrazzano and his crew became the first known Europeans to sail into New York Bay. Once again they were greeted peacefully by the Native Americans and treated well." Verrazzano entered the tidal strait now known as The Narrows and named the land around Upper New York Harbor New Angoulême, in reference to the family name of King Francis I; he sailed far enough into the harbor to sight the Hudson River, and he named the Bay of Santa Margarita – what is now Upper New York Bay – after Marguerite de Navarre, the elder sister of the king.R. J. Knecht: Renaissance Warrior and Patron: The Reign of Francis I; p. 372. Cambridge University Press (1996) Seymour I. Schwartz: The Mismapping of America. p. 42; The University of Rochester Press (2008)
Manhattan was first mapped during a 1609 voyage of Henry Hudson. Hudson came across Manhattan Island and the native people living there, and continued up the river that would later bear his name, the Hudson River."Henry Hudson and His Exploration" Scientific American, September 25, 1909. Retrieved May 1, 2007. "This was a vain hope however, and the conviction must finally have come to the heart of the intrepid adventurer that once again he was foiled in his repeated quest for the northwest passage ... On the following day the Half Moon let go her anchor inside of Sandy Hook. The week was spent in exploring the bay with a shallop, or small boat, and "they found a good entrance between two headlands" (the Narrows) "and thus entered on the 12th of September into as fine a river as can be found"" Manhattan was first recorded in writing as Manna-hata, in the logbook of Robert Juet, an officer on the voyage.
A permanent European presence in New Netherland began in 1624, with the founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island.History, Governor's Island. Retrieved December 24, 2023. "The Dutch West India Company first arrived to New Amsterdam and opted to set up camp on the small, 70-acre Island rather than brave the wilderness that lay across the water on the island that would later be known as Manhattan." In 1625, construction was started on the citadel of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, later called New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam), in what is now Lower Manhattan.Dutch Colonies , National Park Service. Retrieved May 19, 2007. "Sponsored by the West India Company, 30 families arrived in North America in 1624, establishing a settlement on present-day Manhattan."GovIsland Park-to-Tolerance: through Broad Awareness and Conscious Vigilance , Tolerance Park. Retrieved November 20, 2016. See Legislative Resolutions Senate No. 5476 and Assembly No. 2708. The establishment of Fort Amsterdam is recognized as the birth of New York City.City Seal and Flag , New York City. Retrieved November 20, 2016. "Date: Beneath the horizontal laurel branch the date 1625, being the year of the establishment of New Amsterdam." In 1647, Peter Stuyvesant was appointed as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony.Journal of New Netherland 1647. Written in the Years 1641, 1642, 1643, 1644, 1645, and 1646. , Library of Congress. Retrieved August 6, 2023. "The West India Company removed Kieft from his post in 1647 and replaced him with Peter Stuyvesant, the last director-general of New Netherland before the colony was taken over by the English in 1664." New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city on February 2, 1653.About the Council , New York City Council. Retrieved May 18, 2007. In 1664, English forces conquered New Netherland and renamed it "New York" after the English Duke of York and Albany, the future King James II.New Netherlands Becomes New York , University of Houston Digital History. Retrieved January 3, 2024. "In 1664, the English sent a fleet to seize New Netherlands, which surrendered without a fight. The English renamed the colony New York, after James, the Duke of York, who had received a charter to the territory from his brother King Charles II." The Treaty of Breda, signed on July 31, 1667, ended the Second Anglo-Dutch war. The Dutch ceded New Netherland (encompassing modern-day New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware) to England in exchange for the territory of Suriname and control of the spice-producing Island of Run in the East Indies, known for its production of nutmeg and mace. In August 1673, the Dutch reconquered the colony, renaming it "New Orange", but permanently relinquished it back to England the following year under the terms of the Treaty of Westminster that ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War.Scheltema, Gajus and Westerhuijs, Heleen (eds.), Exploring Historic Dutch New York, Museum of the City of New York / Dover Publications, New York (2011). "History of New York City - 1600s NYC" , History 101 NYC. Retrieved January 3, 2024. "1673: A pivotal moment in New York City's history when Dutch forces briefly reclaimed it during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. The city, captured by the English in 1664 and renamed New York, was temporarily dubbed New Orange in honor of William of Orange.... 1674: The Treaty of Westminster, signed in February, officially concluded the Third Anglo-Dutch War. This treaty marked a crucial turn in colonial history, transferring New York permanently to English control."
American Revolution