Considered by many to be the capital of the world, New York is neither the capital nor the state – the official residence of Democrat Andrew Cuomo, who resigned after being accused of sexual harassment by 11 women, is in Albany.
The city has just under 100,000 residents and is located 230 kilometers north of New York City, which has 85 times the population.
Become a Dutch colony after the exploration of Henry Hudson in 1609, the State of New York left Albany. In 1614, Fort Nassau, built on Castle Island, now the port of New York’s capital, was transformed into a trading post for the New Netherland Company, paving the way for the city’s transformation into a major trading center. transport and trade.
Ten years later, in 1624, the Dutch established the first European colony in the state, known as Fort Orange. The installation in New Amsterdam, on Manhattan Island, took place a year later.
Albany got this name in 1664 after surrendering to the British, who renamed the site in honor of James, Duke of York and Albany (who became King James II). The strategic location and the construction of Fort Frederick, to protect the region, made the city one of the main cities of the colonial era. Between 1790 (the first year of the U.S. Census) and 1850, the population grew from nearly 4,000 to just over 50,000, an increase of over 1,000% in 60 years.
Albany’s historical importance was thus established from the first centuries of the colonization of the United States, as a trade route. The city’s continued existence as a capital after its establishment in 1797, on the other hand, is tied to its location much more central than New York (the city).
Although both are in the eastern part of the state, Albany is in the center, while New York is far to the south, on the Atlantic Ocean coast. As a capital city hosts a number of economic and political events of importance to the state, a more centralized location makes a difference in bringing people together in the north and west, as well as the south.
This location logic is used in other states: Austin, Texas, is more centralized than Houston and Dallas, for example. Tallahassee, Florida was located between the state’s two major cities in the early 19th century, St. Augustine and Pensacola. Today, however, it is far from the most important cities, Miami and Orlando.
“The usual localization model [das capitais] in the United States, that’s it: it’s not the biggest metropolis, it’s near the center of the state and the result of a legislative battle of agreements, ”wrote John Heppen, professor at the United States. Department of Geography and Cartographic Sciences, University of Wisconsin-River. Falls, in the review of the book “American Capitals”.
So most capitals are determined by the state legislature, but some have been chosen by governors or by popular vote, the professor explained.