纽约州小档案：
人口：约1900万
面积：约128，401平方公里，排名第30位
州府：奥尔巴尼Albany
纽约州是美国50州中最重要的一州。
本州于1609至1664年为荷兰所占。以后属英国，定名为纽约New York。1777年4月20日独立。1788年7月26日成为美国旧13州之中第11州。以玫瑰花为州花。本州别名是“帝国之州”Empire State。因为华盛顿总统曾指出纽约州是“帝国的基地”。本州箴言是“不断攀登”（或精益求精）Execlsior。
州府是奥尔巴尼Albany，人口11万。罗契斯特Rochester位于安大略湖南岸，人口30万。这是美国照像器材制造中心。柯达公司就在本市之内。水牛城Buffalo在本州西境，尼加拉河为起点。这是美国最大的面粉工业都市，也是纽约州第二大都市。哈得逊河与伊利运河的驳船可以直达五大湖。
纽约州共有大专院校227所。在大专院校进修的学生人数。纽约州之州立大学有71个分校，规模最大。纽约市内之哥大（1754年创立）及绮色佳Ithaca之康及尔大学Cornell University（1865年创立），均为著名之大学。
本州特征有二：第一，人口方面，以前曾是美国第一大州，现今已是第二大州，仅次于加州，约等于英格兰六州人口之二倍。第二，它是美国的神经中枢和经济心脏。例如：金融方面、商业方面、工业方面、艺术方面、服装方面，它在美国各州之内，都居于领导地位。它拥有美国最大之纽约市及纽约港。
本州工、农并重。据近年统计，有58000多个农场，总面积为468万公顷。平均每一农场为20公顷。种植牧草，畜养乳牛。牛奶产量列第一位。此外，蔬菜、西瓜、甜樱桃、酸樱桃、梨、枫糖浆产量均为各州之冠。葡萄产量次于加州，苹果产量次于华盛顿州，肉鸡业十分发达。粮食方面有小麦及玉蜀黍。本州印刷业、出版业、制纸业、制衣业、照像器材业、运动器械、珠宝业、玩具业，产量均超过任何一州。本州有山、有河、有湖、有瀑布，又有128个州立公园，每年游客多至5000万。
Introduction简介
For a short time，New York City was the U．S．capital and George Washington was inaugurated（举行就职典礼）there as the first president on April 30，1789．
New York’s extremely rapid commercial（商业的，贸易的）growth may be partly attributed to（归因于）Governor De Witt Clinton，who pushed through the construction of the Erie Canal（Buffalo to Albany），which was opened in 1825．
For more than three centuries England and Holland had been the closest of friends；but now，at the close of the long and bloody Thirty Years’War，which ended with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648，the power of Spain was crushed（压垮，粉碎），and the Dutch，no longer having anything to fear from his Catholic Majesty（最高权威，王权），rose to dispute with the English the dominion of the seas．This brought about an unfriendly rivalry（竞争）between the two nations，and the unfriendliness was increased by the fact that the Dutch of new Netherland traded freely with the English colonies．They carried great quantities of Virginia tobacco to Holland，and thus at least 10，000a year was lost in customs duties（进口税）to the British government．
The first Navigation Law，1651，was aimed largely at the Dutch trader，but the wily（老谋深算的）Dutchman ignored the law and continued as before．This was one cause that determined the English on the conquest of New Amsterdam．Another，and probably the chief one，was that the Dutch colony on the Hudson separated New England from the other English colonies and threatened（恐吓，威胁）British dominion in North America．
The English claimed New Netherland on the ground of the Cabot discoveries；and Charles II now，1664，coolly gave the entire country，from the Connecticut to the Delaware，to his brother James，Duke of York，ignoring the claims of the Dutch colony，and even disregarding（不理漠视）his own charter of two years before the younger Winthrop．Richard Nicolls of the royal navy set out with a small fleet and about five hundred of the king’s veterans（老手，退伍军人）．Reaching New England，he was joined by several hundred of the militia（民兵）of Connecticut and Long Island，and he sailed for the mouth of the Hudson．
Stuyvesant had heard of the fleet’s arrival at Boston，but he was made to believe that its object was to enforce the Episcopal（主教的，主教制度的，英国国教的）service upon the Puritans of New England，and so unsuspecting（不怀疑的，无疑虑的，信任的）was he that he went far up the river，to Fort Orange，to quell（镇压）an Indian disturbance．Here he was when informed that Nicolls was moving toward New Amsterdam．Stuyvesant hastened（促进，加速）down the river with all speed，arriving at New Amsterdam［阿姆斯特丹（荷兰首都）］but one day before the English fleet hove into view．Nicolls demanded the surrender of the fort．Stuyvesant refused；he fumed［（发怒）and fretted（使）烦恼，（使）焦急］and swore and stamped his wooden leg．He tore to bits a conciliatory（抚慰的，调和的）letter sent him by Nicolls．He mustered his forces for defense．But the people were not with him；they were weary of his tyrannical（残暴的）government in which they had no part，weary of enriching a company at their own expense，and the choleric（易怒的）old governor had to yield．The fort was surrendered（1664）without bloodshed（流血）；New Amsterdam became New York，after the Duke of York；the upper Hudson also yielded，and Fort Orange became Albany，after another of the duke（公爵）’s titles，and all New Netherland，including the Delaware Valley，passed under English control．
By what right Charles II seized（抓住，逮住，夺取）New Netherland is probably known to kings and rulers，but not to the humble（谦逊的）historian．Queen Elizabeth had laid down the postulate（假定）that mere discovery，without occupation，did not constitute a right to new lands．This was a good rule when applied to Spain to refute her claims to North America；it was another story when applied to the English concerning the Hudson Valley．But the English deftly（灵巧地，熟练地）evaded（逃避，躲避）the difficulty，to their own satisfaction，by claiming that the Hudson Valley was part of Virginia as given by James I，in 1606，to two companies．This tract had been settled at both ends，—on the James River and the New England coast，—and why should a foreign power claim the central portion because not yet occupied？Thus argued the English，and their argument won because sustained by force of arms．And yet，the providential hand may easily be seen．The conquest of New Netherland was scarcely less（简直一样，简直相等）important than was the conquest of New France，a century later，on the Plains of Abraham．It all belonged to the preparation—not for British dominion in North America，but for the dominion of future generations that were to occupy the land．Before their power England was yet to go down，as New Netherland and New France first went down before hers．Thus England，all unwittingly（不知情地，无意地），became the instrument in preparing the way and fighting the battles for a nation that was yet to be born．