Editing Queens (section)

===Colonial and post-colonial history===
[[File:CatherineofBraganza1.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1|[[Catherine of Braganza]], Queen of England]]
[[File:Queens Boulevard, New York City (1920).jpg|thumb|upright=1|[[Queens Boulevard]], looking east from Van Dam Street, in 1920. The newly built [[IRT Flushing Line]] is in the boulevard's median.]]
The first [[European colonization of the Americas|European settlement]] in the region was the [[Dutch colonization of the Americas|Dutch]], who established the colony of [[New Netherland]]. The first settlements were established in 1635 followed by further settlement at [[Maspeth, Queens|Maspeth]] in 1642 (ultimately unsuccessful),<ref name="Shorto-Funk 2004" /> and Vlissingen (now [[Flushing, Queens|Flushing]]) in 1645.<ref name="ellis-p54">{{cite book |title=The Epic of New York City |last=Ellis |first=Edward Robb |publisher=Old Town Books |year=1966 |page=54}}</ref> Other early settlements included Newtown (now [[Elmhurst, Queens|Elmhurst]]) in 1652 and [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]] in 1655. However, these towns were mostly inhabited by English settlers from [[New England]] via eastern [[Long Island]] ([[Suffolk County, New York|Suffolk County]]) who were subject to Dutch law.<ref name="Scheltema-Westerhuijs 2011" /> After the capture of the colony by the English and its subsequent renaming as ''New York'' in 1664, the area (and all of Long Island) became known as [[Yorkshire County, Province of New York|Yorkshire]].<ref name="Colonial-Laws 1894–96" />{{Rp|pp=xi–xii}}

The [[Flushing Remonstrance]] signed by colonists in 1657 is considered a precursor to the [[United States Constitution]]'s provision on [[freedom of religion]] in the [[United States Bill of Rights|Bill of Rights]]. The signers protested the Dutch colonial authorities' persecution of [[Quakers]] in what is today the borough of Queens.
{{Long Island}}
Originally, Queens County included the adjacent area now comprising [[Nassau County, New York|Nassau County]]. It was an original county of New York State, one of twelve created on November 1, 1683.<ref name="Colonial-Laws 1894–96" />{{Rp|pp=121–122}} The county is presumed to have been named after [[Catherine of Braganza]], since she was queen of England at the time (she was Portugal's royal princess Catarina, daughter of King [[John IV of Portugal]]).<ref name="NY.com 1999 May 8" /> The county was founded alongside [[Brooklyn|Kings County]] ([[Brooklyn]], which was named after her husband, King Charles II), and [[Staten Island|Richmond County]] ([[Staten Island]], named after his illegitimate son, [[Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond|the 1st Duke of Richmond]]).<ref name="Room 1997–2006" /><ref name="Antos 2009" /><ref name="Mushabac-Wigan 1997" /> However, the namesake is disputed. While Catherine's title seems the most likely namesake, no historical evidence of official declaration has been found.<ref name="NYTs 2002 Jan 27" /> On October 7, 1691, all counties in the [[Colony of New York]] were redefined. Queens gained [[North and South Brother Islands, New York City|North and South Brother Islands]] as well as Huletts Island (today known as [[Rikers Island]]).<ref name="Colonial-Laws 1894–96" />{{Rp|p=268}} On December 3, 1768, Queens gained other islands in Long Island Sound that were not already assigned to a county but that did not abut on [[Westchester County]] (today's [[The Bronx|Bronx County]]).<ref name="Colonial-Laws 1894–96" />{{Rp|pp=1062–1063}}

Queens played a minor role in the [[American Revolution]], as compared to Brooklyn, where the [[Battle of Long Island]] was largely fought. Queens, like the rest of what became New York City and Long Island, remained under British occupation after the Battle of Long Island in 1776 and was occupied throughout most of the rest of the [[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary War]]. Under the [[Quartering Act]], British soldiers used, as [[barracks]], the public inns and uninhabited buildings belonging to Queens residents. Even though many residents opposed unannounced quartering, they supported the British crown. The quartering of soldiers in private homes, except in times of war, was banned by the [[Third Amendment to the United States Constitution]]. [[Nathan Hale]] was captured by the British on the shore of [[Flushing Bay]] and [[Hanging|hanged]] in [[Manhattan]].

From 1683 until 1784, Queens County consisted of five towns: Flushing, [[Town of Hempstead, New York|Hempstead]], [[Jamaica, Queens|Jamaica]], [[Elmhurst, Queens|Newtown]], and [[Town of Oyster Bay, New York|Oyster Bay]]. On April 6, 1784, a sixth town, the [[Town of North Hempstead, New York|Town of North Hempstead]], was formed through secession by the northern portions of the Town of Hempstead.<ref name="Greenspan" /><ref name="French 1860" /> The seat of the county government was located first in Jamaica,<ref name="5-boro-history" /> but the courthouse was torn down by the British during the American Revolution to use the materials to build barracks.<ref name="McCurdy 2019" /> After the war, various buildings in Jamaica temporarily served as courthouse and jail until a new building was erected about 1787 (and later completed) in an area near [[Mineola, New York|Mineola]] (now in Nassau County) known then as Clowesville.<ref name="Seyfried-Peterson" /><ref name="Peterson-Seyfried 1983–1987" /><ref name="NY-Local-Government-Handbook" />

The [[1850 United States census]] was the first in which the population of the three western towns exceeded that of the three eastern towns that are now part of Nassau County. Concerns were raised about the condition and distance of the old courthouse, and several sites were in contention for the construction of a new one.<ref name="NYTs 1872 Feb 25" />

In 1870, [[Long Island City]] split from the Town of Newtown, incorporating itself as a city, consisting of what had been the [[Astoria, Queens|village of Astoria]] and some unincorporated areas within the town of Newtown. Around 1874, the seat of county government was moved to Long Island City from Mineola.<ref name="Newsday 1998 Feb 22" /><ref name="Queens-Tribune 2004" /><ref name="Newsday 2007 Mar 29" /><ref name="NYTs 1874 Feb 9" />

On March 1, 1860, the eastern border between Queens County (later Nassau County) and [[Suffolk County, New York|Suffolk County]] was redefined with no discernible change.<ref name="Laws-of-NY 1860" /> On June 8, 1881, [[North Brother Island, East River|North Brother Island]] was transferred to [[Manhattan|New York County]].<ref name="Laws-of-NY 1881" /> On May 8, 1884, [[Rikers Island]] was transferred to New York County.<ref name="Laws-of-NY 1884" />

In 1886, Lloyd's Neck, which was then part of the town of Oyster Bay and had earlier been known as Queens Village, was set off and separated from Queens County and annexed to the town of Huntington in Suffolk County.<ref name="Laws-of-NY 1886" /><ref name="Beers-maps 1873" /><ref name="Lloyd-Harbor-Brief-History" /> On April 16, 1964, [[South Brother Island, East River|South Brother Island]] was transferred to Bronx County.<ref name="Laws-of-NY 1964 Vol 2" />