Editing Lower Manhattan (section)

===Lenape and New Netherland===
{{Main|History of New York City (prehistory–1664)}}
[[File:GezichtOpNieuwAmsterdam.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[New Amsterdam]], centered in what eventually became Lower Manhattan, in 1664, the year [[British colonization of the Americas|England]] took control and renamed it New York]]
[[File:Petrus (Peter Pieter) Stuyvesant portrait c1660.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|[[Peter Stuyvesant]]]]
The area that would eventually encompass modern-day New York City was inhabited by the [[Lenape]] people. These groups of culturally and linguistically identical [[indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] who spoke an [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] language now referred to as ''[[Unami language|Unami]]''.

European settlement began with the founding of a [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] [[fur trade|fur trading]] post in Lower Manhattan, later called [[New Amsterdam]] ({{langx|nl|Nieuw-Amsterdam}}) in 1626.<ref name=LowerManhattanHistory>{{cite web |url=http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2122.html |title=United States History – History of New York City, New York |publisher=Online Highways LLC |via=www.u-s-history.com |access-date=July 20, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=New York: the World's Capital City, Its Development and Contributions to Progress |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.226262 |last1=Rankin |first1=Rebecca B. |first2=Cleveland |last2=Rodgers |publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper]] |year=1948 }}</ref> The first fort was built at [[The Battery (Manhattan)|The Battery]] to protect [[New Netherland]].<ref name=NYCPR>{{cite web |url=https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/battery-park/history |title=The Battery Highlights : NYC Parks |publisher=[[New York City Department of Parks and Recreation]] |access-date=March 2, 2019 }}</ref>

In approximately 1626, construction of [[Fort Amsterdam]] began.<ref name=NYCPR/> The [[Dutch West Indies Company]] subsequently [[history of slavery in New York|imported African slaves]] to serve as laborers; they helped to build [[Wall Street|the wall]] that defended the town against English and native attacks. Early directors included [[Willem Verhulst]] and [[Peter Minuit]]. [[Willem Kieft]] became a [[Director of New Netherland|director]] in 1638 but five years later was embroiled in [[Kieft's War]] against the Native Americans. The [[Pavonia Massacre]], across the Hudson River in present-day [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]], New Jersey resulted in the death of 80 natives in February 1643. Following the massacre, [[Algonquian peoples|Algonquian]] tribes joined forces and nearly defeated the Dutch. The [[Dutch Republic]] sent additional forces to the aid of Kieft, leading to the overwhelming defeat of the Native Americans and a peace treaty on August 29, 1645.<ref name="EllisEpic1966">{{cite book |title=The Epic of New York City |last=Ellis |first=Edward Robb |publisher=Old Town Books |year=1966 }}</ref>{{rp|37–40}}

On May 27, 1647, [[Peter Stuyvesant]] was inaugurated as [[Director-General of New Netherland|director general]] upon his arrival. The colony was granted self-government in 1652, and New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city on February 2, 1653.<ref name="EllisEpic1966" />{{rp|57}} The first mayors (''[[burgemeesters]]'') of New Amsterdam, [[Arent van Hattem]] and [[Martin Cregier]], were appointed in that year.<ref>Scheltema, Gajus and Westerhuijs, Heleen (eds.),''Exploring Historic Dutch New York''. [[Museum of the City of New York]]/[[Dover Publications]], New York 2011.</ref>