History.— Albany, as an old frontier town and strategic post against the French settle ments in the 18th century wars, is of much historic interest. Next to Jamestown, Va., and Saint Augustine, Fla., it was the oldest settle ment in the Union; if the 13 colonies only are included, and Jamestown thrown out as de serted since 1676, it may perhaps be called the oldest with a continuous life, though its actual settlement as a residence is later than Ply mouth. (For early discovery, see Ammac.A; HUDSON ; VraassANo). About 1540 a French trading post was set up there for a time. In 1614 the Dutch, following Hudson's lead, es tablished a factory on Castle Island, called Fort Nassau, in 1617 removed to the mainland and called Beverwyck. The first settlers were 18 Walloon families (Huguenot refugees from Belgium—Peter Minuit, the first director general of New Amsterdam, was a Walloon), and Fort Orange (Latinized Aurania) was built the same year near the present capitol. In 1626 a war with the Mohawks forced the temporary abandonment of the village. In 1629 Killian Van Rensselaer, having obtained from the Dutch government a large land-grant near by, colonized it with Dutch settlers and rented the land to them as patroon. (See ANTI-RENT WAY; PATROON ) This, as always, ended in a chronic dispute over the extent of his legal rights and jurisdiction, which was not settled till after the ownership of the Dutch settlements was transferred by the English conquest to the Duke of York and (later James II) after whom Fort Orange was renamed: In 1686 it received a city charter (its bicentennial was celebrated in 1886) from Gov. Thomas Dongan; its first mayor (appoint
ed by the governor, though the council was elected) was Peter Schuyler. The English settlers rapidly increased, but Albany was long a Dutch city. In the French and Indian wars it. was a stockaded rendezvous, arsenal and hospital, the refuge of the border. In 1754 it was the meeting-place of the first Provincial Congress, which formed °a plan of a proposed union of the several colonies.° (See ALBANY CONGRESS). In 1777 it was Burgoyne's objec tive point, where he was to meet the expedi tions up the river and from Canada. After being for many years the occasional seat of State government, it became the permanent capital in 1797, the centennial of which it cele brated 6 Jan. 1897. Its rapid growth began with the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, making it the terminal for western business. Within 35 years it had increased five-fold. In 1848 the city was partially destroyed by fire.
Bibliography.— Weise, A. J., The History of the City of Albany' (Albany 1884) ; Mun sell, J., The Annals of Albany> (10 vols., Al bany 1850-59) ; and 'Collections on the City of Albany> (4 vols., Albany 1865-71) ; Howell, G. R., and 'Tenney, J., (13i-centennial History of (History of the County of Al bany N. Y. from 1609-1886' (bound with a 'History of the County of Schenectady>, New York 1886) ; Reynolds, C., (Albany Chronicles' (Albany 1906) ; and a sketch in Powell, L. P., 'Historical Towns of the Middle States> (New York 1899).