1.
Rensselaer, New York
–
Rensselaer /rɛnsəˈlɪər/ is a city in Rensselaer County, New York, United States, and is located on the Hudson River directly opposite Albany. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 9,392, Rensselaer is on the west border of the county. Earliest settlement occurred as early as 1628, the city has a rich industrial history stretching back to the 19th century, when it became a major railroad hub, a distinction which it maintains as the location of the 14th busiest Amtrak station. It was one of the earliest locations of the dye industry in the United States, the natives of the area called it Petuquapoern and Juscum catick, and the Dutch claimed the land in 1609 based on Henry Hudsons exploration of the Hudson River. Later the area was called De Laets Burg in honor of one of the directors of the Dutch West India Co, settlement occurred at least as early as 1628. By 1642 there was a brewery and many farms, also a ferry was established by Hendrick Albertsen running from the mouth of Beaver Creek in Beverwyck to the future Rensselaer, Greenbush was the earliest settlement from Dutch times. The hamlet of East Albany was part of the village of Greenbush, the second hamlet that would be incorporated was Bath, which was laid out in 1795 and incorporated as a village prior to 1874. The Van Rensselaer family, which were the feudal landholders of the entire future Rensselaer County built a residence in the city of Rensselaer. This property was inherited by Hendrick van Rensselaer, Kiliaen van Rensselaers grandson and it was built on the site of where Dominie Megapolensis built his own house in 1642. At various times, the grounds were used as a campground for British, Fort Crailo was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961. The hamlet of Greenbush was a tract of land about one mile in size. This was purchased in May 1810 by William Akin, Titus Goodman and John Dickinson from Stephen Van Rensselaer and Stephen N. Bayard, the village was later incorporated in 1815. A new charter was granted in 1828, which was amended in 1854, and again in 1863, in 1897, Greenbush was chartered as a city, and its name was changed to Rensselaer. Its limits were extended in 1902 by the annexation of the village of Bath, in the 19th century Rensselaer became the site of the Boston & Albany Railroads passenger depot, shops, freight houses, roundhouse, and coach yard. It was the site of transfers between trains of the New York Central Railroad and the B&A, a ferry transported people to and from the Van Rensselaer Island and downtown Albany at Maiden Lane. In 1871 the Maiden Lane Bridge was built replacing the ferry, in 1903 the channel that separated the island from the mainland was filled in with sand dredged from the bottom of the Hudson River. When the NY Central and the B&A merged in 1900 the islands activities became important, though a new roundhouse. In 1882 the Hudson River Aniline and Color Works built their first plant in Rensselaer, however it burned 13 years later, in 1895 Building 61 was rebuilt and at the same time Building 71 was built as well
2.
New York (state)
–
New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year
3.
United States
–
Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
4.
Kiliaen van Rensselaer (merchant)
–
He was one of the first patroons, but the only one to become successful. He founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck in what is now mainly New Yorks Capital District and his estate remained throughout the Dutch and British colonial era and the American Revolution as a legal entity until the 1840s. Eventually, that came to an end during the Anti-Rent War, Van Rensselaer was the son of Hendrick Kiliaensz van Rensselaer, a soldier from Nijkerk in the States army of the duke of Upper Saxony, and Maria Pafraet, descendant of a well-known printers dynasty. To keep from risking his life in the army like his father, he apprenticed under his uncle and he too became a successful jeweler and was one of the first subscribers to the Dutch West India Company upon its conception. The concept of patroonships may have been Kiliaen van Rensselaers, he was likely the leading proponent of the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, Van Rensselaer married twice and had at least eleven children. When he died sometime after 1642, two succeeded him as patroons of Rensselaerswyck, Van Rensselaer had a marked effect on the history of the United States. Kiliaen van Rensselaer was born in Hasselt, Overijssel, Netherlands in 1586, the exact day of his birth is unknown. He was the son of Hendrick van Rensselaer and Maria Pafraet and his father was a captain in the Dutch army until his death at the Siege of Ostend in early June 1602. With his father usually not home because of a career, Van Rensselaers mother sent him to apprentice with his uncle, Wolfert van Bijler. At the time, the gem trade was an enterprise to join. In those days, the trade was nearly always combined with the trade in pearls, other articles of luxury. Dutch jewelers found a market for their valuable wares at the Dutch imperial court. This realm of work promoted Van Rensselaer to a life of economic success, much of Van Rensselaers early life is unknown to todays historians, though in March 1608 it has been recorded that he was taking care of some business of Van Bijler in Prague. It seems Van Bijler gradually retired from his business, leaving it in the control of Van Rensselaer, the firms combined under the name of Jan van Wely & Co. in February 1614. Van Rensselaers name was not included in the name of the new company, since he contributed only one eighth of the investment capital, in 1616, van Wely was called on by Prince Maurice to meet at the Hague for a sale in jewels. He was murdered while waiting to meet with the Prince, the firms contract stipulated that at the death of Jan van Wely, the remaining members of the firm should continue the partnership for another six years. Some of Van Rensselaers success as a jewel merchant came about due to trade made possible by the Dutch East India Company, the practical spirit of the Dutch merchant could not fail to recognize that the way to riches was through trade with the West Indies and Africa. During the Twelve Years Truce, Dutch merchants had sailed unmolested to the West Indies, before the Eighty Years War began, people realized that the West Indies trade might bring great prosperity to the country and that more power might be developed against Spain
5.
County seat
–
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in the United States, Canada, Romania, China, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, county towns have a similar function. In the United States, counties are the subdivisions of a state. Depending on the state, counties may provide services to the public, impose taxes. Some types of subdivisions, such as townships, may be incorporated or unincorporated. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government is known as the seat of its respective county, a county seat is usually, but not always, an incorporated municipality. The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia, likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey, though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township, in some of the colonial states, county seats include or formerly included Court House as part of their name. Most counties have only one county seat, an example is Harrison County, Mississippi, which lists both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats. The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult, there have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of pride for the towns involved. There are 36 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states, Coffee County, for example, the official county seat is Greensboro, but an additional courthouse has been located in nearby High Point since 1938. For example, Clearwater is the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, in New England, the town, not the county, is the primary division of local government. Historically, counties in this region have served mainly as dividing lines for the judicial systems. Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county level of government and thus no county seats, in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine the county seats are legally designated shire towns. County government consists only of a Superior Court and Sheriff, both located in the shire town. Bennington County has two towns, but the Sheriff is located in Bennington. In Massachusetts, most government functions which would otherwise be performed by county governments in other states are performed by town governments. As such, Massachusetts has dissolved many of its county governments, two counties in South Dakota have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county
6.
Troy, New York
–
Troy is a city in the U. S. State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the edge of Rensselaer County. Troy has close ties to the cities of Albany and Schenectady. The city is one of the three centers for the Albany Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 1,170,483. At the 2010 census, the population of Troy was 50,129, troja est, which means Ilium was, Troy is. Before European arrival, the area was settled by the Mahican Indian tribe, the Dutch began settling in the mid 17th century, the patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer called the area Pafraets Dael, after his mother. Control of New York passed to the English in 1664 and in 1707 Derick Van der Heyden purchased a farm near todays downtown area, in 1771, Abraham Lansing had his farm in todays Lansingburgh laid out into lots. Responding to Lansings success to the north, in 1787, Van der Heydens grandson Jacob had his extensive holdings surveyed and laid out into lots as well, in 1789, Troy got its current name after a vote of the people. In 1791, Troy was incorporated as a town and extended east across the county to the Vermont line, in 1796, Troy became a village and in 1816 it became a city. Lansingburgh, to the north, became part of Troy in 1900, prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Mohican Indians had a number of settlements along the Hudson River near the confluence with the Mohawk River. The land comprising the Poesten Kill and Wynants Kill areas were owned by two Mohican groups, the land around the Poesten Kill was owned by Skiwias and was called Panhooseck. The area around the Wynants Kill, was known as Paanpack, was owned by Peyhaunet, the land between the creeks, which makes up most of downtown and South Troy, was owned by Annape. South of the Wynants Kill and into present-day North Greenbush, the land was owned by Pachquolapiet and these parcels of land were sold to the Dutch between 1630 and 1657 and each purchase was overseen and signed by Skiwias, the sachem at the time. In total, more than 75 individual Mohicans were involved in deed signings in the 17th century, the site of the city was a part of Rensselaerswyck, a patroonship created by Kiliaen van Rensselaer. Dirck Van der Heyden was one of the first settlers, in 1707, he purchased a farm of 65 acres which in 1787 was laid out as a village. One skeleton was female and Caucasian with an iron ring, the other was Native-American and male. The name Troy was adopted in 1789 before which it had known as Ashleys Ferry. The township included Brunswick and Grafton, Troy became a village in 1801 and was chartered as a city in 1816
7.
2010 United States Census
–
The 2010 United States Census, is the twenty-third and currently most recent United States national census. National Census Day, the day used for the census, was April 1,2010. As part of a drive to increase the accuracy,635,000 temporary enumerators were hired. The population of the United States was counted as 308,745,538, as required by the United States Constitution, the U. S. census has been conducted every 10 years since 1790. The 2000 U. S. Census was the previous census completed, participation in the U. S. Census is required by law in Title 13 of the United States Code. On January 25,2010, Census Bureau Director Robert Groves personally inaugurated the 2010 Census enumeration by counting World War II veteran Clifton Jackson, more than 120 million census forms were delivered by the U. S. Post Office beginning March 15,2010, the number of forms mailed out or hand-delivered by the Census Bureau was approximately 134 million on April 1,2010. The 2010 Census national mail participation rate was 74%, from April through July 2010, census takers visited households that did not return a form, an operation called non-response follow-up. In December 2010, the Census Bureau delivered population information to the president for apportionment, personally identifiable information will be available in 2082. The Census Bureau did not use a form for the 2010 Census. In several previous censuses, one in six households received this long form, the 2010 Census used only a short form asking ten basic questions, How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1,2010. Were there any additional people staying here on April 1,2010 that you did not include in Question 1, mark all that apply, Is this house, apartment, or mobile home – What is your telephone number. What is Person 1s age and Person 1s date of birth, is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay somewhere else, the form included space to repeat some or all of these questions for up to twelve residents total. In contrast to the 2000 census, an Internet response option was not offered, detailed socioeconomic information collected during past censuses will continue to be collected through the American Community Survey. The survey provides data about communities in the United States on a 1-year or 3-year cycle, depending on the size of the community, rather than once every 10 years. A small percentage of the population on a basis will receive the survey each year. In June 2009, the U. S. Census Bureau announced that it would count same-sex married couples, however, the final form did not contain a separate same-sex married couple option
8.
New York's 19th congressional district
–
United States House of Representatives, New York District 19 is located in New Yorks Hudson Valley and Catskills regions. District 19 lies north of the New York City metropolitan area and it is currently represented by Republican John Faso. President Obama won the new district by 6. 2% in 2012, the current 19th District is largely a merger between the former 20th and 22nd Congressional Districts. From 2003 to 2013, the 19th was composed of parts of Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, in 2012, sitting 19th district representative Nan Hayworth ran in the new 18th district against Democrat Sean Patrick Maloney, a former advisor to President Bill Clinton. Maloney defeated Hayworth and was seated in the new 18th, most of the old 19th district is now part of the 18th district. Meanwhile, sitting 20th district representative Chris Gibson ran for re-election in the new 19th, on January 5,2015, per his pledge when first elected not to serve more than four terms, Gibson announced that he would not run for re-election in 2016. In 2016, Democrat Zephyr Teachout was defeated by Republican John Faso in the November 8th election, the 19th District was a Manhattan-based district until 1980. It then was the Bronx-Westchester seat now numbered the 17th District, the present 19th District was the 21st District prior to the 1990s, and prior to that was the 25th District. Note that in New York State electoral politics there are numerous parties at various points on the political spectrum. Certain parties will endorse either the Republican or Democratic candidate for office, hence the state electoral results contain both the party votes, and the final candidate votes. List of United States congressional districts New Yorks congressional districts United States congressional delegations from New York Martis, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts
9.
New York's 20th congressional district
–
The 20th Congressional District of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New Yorks Capital District. It includes all of Albany and Schenectady counties, and portions of Montgomery, Rensselaer, from 2003 to 2013, the 20th district surrounded the Capital District, which had been part of the 21st district. This district included all or parts of Columbia, Dutchess, Delaware, Essex, Greene, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Warren and it included the cities of Glens Falls and Saratoga Springs. This largely rural district stretched to include parts of the Adirondacks, Catskills, on Nov 2,2010, Republican Chris Gibson defeated first term incumbent Democrat Scott Murphy, and took office on January 3,2011. In 2013, Gibson was redistricted to the 19th, paul Tonko now represents the district after redistricting. From the creation of the district in 1813 to 1833, two seats were apportioned, elected at-large on a general ticket, note that in New York State electoral politics there are numerous minor parties at various points on the political spectrum. Certain parties will endorse either the Republican or Democratic candidate for every office, hence the state electoral results contain both the party votes, and the final candidate votes. List of United States congressional districts New Yorks congressional districts United States congressional delegations from New York Martis, the Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts
10.
Time in the United States
–
The time zone boundaries and DST observance are regulated by the Department of Transportation. The clocks run by these services are synchronized with each other as well as with those of other international timekeeping organizations. It is the combination of the zone and daylight saving rules, along with the timekeeping services. The use of solar time became increasingly awkward as railways. American railroads maintained many different time zones during the late 1800s, each train station set its own clock making it difficult to coordinate train schedules and confusing passengers. Time calculation became a problem for people travelling by train. Every city in the United States used a different time standard so there were more than 300 local sun times to choose from, Time zones were therefore a compromise, relaxing the complex geographic dependence while still allowing local time to be approximate with mean solar time. Railroad managers tried to address the problem by establishing 100 railroad time zones, operators of the new railroad lines needed a new time plan that would offer a uniform train schedule for departures and arrivals. Four standard time zones for the continental United States were introduced at noon on November 18,1883, the conference therefore established the Greenwich Meridian as the prime meridian and Greenwich Mean Time as the worlds time standard. The US time-zone system grew from this, in all zones referred back to GMT on the prime meridian. It is, within about 1 second, mean time at 0°. It does not observe daylight saving time and it is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, standard time zones in the United States are currently defined at the federal level by law 15 USC §260. The federal law establishes the transition dates and times at which daylight saving time occurs. As of August 9,2007, the time zones are defined in terms of hourly offsets from UTC. Prior to this they were based upon the solar time at several meridians 15° apart west of Greenwich. Only the full-time zone names listed below are official, abbreviations are by common use conventions, the United States uses nine standard time zones. The Central standard time zone, which comprises roughly the Gulf Coast, Mississippi Valley, the Mountain standard time zone, which comprises roughly the states that include the Rocky Mountains
11.
Eastern Time Zone
–
Places that use Eastern Standard Time when observing standard time are 5 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time. Eastern Daylight Time, when observing daylight saving time DST is 4 hours behind Coordinated Universal Time, in the northern parts of the time zone, on the second Sunday in March, at 2,00 a. m. EST, clocks are advanced to 3,00 a. m. EDT leaving a one-hour gap, on the first Sunday in November, at 2,00 a. m. EDT, clocks are moved back to 1,00 a. m, southern parts of the zone do not observe daylight saving time. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 ruled that daylight saving time would run from the last Sunday of April until the last Sunday in October in the United States, the act was amended to make the first Sunday in April the beginning of daylight saving time as of 1987. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended daylight saving time in the United States beginning in 2007. So local times change at 2,00 a. m. EST to 3,00 a. m. EDT on the second Sunday in March, in Canada, the time changes as it does in the United States. However, a handful of communities unofficially observe Eastern Time because they are part of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area – Phenix City, Smiths Station, Lanett, and Valley. Florida, All of Florida is in the Eastern Time zone except for the portion of the Florida Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as the Eastern–Central zone boundary approaches the Gulf of Mexico, it follows the Bay/Gulf county line. Indiana, All of Indiana observes Eastern Time except for six counties in the Chicago metropolitan area. Kentucky, Roughly, the half of the state, including all of metropolitan Louisville, is in the Eastern Time Zone. Historically the entire state observed Central Time, when daylight saving time was first introduced, the Lower Peninsula remained on DST after it formally ended, effectively re-aligning itself into the Eastern Time Zone. The Upper Peninsula continued to observe Central Time until 1972, when all, Tennessee, Most of the eastern third of Tennessee is legally on Eastern Time. Eastern Time is also used somewhat as a de facto official time for all of the United States, since it includes the capital and the largest city. Major professional sports leagues also post all game times in Eastern time, for example, a game time between two teams from Pacific Time Zone will still be posted in Eastern time. Most cable television and national broadcast networks advertise airing times in Eastern time, national broadcast networks generally have two primary feeds, an eastern feed for Eastern and Central time zones, and a tape-delayed western feed for the Pacific Time Zone. The prime time is set on Eastern and Pacific at 8,00 p. m. with the Central time zone stations receiving the eastern feed at 7,00 p. m. local time. Mountain Time Zone stations receive a separate feed at 7,00 p. m. local time, as Arizona does not observe daylight saving time, during the summer months, it has its own feed at 7,00 p. m. local time
12.
Coordinated Universal Time
–
Coordinated Universal Time, abbreviated to UTC, is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean time at 0° longitude. It is one of closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. For most purposes, UTC is considered interchangeable with GMT, the first Coordinated Universal Time was informally adopted on 1 January 1960. This change also adopted leap seconds to simplify future adjustments, a number of proposals have been made to replace UTC with a new system that would eliminate leap seconds, but no consensus has yet been reached. Leap seconds are inserted as necessary to keep UTC within 0.9 seconds of universal time, see the Current number of leap seconds section for the number of leap seconds inserted to date. The official abbreviation for Coordinated Universal Time is UTC and this abbreviation arose from a desire by the International Telecommunication Union and the International Astronomical Union to use the same abbreviation in all languages. English speakers originally proposed CUT, while French speakers proposed TUC, the compromise that emerged was UTC, which conforms to the pattern for the abbreviations of the variants of Universal Time. Time zones around the world are expressed using positive or negative offsets from UTC, the westernmost time zone uses UTC−12, being twelve hours behind UTC, the easternmost time zone, theoretically, uses UTC+12, being twelve hours ahead of UTC. In 1995, the nation of Kiribati moved those of its atolls in the Line Islands from UTC-10 to UTC+14 so that the country would all be on the same day. UTC is used in internet and World Wide Web standards. The Network Time Protocol, designed to synchronise the clocks of computers over the internet, computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC as it is more specific than GMT. If only limited precision is needed, clients can obtain the current UTC from a number of official internet UTC servers, for sub-microsecond precision, clients can obtain the time from satellite signals. UTC is also the standard used in aviation, e. g. for flight plans. Weather forecasts and maps all use UTC to avoid confusion about time zones, the International Space Station also uses UTC as a time standard. Amateur radio operators often schedule their radio contacts in UTC, because transmissions on some frequencies can be picked up by many time zones, UTC is also used in digital tachographs used on large goods vehicles under EU and AETR rules. UTC divides time into days, hours, minutes and seconds, days are conventionally identified using the Gregorian calendar, but Julian day numbers can also be used. Each day contains 24 hours and each hour contains 60 minutes, the number of seconds in a minute is usually 60, but with an occasional leap second, it may be 61 or 59 instead
13.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
14.
County (United States)
–
In the United States, an administrative or political sub-division of a state is a county, which is a region having specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term county is used in 48 U. S. states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes, most counties have subdivisions which may include municipalities and unincorporated areas. Others have no divisions, or may serve as a singular consolidated city-county. Some municipalities are in multiple counties, New York City is uniquely partitioned into multiple counties/boroughs, the U. S. federal government uses the term county equivalent to describe non-county administrative or statistical areas that are comparable to counties. Alaskas Unorganized Borough is divided into 11 census areas that are equivalent to counties. As of 2013, the United States has 3,007 counties and 137 county equivalents for a total of 3,144 counties, the number of counties per state ranges from the 3 counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas. Counties have significant governmental functions in all states except Rhode Island and Connecticut, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has removed most government functions from eight of its 14 counties. The county with the largest population, Los Angeles County, counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the workload in Jamestown. Americas oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia, in Northampton County, maryland established its first county, St. Marys, in 1637, and Massachusetts followed in 1643. When independence came, the framers of the Constitution did not provide for local governments, rather, they left the matter to the states. Subsequently, early state constitutions generally conceptualized county government as an arm of the state, in some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties smaller divisions usually called townships, though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called towns. The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, the newest county in the United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado, established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county. The newest county-equivalents are the Alaskan boroughs of Skagway established in 2007, Wrangell established in 2008, there are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U. S. Similarly, some of Alaskas boroughs have merged with their principal cities creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among the geographically largest cities in the world, see also, #County names, regarding Louisiana. Independent cities, These are cities that legally belong to no county, Washington, D. C. outside the jurisdiction of any state, has a special status. The city of Washington comprises the entirety of the District of Columbia, when founded in 1801, the District consisted of two counties and three cities. In 1846, Alexandria County – including the then–City of Alexandria – was given back to Virginia, in 1871, the three remaining entities – the City of Washington, Georgetown City, and Washington County – were merged into a consolidated government by an act of Congress
15.
U.S. state
–
A U. S. state is a constituent political entity of the United States of America. There are 50 states, which are together in a union with each other. Each state holds administrative jurisdiction over a geographic territory. Due to the shared sovereignty between each state and the government, Americans are citizens of both the federal republic and of the state in which they reside. State citizenship and residency are flexible, and no government approval is required to move between states, except for persons covered by certain types of court orders. States range in population from just under 600,000 to over 39 million, four states use the term commonwealth rather than state in their full official names. States are divided into counties or county-equivalents, which may be assigned some local authority but are not sovereign. County or county-equivalent structure varies widely by state, State governments are allocated power by the people through their individual constitutions. All are grounded in principles, and each provides for a government. States possess a number of powers and rights under the United States Constitution, Constitution has been amended, and the interpretation and application of its provisions have changed. The general tendency has been toward centralization and incorporation, with the government playing a much larger role than it once did. There is a debate over states rights, which concerns the extent and nature of the states powers and sovereignty in relation to the federal government. States and their residents are represented in the federal Congress, a legislature consisting of the Senate. Each state is represented in the Senate by two senators, and is guaranteed at least one Representative in the House, members of the House are elected from single-member districts. Representatives are distributed among the states in proportion to the most recent constitutionally mandated decennial census, the Constitution grants to Congress the authority to admit new states into the Union. Since the establishment of the United States in 1776, the number of states has expanded from the original 13 to 50, alaska and Hawaii are the most recent states admitted, both in 1959. The Constitution is silent on the question of states have the power to secede from the Union. Shortly after the Civil War, the U. S. Supreme Court, in Texas v. White, as a result, while the governments of the various states share many similar features, they often vary greatly with regard to form and substance
16.
Netherlands
–
The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
17.
Manor of Rensselaerswyck
–
The estate was originally deeded by the Dutch West India Company in 1630 to Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a Dutch merchant and one of the companys original directors. Rensselaerswyck extended for miles on side of the Hudson River near present-day Albany. It included most of what are now the present New York counties of Albany and Rensselaer, as well as parts of Columbia, under the terms of the patroonship, the patroon had nearly total jurisdictional authority, establishing civil and criminal law, villages, a church. Tenant farmers were allowed to work on the land, but had to pay rent to the owners, in addition, the Rensselaers harvested timber from the property. The patroonship was maintained intact by Rensselaer descendants for more than two centuries and it was split up after the death of its last patroon, Stephen van Rensselaer III in 1839. At his death, van Rensselaers land holdings made him the tenth-richest American in history to date, the manor was split between Stephen IIIs sons, Stephen IV and William. Tenant farmers began protesting the feudal system and their anti-rent movement was eventually successful, Stephen IV and William sold off most of their land, ending the patroonship in the 1840s. For length of operations, it was the most successful patroonship established under the West India Company system and this established a Dutch presence in the area, formally called New Netherland. In June 1620, the Dutch West India Company was established by the States-General, in 1630, the managers of the West India Company, in order to attract capitalists to the colony, offered certain exclusive privileges to the members of the company. The only restriction was that the colony had to be outside the island of Manhattan, to meet such cases, the West India Company adopted the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions for the agricultural colonization of its American province. The chief features of this charter stated that lands for each colony could extend 16 miles in length if confined to one side of a river or 8 miles if both sides were occupied. Additionally, the lands could extend into the countryside and even be enlarged if more immigrants were to settle there, each patroon would have the chief command within their respective patroonship, having the sole rights to fish and hunt. If a city were to be founded within its boundaries, the patroon would have the power and authority to establish officers, each patroonship was free of taxes and tariffs for ten years following its founding. Colonists of a patroonship were limited by the West India Company in some instances, for example, fur trading was illegal for colonists, it was reserved as a Company monopoly. But, patroonships had the right to trade anywhere from Newfoundland to Florida, each patroon was required to satisfy the Indians of that place for the land, implying that the land must be bought from the local Indians, and not just taken. Additionally, the Company agreed to all colonists, whether free or in service, from all aggressors. For longer time than it shall see fit, Kiliaen van Rensselaer, a pearl and diamond merchant of Amsterdam, was one of the original directors of the West India Company and one of the first to take advantage of the new settlement charter. This took place even before the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions was ratified, on April 8,1630, a representative for van Rensselaer purchased a large tract of land from its American Indian owners adjacent to Fort Orange, on the west side of the Hudson River
18.
Albany, New York
–
Albany is the capital of the U. S. state of New York and the seat of Albany County. Roughly 150 miles north of New York City, Albany developed on the west bank of the Hudson River, the population of the City of Albany was 97,856 according to the 2010 census. With a Census-estimated population of 98,4242013, the Capital District is the third-most populous metropolitan region in the state and 38th in the United States. Fortune 500 companies that have offices in Albany include American Express, J. P. Morgan and Chase, Merrill Lynch, General Electric, Verizon, Goldman Sachs, International Paper, and Key Bank. In the 21st century, the Capital District has emerged as an anchor of Tech Valley. This was the first European settlement in the state, settled by Dutch colonists who built Fort Nassau for fur trading in 1614 and they formed successful relations with both the Mahican and the Mohawk peoples, two major Native American nations in the region. The fur trade attracted settlers who founded a village called Beverwijck near Fort Orange, in 1664 the English took over the Dutch settlements, renaming the city as Albany, in honor of the then Duke of Albany, the future James II of England and James VII of Scotland. The city was chartered in 1686 under English rule. It became the capital of New York State in 1797, following the United States gaining independence in the American Revolutionary War, Albany is one of the oldest surviving settlements of the original British thirteen colonies, and the longest continuously chartered city in the United States. Its charter is possibly the longest-running instrument of government in the Western Hemisphere. During the late 18th century and throughout most of the 19th, Albany was a center of trade, Albanys main exports at the time were beer, lumber, published works, and ironworks. Beginning in 1810, Albany was one of the ten most populous cities in the United States, in the 20th century, the city opened one of the first commercial airports in the world, the precursor of todays Albany International Airport. During the 1920s a powerful political machine controlled by the Democratic Party arose in the state capital and it marshalled the power of immigrants and their descendants in both cities. In the early 21st century, Albany has experienced growth in the high-technology industry, Albany has been a center of higher education for over a century, with much of the remainder of its economy dependent on state government and health care services. The city has rebounded from the decline of the 1970s and 1980s. Albany is known for its history, commerce, culture, architecture. Albany won the All-America City Award in both 1991 and 2009, Albany is one of the oldest surviving European settlements from the original thirteen colonies and the longest continuously chartered city in the United States. The Hudson River area was inhabited by Algonquian-speaking Mohican, who called it Pempotowwuthut-Muhhcanneuw
19.
Schenectady, New York
–
Schenectady /skᵻˈnɛktədi/ is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135, the name Schenectady is derived from a Mohawk word skahnéhtati meaning beyond the pines. The city was founded on the side of the Mohawk River by Dutch colonists in the 17th century. They were prohibited from the fur trade by the Albany monopoly, residents of the new village developed farms on strip plots along the river. Connected to the west via the Mohawk River and Erie Canal, by 1824 more people worked in manufacturing than agriculture or trade, and the city had a cotton mill, processing cotton from the Deep South. Numerous mills in New York had such ties with the South, the city was part of emerging technologies, with GE collaborating in the production of nuclear-powered submarines and, in the 21st century, working on other forms of renewable energy. The city is in eastern New York, near the confluence of the Mohawk and it is in the same metropolitan area as the state capital, Albany, which is about 19 miles southeast. In December 2014, the announced that the city was one of three sites selected for development of off-reservation casino gambling, under terms of a 2013 state constitutional amendment. The project would redevelop an ALCO brownfield site in the city along the waterfront, with hotels, housing, when first encountered by Europeans, the Mohawk Valley was the territory of the Mohawk nation, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, or Haudenosaunee. They had occupied territory in the region since at least 1100 AD, in the 1640s, the Mohawk had three major villages, all on the south side of the Mohawk River. The easternmost one was Ossernenon, located about 9 miles west of present-day Auriesville, about 3200 acres of this unique ecosystem are now protected as the Albany Pine Bush. Eventually, this word entered the lexicon of the Dutch settlers, the settlers in Fort Orange used skahnéhtati to refer to the new village at the Mohawk flats, which became known as Schenectady. In 1661 Arent van Curler, a Dutch immigrant bought a big piece of land on the side of the Mohawk River. Other colonists were given grants of land by the government in this portion of the flat fertile river valley. The settlers recognized that these bottomlands had been cultivated for maize by the Mohawk for centuries, Van Curler took the largest piece of land, the remainder was divided into 50-acre plots for the other first fourteen proprietors. As most early colonists were from the Fort Orange area, they may have anticipated working as fur traders, the settlers here turned to farming. Their 50-acre lots were unique for the colony, laid out in strips along the Mohawk River, with the narrow edges fronting the river and they relied on rearing livestock and wheat. From the early days of interaction, early Dutch traders in the valley had unions with Mohawk women and their children were raised within the Mohawk community, which had a matrilineal kinship system, considering children born into the mothers clan
20.
Capital District, New York
–
The Capital District, also known as the Capital Region, refers to the metropolitan area surrounding Albany, the capital of the U. S. state of New York. With a population of 1,170,483, the Capital District is the fourth largest metropolitan region in the state, companies that have headquarters in Albany include CommerceHub and the Environment One Corporation. In the 21st century, the Capital District has emerged as an anchor of Tech Valley. The Capital District was first settled by the Dutch in the early 17th century, Albany has been the permanent capital of the state of New York since 1797. The Capital District is notable for historical events that predate the independence of the United States, including the Albany Plan of Union. The term Capital District is commonly used to refer to the due to its location surrounding the state capital. This is similar to other districts throughout the world, all of which are associated with a respective capital city. Later, Schenectady was added to this district as well, the Capital District Recreation League, formed in 1816, proposed a Capital District Park to be roughly 8 miles from Albany, Cohoes, Rensselaer, Schenectady, Troy, and Watervliet. The location proposed was the area of the Shaker settlement, the park was never created, though in 1928 the location was used for Albany International Airport for the same reason of its central location to those suburbs. Capitaland, Metroland, and Tech Valley are nicknames sometimes used to refer to the Capital District, permanent European claims and settlement began in 1609 when Henry Hudson sailed north up the Hudson River in the name of the Dutch. During the same year, Samuel Champlain explored south down Lake Champlain, conflict soon ensued between the French and Dutch for control of the fur trade and both made alliances with different Native American tribes. In 1630, Kiliaen van Rensselaer founded the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, a Dutch patroonship in the area, in 1664 the English successfully conquered the Dutch while rivalry with the French continued. Through the Dongan Charter, Governor Thomas Dongan granted Albany the right to purchase 500 acres in Schaahtecogue and 1,000 acres at Tionnondoroge, arent van Curler founded Schenectady in 1662, Fort Saratoga was built at present-day Schuylerville in 1691, and Greenbush was settled in the 1620s. South of Albany, settlement occurred quickly at first, but slowed as growth on the frontier pushed people north and west of Albany and it was chartered as a city in 1785, becoming only the third city in the state. The French and Indian War saw several battles in the Capital District. In the end, the French were defeated, freeing the land for settlement to the west. During the American Revolution the area saw fighting and Fort Ticonderoga experienced notable action. The Battle of Saratoga, which place in the present-day town of Stillwater, is considered the turning point of the war
21.
Albany County, New York
–
Albany County is a county in the state of New York, in the United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, as of the 2010 census, the population was 304,204. The county seat is Albany, the state capital, as originally established by the English government in the colonial era, Albany County had an indefinite amount of land, but has had an area of 530 square miles since March 3,1888. The county is named for the Duke of York and of Albany, Albany County constitutes the central core of the Capital District of New York State, which comprises the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area. After England took control of New Netherland from the Dutch, Albany County was created on November 1,1683 by New York Governor Thomas Dongan, Livingston Manor was annexed to Albany County from Dutchess County in 1717. Albanys boundaries were defined more closely as various state statutes would add land to the county, Albany was established as a city in 1686 by Governor Dongan through the Dongan Charter after the English took over the colony. Schenectady to the west was given a patent with some rights in 1684. The Manor of Rensselaerswyck was created as a district within the county in 1772, the west district included all of what is now Albany County with the exception of what lands were in the city of Albany at that time. Though the Manor of Rensselaerswyck was the district in what is today Albany County. Pittstown in 1761, and Duanesburgh in 1764, were created as townships, but when districts were created in 1772, those townships were incorporated into new districts, Pittstown in Schaghticoke and Duanesburgh into the United Districts of Duanesburgh and Schoharie. Schenectady was made from a borough to a district in 1772 as well, other districts established in 1772 were Hoosick, Coxsackie, Cambridge, Saratoga, Halfmoon, Kinderhook, Kings, Claverack, Great Imboght, and the Manor of Livingston. In a census of 1697, there were 1,452 individuals living in Albany County, by the end of the war in 1698, the population had dropped to 1,482, but rebounded quickly and was at 2,273 by 1703. By 1723, it had increased to 6,501 and in 1731 to 8,573, in 1737, the inhabitants of Albany County would outnumber those of New York County by 17 people. In 1774, Albany County, with 42,706 people, was the largest county in colonial New York, according to the first Federal Census in 1790, Albany County reached 75,921 inhabitants and was still the largest county in the state. On March 7,1788, the state of New York divided the state into towns eliminating districts as administrative units by passing New York Laws of 1788. Albany County was one of the twelve counties created by the Province of New York on November 1,1683. At that time it included all of New York state north of Dutchess and Ulster counties, all of what is now Bennington County in Vermont, on May 27,1717, Albany County was adjusted to gain an indefinite amount of land from Dutchess County and other non-county lands. Lawrence watershed westward to the St. Lawrence River, implicitly setting the limit of Albany County
22.
Algonquian languages
–
The Algonquian languages are a subfamily of Native American languages which includes most of the languages in the Algic language family. The term Algonquin has been suggested to derive from the Maliseet word elakómkwik, a number of Algonquian languages, like many of the Iroquoian languages of the hereditary enemies of the Algonquian peoples, have already become extinct. Speakers of Algonquian languages stretch from the east coast of North America to the Rocky Mountains, the proto-language from which all of the languages of the family descend, Proto-Algonquian, was spoken around 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. There is no consensus about where this language was spoken. This subfamily of around 30 languages is divided into three groups according to geography, Plains, Central, and Eastern Algonquian, only Eastern Algonquian constitutes a true genetic subgroup. The languages are listed below, following the classifications of Goddard, extinct languages are marked with †, and endangered languages are noted as such. For dialects and subdialects, consult the separate articles for each of the three divisions. Shinnecock Eastern Algonquian is a true genetic subgrouping, the Plains Algonquian and the Central Algonquian groups are not genetic groupings but rather areal groupings. However, these groups often do share linguistic features. Paul Proulx has argued that this view is incorrect. However, this scheme has failed to gain acceptance from other specialists in the Algonquian languages. Instead, the commonly accepted subgrouping scheme is that proposed by Ives Goddard, by this scenario, Blackfoot was the first language to branch off, which coincides well with its being the most divergent language of Algonquian. In west-to-east order, the subsequent branchings were, Arapaho-Gros Ventre, Cree-Montagnais, Menominee, and Cheyenne, then the core Great Lakes languages, and finally, Proto-Eastern Algonquian. Goddard also points out there is clear evidence for pre-historical contact between Eastern Algonquian and Cree-Montagnais, as well as between Cheyenne and Arapaho-Gros Ventre. There has long been especially extensive back-and-forth influence between Cree and Ojibwe and they share certain intriguing lexical and phonological innovations. But, this theory has not yet been fully fleshed out and is still considered conjectural, linguistic evidence is scarce and poorly recorded however, and it is unlikely that reliable evidence of a connection can be found. The Algonquian language family is known for its complex polysynthetic morphology, statements that take many words to say in English can be expressed with a single word. Ex, paehtāwāēwesew He is heard by higher powers or kāstāhikoyahk it frightens us and these languages have been extensively studied by Leonard Bloomfield, Ives Goddard, and others
23.
Mahican
–
Following the disruption of the American Revolutionary War, most of the Mahican descendants first migrated westward to join the Iroquois Oneida on their reservation in central New York. The Oneida gave them about 22,000 acres for their use, after more than two decades, in the 1820s and 1830s, the Oneida and the Stockbridge moved again, pressured to relocate to northeastern Wisconsin under the federal Indian Removal program. Therefore, they, along with tribes living along the Hudson River, were called the River Indians by the Dutch. The Dutch heard and wrote the term for the people of the area variously as, Mahigan, Mahikander, Mahinganak, Maikan and Mawhickon, which the English simplified later to Mahican or Mohican. The Mahican were living in and around the Hudson River at the time of their first contact with Europeans traders along the Hudson River in the 1590s, after 1609 at the time of the settlement of New Netherland, they also ranged along the Mohawk River and the Hoosic River. In their own language, the Mahican referred to collectively as the Muhhekunneuw. The original Mahican homeland was the Hudson River Valley from the Catskill Mountains north to the end of Lake Champlain. Usually consisting of 20 to 30 mid-sized longhouses, they were located on hills, agriculture provided most of their diet but was supplemented by game, fish, and wild foods. Mahican villages were governed by hereditary sachems advised by a council of clan elders, a general council of sachems met regularly at Shodac to decide important matters affecting the entire confederacy. The Mahican were a confederacy of five tribes and as many as forty villages, Mahican proper, Mechkentowoon Wawyachtonoc Westenhuck Wiekagjoc The Mahican traded with Henry Hudson when he sailed up the Hudson River in September,1609. Hudson returned to Holland with a cargo of furs which immediately attracted Dutch merchants to the area. The first Dutch fur traders arrived on the Hudson River the following year to trade with the Mahican, besides exposing them to European epidemics, the fur trade destabilized the region. Many settled in the town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where they became known as the Stockbridge Indians. Etow Oh Koam, one of their chiefs, accompanied three Mohawk chiefs on a visit to Queen Anne and her government in England in 1710. They were popularly referred to as the Four Mohawk Kings, the Stockbridge Indians allowed Protestant missionaries, including Jonathan Edwards, to live among them. In the 18th century, many converted to Christianity, while keeping certain traditions of their own and they fought on the side of the British colonists in the French and Indian War. During the American Revolution, they sided with the colonists, Henry Rauch reached out to two Mahican leaders, Maumauntissekun, also known as Shabash, and Wassamapah, who took him back to Shekomeko. They named him the new religious teacher, over time, Rauch won listeners, as the Mahicans had suffered much from disease and warfare, which had disrupted their society
24.
Dutch people
–
The Dutch, occasionally referred to as Netherlanders—a term that is cognate to the Dutch word for Dutch people, Nederlanders—are a Germanic ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a culture and speak the Dutch language. The high degree of urbanization characteristic of Dutch society was attained at an early date. During the Republic the first series of large scale Dutch migrations outside of Europe took place, despite the small size of the Netherlands, the Dutch left behind a legacy in excess of their mere numbers. The traditional art and culture of the Dutch encompasses various forms of music, dances, architectural styles and clothing. Internationally, Dutch painters such as Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh are held in high regard, the dominant religion of the Dutch is Christianity, although in modern times the majority is no longer religious. Significant percentages of the Dutch are adherents of humanism, agnosticism, atheism or individual spirituality, as with all ethnic groups the ethnogenesis of the Dutch has been a lengthy and complex process. The text below hence focuses on the history of the Dutch ethnic group, for Dutch national history, for Dutch colonial history, see the article on the Dutch Empire. Following the end of the period in the West around 500, with large federations settling the decaying Roman Empire. In the Low Countries, this began when the Franks, themselves a union of multiple smaller tribes. Eventually, in 358, the Salian Franks, one of the three main subdivisions among the Frankish alliance settled the areas Southern lands as foederati, Roman allies in charge of border defense. On a political level, the Frankish warlords abandoned tribalism and founded a number of kingdoms, however, the population make-up of the Frankish Empire, or even early Frankish kingdoms such as Neustria and Austrasia, was not dominated by Franks. Though the Frankish leaders controlled most of Western Europe, the Franks themselves were confined to the Northwestern part of the Empire, the current Dutch-French language border has remained virtually identical ever since, and could be seen as marking the furthest pale of gallicization among the Franks. The medieval cities of the Low Countries, which experienced major growth during the 11th and 12th century, were instrumental in breaking down the already relatively loose local form of feudalism, as they became increasingly powerful, they used their economical strength to influence the politics of their nobility. While the cities were of political importance, they also formed catalysts for medieval Dutch culture. The various city guilds as well as the necessity of water boards in the Dutch delta and it is also around this time, that ethnonyms such as Diets and Nederlands emerge. This process marked a new episode in the development of the Dutch ethnic group, as now political unity started to emerge, consolidating the strengthened cultural, despite their linguistic and cultural unity, and economic similarities, there was still little sense of political unity among the Dutch people. However, the centralist policies of Burgundy in the 14th and 15th centuries, at first violently opposed by the cities of the Low Countries, had a profound impact and changed this
25.
Patroonship
–
In the United States, a patroon was a landholder with manorial rights to large tracts of land in the 17th century Dutch colony of New Netherland on the east coast of North America. Through the Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions of 1629, the Dutch West India Company first started to grant this title and these inducements to foster colonization and settlement are the basis for the patroon system. In 1775, at the outbreak of the American Revolution, primogeniture and feudal tenure were abolished and thus patroons and manors evolved into simply large estates subject to division and leases. The deeded tracts were called patroonships and could span 16 miles in length on one side of a major river, in 1640 the charter was revised to cut new plot sizes in half, and to allow any Dutch American in good standing to purchase an estate. The title of patroon came with powerful rights and privileges, a patroon could create civil and criminal courts, appoint local officials and hold land in perpetuity. As tenants working for the patroon, these first settlers were relieved of the duty of public taxes for ten years, a patroonship sometimes had its own village and other infrastructure, including churches. After the English takeover of New Netherland in 1664, the system continued with the granting of large tracts known as manors, the largest and most successful patroonship in New Netherland was the Manor of Rensselaerswijck, established by Kiliaen van Rensselaer. Rensselaerswijck covered almost all of present-day Albany and Rensselaer counties and parts of present-day Columbia, Manor of Rensselaerswyck and Lower Manor at Claverack. Zwaanendael - Samuel Blommaert and Samuel Godyn, abandoned after being decimated by indigenous population, pavonia - Michael Reyniersz Pauw, re-sold to the West India Company becoming a company-managed holding. Staaten Eylandt - Cornelis Melyn, mired in conflict with Raritan tribe, achter Col, aborted at the outset of Kiefts War. Colen Donck - Adriaen van der Donck Bronx - Jonas Bronck Vriessendael - David Pietersen de Vries Bentley Manor - Christopher Billopp, ethnic Dutch, who were still a substantial part of the population, resented the change and moved mostly toward the cause of the Independence movement. After the war, the newly recognized New York State government refused to overturn the law, Rensselaerswijck was dismantled in the early 19th century after its last sole proprietor died. Two sons split the property and, after tenant farmers gained the right to refuse to pay rent, the land was organized as different counties and towns in New Yorks Capital District
26.
Dutch Empire
–
The Dutch Empire comprised the overseas colonies, enclaves, and outposts controlled and administered by Dutch chartered companies and subsequently, the Dutch Republic and the modern Netherlands. This was reflective of the fact that the network of the Dutch Empire was commercial exchange as opposed to sovereignty over a homogeneous landmass. The companies brief domination of global commerce contributed greatly to a commercial revolution, in their search for new trade passages between Asia and Europe Dutch navigators explored and charted vast regions such as New Zealand, Tasmania, and parts of the eastern coast of North America. Shortly after reaching its zenith, the Dutch Empire began to decline as a result of the Anglo-Dutch Wars, in which it lost many of its colonial possessions and trade monopolies to the British Empire. Nevertheless, some portions of the empire survived until the advent of global decolonisation following World War II, namely the East Indies, three former colonial territories—Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten—are retained as constituent countries within the Netherlands. In 1566, a Protestant Dutch revolt broke out against rule by Roman Catholic Spain, led by William of Orange, independence was declared in the 1581 Act of Abjuration. The revolt resulted in the establishment of an de facto independent Protestant republic in the north by Treaty of Antwerp, the coastal provinces of Holland and Zeeland had for centuries prior to Spanish rule been important hubs of the European maritime trade network. Their geographical location provided convenient access to the markets of France, Scotland, Germany, England, efficient access to capital enabled the Dutch in the 1580s to extend their trade routes beyond northern Europe to new markets in the Mediterranean and the Levant. In the 1590s, Dutch ships began to trade with Brazil and the Dutch Gold Coast of Africa, and towards the Indian Ocean, by attacking Portuguese overseas possessions, the Dutch forced Spain to divert financial and military resources away from its attempt to quell Dutch independence. Thus began the several decade-long Dutch-Portuguese War, in 1594, the Compagnie van Verre was founded in Amsterdam, with the aim of sending two fleets to the spice islands of Maluku. The first fleet sailed in 1596 and returned in 1597 with a cargo of pepper, the second voyage, returned its investors a 400% profit. The success of these led to the founding of a number of companies competing for the trade. The competition was counterproductive to the interests as it threatened to drive up the price of spices at their source in Indonesia whilst driving them down in Europe. As a result of the caused by inter-company rivalry, the Dutch East India Company was founded in 1602. The directors of the company, the Heeren XVII, were given the authority to establish fortresses and strongholds, to sign treaties. The company itself was founded as a joint stock company, similarly to its English rival that had founded two years earlier, the English East India Company. The Spanish-Dutch War was for the Dutch part of their struggle for independence and religious freedom, the Netherlands became part of the domains of the Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty when Emperor Charles V divided the holdings of the Habsburg Empire following his abdication in 1555. From 1517, the port of Lisbon in Portugal was the main European market for products from India that was attended by other nations to purchase their needs
27.
New Netherland
–
New Netherland was a 17th-century colonial province of the Seven United Netherlands that was located on the East Coast of North America. The colony was conceived as a business venture to exploit the North American fur trade. The settlement of New Sweden encroached on its flank, while its northern border was re-drawn to accommodate an expanding New England. During the 1650s, the colony experienced dramatic growth and became a port for trade in the North Atlantic. The surrender of Fort Amsterdam to England in 1664 was formalized in 1667, in 1673, the Dutch re-took the area but relinquished it under the Second Treaty of Westminster ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War the next year. The inhabitants of New Netherland were Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans, descendants of the original settlers played a prominent role in colonial America. For two centuries, New Netherland Dutch culture characterized the region, during the 17th century, Europe was undergoing expansive social, cultural, and economic growth, known as the Dutch Golden Age in the Netherlands. Nations vied for domination of trade routes around the globe. Simultaneously, philosophical and theological conflicts were manifested in military battles across the continent, the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands had become a home to many intellectuals, international businessmen, and religious refugees. He was turned back by the ice of the Arctic in his second attempt and he ended up exploring the waters off the east coast of North America aboard the vlieboot Halve Maen. His first landfall was at Newfoundland and the second at Cape Cod, Hudson believed that the passage to the Pacific ocean was between the St. Lawrence River and Chesapeake Bay, so he sailed south to the Bay then turned northward, traveling close along the shore. He first discovered Delaware Bay and began to sail upriver looking for the passage and this effort was foiled by sandy shoals, and the Halve Maen continued north. After passing Sandy Hook, Hudson and his crew entered the narrows into the Upper New York Bay, Hudson believed that he had found the continental water route, so he sailed up the major river which later bore his name, the Hudson. He found the water too shallow to proceed several days later, at the site of present-day Troy and his report was first published in 1611 by Emanuel Van Meteren, an Antwerp émigré and the Dutch Consul at London. This stimulated interest in exploiting this new resource, and it was the catalyst for Dutch merchant-traders to fund more expeditions. Flemish Lutheran émigré merchants such as Arnout Vogels sent the first follow-up voyages to exploit this discovery as early as July 1610. In 1611–1612, the Admiralty of Amsterdam sent two expeditions to find a passage to China with the yachts Craen and Vos, captained by Jan Cornelisz Mey and Symon Willemsz Cat. The results of explorations, surveys, and charts made from 1609 through 1614 were consolidated in Block’s map
28.
Kingdom of England
–
In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
29.
United States Declaration of Independence
–
Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was passed on July 2 with no opposing vote cast, a committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term Declaration of Independence is not used in the document itself, John Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress would edit to produce the final version. The next day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail, The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, but Independence Day is actually celebrated on July 4, the date that the Declaration of Independence was approved. After ratifying the text on July 4, Congress issued the Declaration of Independence in several forms and it was initially published as the printed Dunlap broadside that was widely distributed and read to the public. The source copy used for printing has been lost. Jeffersons original draft, complete with changes made by John Adams and Benjamin Franklin, the best known version of the Declaration, a signed copy that is popularly regarded as the official document, is displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D. C. This engrossed copy was ordered by Congress on July 19, the sources and interpretation of the Declaration have been the subject of much scholarly inquiry. Having served its purpose in announcing independence, references to the text of the Declaration were few in the following years. Abraham Lincoln made it the centerpiece of his rhetoric, and his policies and this has been called one of the best-known sentences in the English language, containing the most potent and consequential words in American history. The passage came to represent a standard to which the United States should strive. Believe me, dear Sir, there is not in the British empire a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist before I yield to a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose, and in this, I think I speak the sentiments of America. By the time that the Declaration of Independence was adopted in July 1776, relations had been deteriorating between the colonies and the mother country since 1763. Parliament enacted a series of measures to increase revenue from the colonies, such as the Stamp Act of 1765, Parliament believed that these acts were a legitimate means of having the colonies pay their fair share of the costs to keep them in the British Empire. Many colonists, however, had developed a different conception of the empire, the colonies were not directly represented in Parliament, and colonists argued that Parliament had no right to levy taxes upon them. This tax dispute was part of a divergence between British and American interpretations of the British Constitution and the extent of Parliaments authority in the colonies. In the colonies, however, the idea had developed that the British Constitution recognized certain fundamental rights that no government could violate, after the Townshend Acts, some essayists even began to question whether Parliament had any legitimate jurisdiction in the colonies at all
30.
The Crown
–
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their sub-divisions, although the term is not only a metonym for the State. The Crown is a sole that represents the legal embodiment of executive, legislative. These monarchies are united by the union of their monarch. The concept of the Crown developed first in the Kingdom of England as a separation of the crown and property of the nation state from the person. The concept spread through English and later British colonisation and is now rooted in the lexicon of the other 15 independent realms. In this context it should not be confused with any physical crown, the concept of the Crown took form under the feudal system. Though not used this way in all countries that had this system, in England, all rights, land, for instance, was granted by the Crown to lords in exchange for feudal services and they, in turn, granted the land to lesser lords. One exception to this was common socage—owners of land held as socage held it only to the Crown. The Crown as ultimate owner of all property also owns any property which has become bona vacantia, the monarch is the living embodiment of the Crown and, as such, is regarded as the personification of the state. He office cannot exist without the office-holder, the Crown also represents the legal embodiment of executive, legislative, and judicial governance. While the Crowns legal personality is usually regarded as a sole, it can, at least for some purposes. Historically, the Crown was considered to be indivisible, two judgments—Ex parte Indian Association of Alberta and Ex parte Quark —challenged that view. The Crown in each of the Commonwealth realms is a similar, because both Canada and Australia are federations, there are also crowns in right of each Canadian province and each Australian state. The Succession to the Crown Law 2013 defined the Crown, for the purposes of implementing the Perth Agreement in Jersey law, as the Crown in right of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Legislation in the Isle of Man also defines the Crown in right of the Isle of Man as being separate from the Crown in right of the United Kingdom and this constitutional concept is also worded as the Crown in right of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The reserve powers of the Crown for each territory are no longer considered to be exercisable on the advice of the UK government, often cases are brought by the Crown according to the complaint of a claimant. The title of the case follows the pattern of R v Y. Thus R v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is R v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, where Miller is Gina Miller, in Scotland, criminal prosecutions are undertaken by the Lord Advocate in the name of the Crown
31.
Brunswick, New York
–
Brunswick is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, in the United States. The municipality was settled in the early 18th century. During its history, it had part of Albany County, Rensselaerswyck. It is bordered on the west by the city of Troy, on the north by Schaghticoke and Pittstown, on the east by Grafton, the population was 11,941 at the 2010 census. The source of the name is not certain, though some claim it comes from the source of its first inhabitants from the province of Brunswick-Lüneburg in Germany. The town was agricultural, but began experiencing suburban sprawl in the later decades of the 20th century. Historically, most of the developments have occurred around the two major thoroughfares, New York Route 7 and New York Route 2, known locally as Hoosick Road and Brunswick Road. Brunswick became a place to settle in upon the completion of the local highway system in the Capital District. Brunswick is the domicile of U. S, the first settlement in Brunswick dates to 1711 to 1715 at Haynersville. In the records, Haynersville was first called simply Hosek Road, the Hoosick Road was a vital link to the then frontier settlement at Hoosick, and which formed a link to both Bennington, Vermont and Williamstown. Until the 1790s, the government at Albany claimed Vermont, german Palatines had settled in Livingstons Manor, south of Rensselaers Manor. Adam Freiderich, Georg Shaffer, Phillip Kelmer, Stephen Froelich, Andreas Bergman, Ludowig W. Schmidt, schneider, were in an initial group prior to 1715, and Coenraet Ham, Jans Witbeck and Hans Jury Kolemer, came in 1715. The last named individual settled within the manor and therefore within the town, paul Dirk and Peter Ham were the first settlers of Center Brunswick. Paul Derricks manor farm still stands as the section of the farmhouse at 936 Hoosick Road. Of the earliest church records for the Gilead Lutheran Church, consisting of several dated receipts and their first minister, Peter Nicholas Sommer, began his ministry at Haynersville and adjoining areas in 1743. In the 1740s and 1750s, van Rensselaer as patroon of the manor gave land for the erection of a church, and for the support of a minister at Hosek Road. Barnett concludes that more than twenty years before 1769 roughly corresponds to Sommers appointment as minister, and it was referred to as the log church, and was probably a simple structure. From this beginning there was an increase, but not without conflict, one particularly notorious incident was the burning of Hoosick, outside Brunswick, by the French in August 1754
32.
Grafton, New York
–
Grafton is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 2,130 at the 2010 census and it is believed that the town received its name from Grafton, Vermont, from where the first town supervisor, Nathaniel Dumbleton, was originally from. The town is a town near the north-central part of the county. NY Route 2 passes across the town, Grafton is notable for having a Peace Pagoda, built by Nipponzan Myohoji buddhist order in 1993. The town of Grafton was originally a part of the Manor of Rensselaerswyck, the first settlements are not clear from the ca. As part of Rennesselaerswyck, the first inhabitants were renters of that estate, the question of the first settlement of Grafton has never been settled. The names of the first white men who built new homes in the wilderness, in all probability, however, the town was the last in Rensselaer County to be settled. Grafton was formed from the towns of Troy and Petersburgh on March 20,1807, Abel Owen is generally believed to have been the first man to enter the rather unattractive mountain wilderness and build himself a home. Owen was not long without neighbors, if indeed there were not one or more located in that vicinity when he built his log house. There is nothing to show when Mr. Owen moved to Grafton, possibly it was several years later, during that war or at its close. Abel Owen is recorded as a Revolutionary soldier, so that the preponderance of opinion is that no settlements were made in the town until the years of the war or later. Perhaps those who locacted there in the years mentioned accompanied Owen, about 1786 the latter had at least two or three neighbors, families names Coon and Demmon being early lessees of the patroons lands. About 1796 Abel own sold his farm to Lemuel Steward and removed with his family to Onondaga County, the first town meeting was held soon after the organization, on the first Tuesday of April,1807 at the house of Nathan Hakes. Two taverns are mentioned by authorities as the earliest in town. One was located at East Grafton and was built and maintained by Thomas Scriven, the tavern of S. McChesney was opened about the year 1800. The Grafton House was built about 1838 by Stephen Van Rensselaer and it was the most pretentious affair in the town and for many years one of the most prominent taverns in the central part of the county. About the year 1800 Josiah Litchfield opened a store at Quackenkill. S. McChesney, in addition to his tavern, also kept a store at Quackenkill
33.
Nassau (town), New York
–
Not to be confused with Nassau County or the village of Nassau. Nassau is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, USA, the population was 4,789 at the 2010 census. The Town of Nassau is at the border of the county. The region was first settled around 1760, the town was originally formed as the Town of Philipstown in 1806 from parts of the Towns of Petersburgh, Schodack, and Stephentown. The town changed its name to Nassau in 1808, the Henry Tunis Smith Farm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 45.2 square miles. The south town line is the border of Columbia County, New York, as of the census of 2000, there were 4,818 people,1,851 households, and 1,330 families residing in the town. The population density was 108.2 people per square mile, there were 2,058 housing units at an average density of 46.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 96. 66% White,1. 08% Black or African American,0. 25% Native American,0. 54% Asian,0. 10% from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 0. 98% of the population. 21. 4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8. 1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.04. In the town, the population was out with 26. 0% under the age of 18,6. 7% from 18 to 24,30. 9% from 25 to 44,25. 5% from 45 to 64. The median age was 38 years, for every 100 females there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males, the median income for a household in the town was $46,526, and the median income for a family was $53,313. Males had an income of $38,981 versus $26,804 for females. The per capita income for the town was $21,785, about 5. 9% of families and 7. 7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12. 0% of those under age 18 and 7. 0% of those age 65 or over. Alps – A hamlet in the northeast part of the town, the name stems from the mountainous terrain. Denault Corners – A hamlet on the town line. Dunham Hollow- A hamlet in the extreme northeast part of the town East Nassau – The Village of East Nassau is on the town line
34.
Frederick Augustus, Duke of Nassau
–
Friedrich August, Duke of Nassau, Prince of Nassau-Usingen was the last Prince of Nassau-Usingen and, jointly with his cousin, Friedrich Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg, first Duke of Nassau. He died without surviving issue and was succeeded by his cousins son. Friedrich August, born in Usingen, was a son of Prince Charles of Nassau-Usingen. From 1744, he lived with his parents in Schloss Biebrich in Wiesbaden and he followed a military career in the army of the Holy Roman Empire and served in the Seven Years War. In 1790, he became a Field Marshal, on 17 May 1803, he succeeded as the Prince of Nassau-Usingen when his elder brother, Charles William, died without male heirs. On 6 July 1806, he joined the Confederation of the Rhine in order to prevent Napoleon from annexing the principality, since Friedrich Augusts sons had died young, it was also agreed that the combined duchy and sole rulership would pass to the heir of the Nassau-Weilburg line. After Napoleons defeat at the Battle of Leipzig, Friedrich August joined in the fighting against the French emperor. Nassaus troops fought under the command of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo, at the Congress of Vienna, the unification of the Duchy of Nassau was approved and the duchy joined the German Confederation. His court at the Biebrich Castle was praised by visitors for its serenity and hospitality, on 9 June 1775, Friedrich August married Princess Luise of Waldeck, daughter of Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont. The couple had seven children, but only their daughters survived infancy, married on 29 November 1791 to Margrave Friedrich of Baden, son of Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Baden. Married on 9 February 1792 to Christian August, Duke of Anhalt-Köthen, first married on 2 August 1804 to Ludwig of Hesse-Homburg son of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg, divorced 1805. Married secondly on 7 September 1807 to Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, friederike Victoria, married to the count Ludwig Heinrich Klaus von Burgund. Friedrich Karl 23 April 1738 –17 May 1803, His Serene Highness Frederick Augustus,17 May 1803 –24 March 1816, His Serene Highness The Prince of Nassau-Usingen. 30 August 1806 –24 March 1816, His Highness The Duke of Nassau
35.
Duchy of Nassau
–
The Duchy of Nassau, or simply Nassau, was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the German Confederation and its ruling dynasty, now extinct, was the House of Nassau. The duchy was named for its core city, Nassau, although Wiesbaden. In 1865, it had 465,636 inhabitants, after being occupied and annexed into the Kingdom of Prussia in 1866, it was succeeded by the Province of Hesse-Nassau. The area today is a geographical and historical region, Nassau, today, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg still uses Duke of Nassau as his secondary title, and Prince or Princess of Nassau is used as a title of pretense by other members of the grand ducal family. Nassau is also part of the name of the Dutch Royal Family, on 17 July 1806, the remaining counties of Nassau-Usingen and Nassau-Weilburg joined the Confederation of the Rhine. Under pressure from Napoleon I both counties merged to form the Duchy of Nassau on 30 August 1806, under the joint rule of Frederick Augustus, as Frederick August had no heirs, he agreed that Frederick William should become sole ruler after his death. However Frederick William died from a fall on the stairs at Weilburg Castle on 9 January 1816, williams son Adolphe, the last Duke of Nassau, received Luxembourg after the male line of Nassau-Dillenburg became extinct in 1890
36.
United States Census Bureau
–
The United States Census Bureau is a principal agency of the U. S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureaus primary mission is conducting the U. S. Census every ten years, in addition to the decennial census, the Census Bureau continually conducts dozens of other censuses and surveys, including the American Community Survey, the U. S. Economic Census, and the Current Population Survey, furthermore, economic and foreign trade indicators released by the federal government typically contain data produced by the Census Bureau. The Bureaus various censuses and surveys help allocate over $400 billion in federal funds every year and help states, local communities, the Census Bureau is part of the U. S. Department of Commerce and its director is appointed by the President of the United States. The Census Bureau now conducts a population count every 10 years in years ending with a 0. Between censuses, the Census Bureau makes population estimates and projections, the Census Bureau is mandated with fulfilling these obligations, the collecting of statistics about the nation, its people, and economy. The Census Bureaus legal authority is codified in Title 13 of the United States Code, the Census Bureau also conducts surveys on behalf of various federal government and local government agencies on topics such as employment, crime, health, consumer expenditures, and housing. Within the bureau, these are known as surveys and are conducted perpetually between and during decennial population counts. The Census Bureau also conducts surveys of manufacturing, retail, service. Between 1790 and 1840, the census was taken by marshals of the judicial districts, the Census Act of 1840 established a central office which became known as the Census Office. Several acts followed that revised and authorized new censuses, typically at the 10-year intervals, in 1902, the temporary Census Office was moved under the Department of Interior, and in 1903 it was renamed the Census Bureau under the new Department of Commerce and Labor. The department was intended to consolidate overlapping statistical agencies, but Census Bureau officials were hindered by their role in the department. An act in 1920 changed the date and authorized manufacturing censuses every 2 years, in 1929, a bill was passed mandating the House of Representatives be reapportioned based on the results of the 1930 Census. In 1954, various acts were codified into Title 13 of the US Code, by law, the Census Bureau must count everyone and submit state population totals to the U. S. President by December 31 of any year ending in a zero. States within the Union receive the results in the spring of the following year, the United States Census Bureau defines four statistical regions, with nine divisions. The Census Bureau regions are widely used. for data collection, the Census Bureau definition is pervasive. Title 13 of the U. S. Code establishes penalties for the disclosure of this information, all Census employees must sign an affidavit of non-disclosure prior to employment. The Bureau cannot share responses, addresses or personal information with anyone including United States or foreign government, only after 72 years does the information collected become available to other agencies or the general public
37.
Vermont
–
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It borders the other U. S. states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the north. Lake Champlain forms half of Vermonts western border with the state of New York, Vermont is the 2nd-least populous of the U. S. states, with nearly 50,000 more residents than Wyoming. The capital is Montpelier, the least populous state capital in the U. S, the most populous municipality, Burlington, is the least populous city in the U. S. to be the most populous within a state. As of 2015, Vermont continued to be the producer of maple syrup in the U. S. It was ranked as the safest state in the country in January 2016, for thousands of years inhabited by indigenous peoples, including the Algonquian-speaking Abenaki and Mohawk, much of the territory that is now Vermont was claimed by Frances colony of New France. France ceded the territory to Great Britain after being defeated in 1763 in the Seven Years War, for many years, the nearby colonies, especially the provinces of New Hampshire and New York, disputed control of the area. Settlers who held land titles granted by New York were opposed by the Green Mountain Boys militia, ultimately, those settlers prevailed in creating an independent state, the Vermont Republic. Founded in 1777 during the American Revolutionary War, the republic lasted for 14 years, aside from the original 13 states that were formerly colonies, Vermont is one of only four U. S. states that were previously sovereign states. Vermont was also the first state to join the U. S. as its 14th member state after the original 13, while still an independent republic, Vermont was the first of any future U. S. state to partially abolish slavery. It played an important geographic role in the Underground Railroad, sights in Vermont Vermont is located in the New England region of the northeastern United States and comprises 9,614 square miles, making it the 45th-largest state. It is the state that does not have any buildings taller than 124 feet. Land comprises 9,250 square miles and water comprises 365 square miles, making it the 43rd-largest in land area, in total area, it is larger than El Salvador and smaller than Haiti. The west bank of the Connecticut River marks the eastern border with New Hampshire. 41% of Vermonts land area is part of the Connecticut Rivers watershed, Lake Champlain, the major lake in Vermont, is the sixth-largest body of fresh water in the United States and separates Vermont from New York in the northwest portion of the state. From north to south, Vermont is 159 miles long and its greatest width, from east to west, is 89 miles at the Canada–U. S. Border, the narrowest width is 37 miles at the Massachusetts line, the states geographic center is approximately three miles east of Roxbury, in Washington County. There are fifteen U. S. federal border crossings between Vermont and Canada, the origin of the name Vermont is uncertain, but likely comes from the French les Verts Monts, meaning the Green Mountains
38.
Massachusetts
–
It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named for the Massachusett tribe, which inhabited the area. The capital of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England is Boston, over 80% of Massachusetts population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution, during the 20th century, Massachusetts economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance. Plymouth was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, in 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of Americas most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. In 1777, General Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory, which during the Industrial Revolution catalyzed numerous important technological advances, in 1786, Shays Rebellion, a populist revolt led by disaffected American Revolutionary War veterans, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention. In the 18th century, the Protestant First Great Awakening, which swept the Atlantic World, in the late 18th century, Boston became known as the Cradle of Liberty for the agitation there that led to the American Revolution. The entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts has played a commercial and cultural role in the history of the United States. Before the American Civil War, Massachusetts was a center for the abolitionist, temperance, in the late 19th century, the sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in the western Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Holyoke, respectively. Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the state, including the Adams, both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also in Cambridge, have been ranked among the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world. Massachusetts public school students place among the top nations in the world in academic performance, the official name of the state is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. While this designation is part of the official name, it has no practical implications. Massachusetts has the position and powers within the United States as other states. Massachusetts was originally inhabited by tribes of the Algonquian language family such as the Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusett. While cultivation of crops like squash and corn supplemented their diets, villages consisted of lodges called wigwams as well as longhouses, and tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems. Between 1617 and 1619, smallpox killed approximately 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans, the first English settlers in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims, arrived via the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620, and developed friendly relations with the native Wampanoag people. This was the second successful permanent English colony in the part of North America that later became the United States, the event known as the First Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World which lasted for three days
39.
Poestenkill, New York
–
Poestenkill is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. The population was 4,530 at the 2010 census, the town is named after the Poesten Kill, an important stream in the area. The words poesten kil are traditionally supposed to signify foaming water or foaming creek in Dutch, while kil indeed means water or creek in Dutch, Dutch dictionaries do not support the claim of poest as foam. Among the earliest settlers in the town was Archelaus Lynd and he leased 300 acres of land from the Van Rensselaers and made his first clearing in the area of Hillside Cemetery, which was known as The Lynd Cemetery until about 1900. The Whyland and Ives families were early settlers. The town is southeast of Troy and is located in the county. The area was first settled around 1770, and the town of Poestenkill was created from part of the Town of Sand Lake on March 2,1848, when the American Revolutionary War broke out, six men served from the area. One, named Benjamin Cotterel, is said to have carried the first wheelbarrow of earth to Bunker Hill, the first school in the area was established in or soon after 1788 on land set aside for that purpose by Stephen Van Rensselaer III. Five men from Poestenkill served in the War of 1812, all joining the Eddy expedition, the first regular church in Poestenkill was the First Baptist church, organized in 1814 and located in East Poestenkill. Future president James A. Garfield considered a job as school principal in Poestenkill in 1856. Poestenkill celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1998, with events including a Revolutionary War reenactment, antique car show, a parade. A postcard was produced for the town at the time. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 32.6 square miles. The eastern and central portions of the town are part of the Rensselaer Plateau, the town is serviced in part by Brunswick Central School District and by Averill Park Central School District. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,054 people,1,527 households, the population density was 124.9 people per square mile. There were 1,628 housing units at a density of 50.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 98. 35% White,0. 17% Blacks and or African American,0. 30% Native American,0. 35% Asian,0. 27% from other races, and 0. 57% from two or more races. Latino or Latino of any race were 0. 67% of the population,20. 0% of all households were made up of individuals and 7. 6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older
40.
Sand Lake, New York
–
Sand Lake is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 10,135, the town is in the south-central part of the county. Sand Lake is east of Albany, New York, the town of Sand Lake was formed from Greenbush and Berlin June 19,1812. In 1843 a part of Greenbush was taken off, and in 1848 the northern half was set off as a town under the name of Poestenkill. Sand Lake is south of the centre of Rensselaer county and it is bounded on the north by Poestenkill, on the east by Berlin, on the south by Nassau and Schodack and on the west by East Greenbush and North Greenbush. While the surface of the town is undulating in the west, it is mountainous in the east. Oak hill, near the centre of the town, and Perigo hill, in the northeast corner, the soil is very fertile in many parts of Sand Lake, especially in the comparatively low land in the eastern portion. Agriculture and grazing have always carried on with success. In recent years numerous garden farms have been established, the markets of Troy being supplied largely by these in the proper season, Sand Lake strawberries and other berries and small fruits are among the finest produced in Eastern New York. Crystal Lake is near the centre of the town, and is the largest body of water lying entirely within the limits of the town, Burden Lake and Crooked Lake are in the southern part, the former lying partly in the town of Nassau. Glass Lake is between Crystal Lake and Crooked Lake, big Bowman and Little Bowman ponds are close together in the eastern part, and Richard Pond is in the northwestern part near Averill Park. The Wynants Kill and the Tsatsawassa are the principal streams, the former rises in Crooked Lake and flows through Glass Lake and Burden Lake into the Hudson River at North Greenbush. The latter drains the eastern part of the town and flows southerly into Nassau, the Wynants Kill furnishes one of the finest water powers in eastern New York. The first permanent settlements in Sand Lake were made in its western part, the earliest inhabitants located in the western part of the town. They were sturdy Dutch farmers who had come from the Netherlands a few years after the settlement of Albany, in 1767 there were but two families, as far as is known, residing within the limits of the town. One of these was a family named Adams, residing near the river in the part of the town. The other was a family named Brett, who had a home a short distance from that of the Adams family, which of these was the first to locate within the limits of the town cannot be learned. A few years after these settlements were made the family of Abram Bristol lived on the west side of Burden Lake, and on the opposite side resided the family of Ephraim Quimby
41.
Taconic Mountains
–
The range includes notable summits such as Mount Equinox and Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts. Currently local residents, along with the prominent 19th century geologist, T. Nelson Dale, the Taconic Range is known for its ecological value, conservation land, scenic landscapes, natural beauty, and recreational opportunities. The range has been targeted for conservation by government agencies in four states, the federal government, the Nature Conservancy calls the Berkshire Taconic landscape, which includes part of the Taconic Range, one of its Last Great Places. Multiple government and non-profit conservation partnerships have been formed with the intention of conserving the Taconic landscape, Taconic, a Native American name, was once transliterated as the Taghkanic or Taughannock, meaning in the trees and used as the name of a Lenape chieftain. Taghkanic is still used in parts of eastern New York, as in the name of a town in the region. To the south, they fade into the Hudson Highlands range in New York, beginning in New York State, a 12-mile wide region of foothills gradually rises to the crest of the Taconic Mountains along the states eastern border. To the east, the Taconic Mountains fall off abruptly, ending in the valleys of the Housatonic River, the upper Hoosic River, the Berkshires and the Green Mountains rise to the east of the Taconics. In Massachusetts and Connecticut, the Taconic Mountains are often grouped as part of the Berkshires. However, the Taconic Mountains are geologically distinct from the Berkshires, the highest peaks of the Taconic Mountains are Mount Equinox 3,816 feet, located in Manchester, Vermont. Mount Greylock 3,491 feet the highest point in Massachusetts, and Mount Frissell 2,454 feet, the Taconic Mountains lie within the New England-Acadian forests ecoregion. The South Taconic Range Because the Taconic Mountains are geologically related and contiguous with the Hudson Highlands, bash Bish Falls, reputedly Massachusetts highest waterfall, is located in the South Taconic Range. The Appalachian Trail traverses the eastern escarpment of the range, the 15. 7-mile South Taconic Trail traverses the western escarpment, central Segment and Upper Hoosic River Valley Region North of Catamount Ski Area, the higher hills shift slightly west and become somewhat less prominent. North of White Hill the Green River cuts through the range, the ridge contains an area designated The Stockbridge-Yokun Ridge Reserve by the U. S. Forest Service and thus eligible for certain conservation easements. North of Jiminy Peak 2,392 feet, the valley of Kinderhook Creek cuts through the hills, between these is the long ridge of Brodie Mountain. The area hosts three long distance trails and a network of smaller trails. Mount Anthony 2,320 feet, notable for its caves and as the location of Southern Vermont College, designated hiking trails are located on Mount Equinox, Dorset Mountain, and Mount Aeolus, and several other peaks within the region. Terminus of the range Immediately north of Danby, Vermont, the Taconic Range broadens, the area around Lake Saint Catherine contains extensive slate quarries. A field of less descript ridges and peaks lies between two summits
42.
Berlin Mountain
–
Berlin Mountain,2,818 feet, is a prominent peak in the Taconic Mountains of western New England and is located adjacent to Massachusettss border with New York State. The mountain is a bald, notable for its grassy summit, the 35 mi Taconic Crest Trail traverses the mountain. Several other hiking trails approach the summit from the east, much of the upper slopes and summit are within protected conservation land. Historically the lower slopes of the mountain were farmed heavily throughout the 19th Century, in addition to agriculture, there are several remants of charcoal kilns located on the mountain that produced fuel for iron smelting. Hopkins Memorial Forest history Taconic Hiking Club Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation trail map
43.
Hoosic River
–
The Hoosic River, also known as the Hoosac, the Hoosick and the Hoosuck, is a 76. 3-mile-long tributary of the Hudson River in the northeastern United States. The different spellings are the result of varying transliterations of the rivers original Algonquian name and it can be translated either as the beyond place or as the stony place. The Hoosic River Watershed is formed from tributaries originating in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts, the Green Mountains of Vermont, the main Branch of the river begins on the west slope of North Mountain and almost immediately fills the man-made Cheshire Reservoir in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. From there, the river flows north, west, and northwest, through the towns of Cheshire and Adams, the city of North Adams, and it then travels through Pownal in the southwest corner of Vermont, after which it enters Rensselaer County, New York. There, it flows through the towns of Petersburgh and Hoosick, where it passes over a hydroelectric power dam in the village of Hoosick Falls
44.
Hudson River
–
The Hudson River is a 315-mile river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York in the United States. The river originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, flows through the Hudson Valley, the river serves as a political boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York, and further north between New York counties. The lower half of the river is a tidal estuary occupying the Hudson Fjord, tidal waters influence the Hudsons flow from as far north as Troy. The river is named after Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Dutch East India Company, who explored it in 1609, and after whom Canadas Hudson Bay is also named. The Dutch called the river the North River – with the Delaware River called the South River –, during the eighteenth century, the river valley and its inhabitants were the subject and inspiration of Washington Irving, the first internationally acclaimed American author. In the nineteenth century, the area inspired the Hudson River School of landscape painting, the Hudson was also the eastern outlet for the Erie Canal, which, when completed in 1825, became an important transportation artery for the early-19th-century United States. The source of the Hudson River is Lake Tear of the Clouds in the Adirondack Park at an altitude of 4,322 feet, the river is not cartographically called the Hudson River until miles downstream. From that point on, the stream is known as the Hudson River. Popular culture and convention, however, more often cite the photogenic Lake Tear of the Clouds as the source, South of the confluence of Indian Pass Brook and Calamity Brook, the Hudson River flows south into Sanford Lake. South of the outlet of the lake, the Opalescent River flows into the Hudson, the Hudson then flows south, taking in Beaver Brook and the outlet of Lake Harris. After its confluence with the Indian River, the Hudson forms the boundary between Essex and Hamilton counties, in the hamlet of North River, the Hudson flows entirely in Warren County and takes in the Schroon River. Further south, the forms the boundary between Warren and Saratoga Counties. The river then takes in the Sacandaga River from the Great Sacandaga Lake, shortly thereafter, the river leaves the Adirondack Park, flows under Interstate 87, and through Glens Falls, just south of Lake George although receiving no streamflow from the lake. It next goes through Hudson Falls, at this point the river forms the boundary between Washington and Saratoga Counties. At this point the river has an altitude of 200 feet, further south the Hudson takes in water from the Batten Kill River and Fish Creek near Schuylerville. The river then forms the boundary between Saratoga and Rensselaer counties, the river then enters the heart of the Capital District. It takes in water from the Hoosic River, which extends into Massachusetts, shortly thereafter the river has its confluence with the Mohawk River, the largest tributary of the Hudson River, in Waterford. Shortly thereafter, the river reaches the Federal Dam in Troy, at an elevation of 2 feet, the bottom of the dam marks the beginning of the tidal influence in the Hudson as well as the beginning of the lower Hudson River
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
Rensselaer County, New York
