FW: New York (OED 1714); New England (OED 1638)

[Frank Abate]

More on Barry P's query:

New York -- King Charles II granted, by royal charter, all the land from the
Connecticut River to the Delaware River to his brother, the Duke of York, in
1664.  That document specifies what land is included (in the language of a
deed), and may well refer to the granted territory as "New York"; I do not
have immediate access to the entire document.  In any case, the Duke of York
took possession of New Amsterdam (present-day New York City; well, only the
very S tip of Manhattan, really) with an armed fleet in 1664, and surely
then imposed his name in order to wipe out the Dutchness of the place.  The
Dutch retook the city in 1673, but held it for only a brief time, as it was
taken back by the English in 1674 by the Treaty of Westminster.  In that
same year the Duke of York "perfected his title" on the land by obtaining a
new royal grant.  (Brotherly love, I guess, and Philadelphia had nothing to
do with it.)

btw, in 1664 the Duke of York sold his title to what is now New Jersey to
Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret.  And in 1682 he sold title to
what is now Delaware and the land on the west bank of the Delaware River to
William Penn.

Further btw, this same Duke of York became King James II after Charles II
died in 1685.  He was only king briefly, however, as his Catholic leanings
did not sit well on the throne of England.  He was ousted and went into
exile in France, and William (of Orange) and Mary were brought in to be
monarchs for the UK.

Frank Abate

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   What does the OED revision have?  New York 1714?  New England 1638?  Will
there be any dates/entries for "New Amsterdam" and "New Netherlands"?
   This is really for OED, but someone on the list can respond.  I'd like to
write something for the New-York Historical Society, and I'd like to see
these entries.
   New York City is turning 350, so something closer to 1653 is more like
it.
   Here's a check of EARLY ENGLISH BOOKS ONLINE:

New Amsterdam--no hits

New Netherland--William Castell A SHORT DISCOVERIE (1644)

New York--Thomas Sprat COPIES OF THE INFORMATION (1685)

New England--Peter Heylyn A LITTLE DESCRIPTION OF THE GREAT WORLD (1625);
William Alexander, Earl of Stirling THE MAPP AND DESCRIPTION OF NEVV-ENGLAND
(1630)
(See also "'New England' Defined" at
http://www.usm.maine.edu/~maps/exhibit2.sec4.htm)