Not surprisingly, the man who led the British to seize New Amsterdam from the Dutch and subsequently call it New York was in fact the Duke of York. What was his name?

James was the younger brother of King Charles II of England, and he himself would eventually become King of England. During the so-called Anglo-Dutch wars, Charles II was adamant that England lay claim to New Netherland, so he gave James a patent to the colony. James sent a fleet to seize the colony from the Dutch, and the rest is history.

Asked by Tom Cohen · Last updated 5 years ago · 3.5K views