 The first Dutch settlements in the New York area appeared around 1613 . The English captured the New Netherland Colony from the Dutch in 1664 , renaming it the Province of New York after the King 's brother , the Duke of York ( later King James II ) . The Dutch recaptured the colony in July <unk> during the Third Anglo @-@ Dutch War , but gave it back to the English under the Treaty of Westminster in exchange for <unk> . The Duke of York never governed the colony himself : he instead appointed governors , councils , and other officers to run the government . Richard <unk> served as the first governor of New York . 
