<P> Henry Hudson first claimed this area for the Dutch in 1609 . Fur traders established the first European settlement in 1614 ; Albany was officially chartered as a city in 1686 . It became the capital of New York in 1797 . It is one of the oldest surviving settlements from the original thirteen colonies , and the longest continuously chartered city in the United States . Modern Albany was founded as the Dutch trading posts of Fort Nassau in 1614 and Fort Orange in 1624 ; the fur trade brought in a population that settled around Fort Orange and founded a village called Beverwijck . The English took over and renamed the town Albany in 1664 , in honor of the then Duke of Albany , the future James II of England and James VII of Scotland . The city was officially chartered in 1686 with the issuance of the Dongan Charter , the oldest effective city charter in the nation and possibly the longest - running instrument of municipal government in the Western Hemisphere . </P>
<P> Henry Hudson first claimed this area for the Dutch in 1609 . Fur traders established the first European settlement in 1614 ; Albany was officially chartered as a city in 1686 . It became the capital of New York in 1797 . It is one of the oldest surviving settlements from the original thirteen colonies , and the longest continuously chartered city in the United States . Modern Albany was founded as the Dutch trading posts of Fort Nassau in 1614 and Fort Orange in 1624 ; the fur trade brought in a population that settled around Fort Orange and founded a village called Beverwijck . The English took over and renamed the town Albany in 1664 , in honor of the then Duke of Albany , the future James II of England and James VII of Scotland . The city was officially chartered in 1686 with the issuance of the Dongan Charter , the oldest effective city charter in the nation and possibly the longest - running instrument of municipal government in the Western Hemisphere . </P>
when did albany became capital of new york
when did albany became capital of new york
1797
1797