In what ways did New York City's location (surrounded by water!) allow it to become a major urban center of the world? Include in your response the different roles that water played in New York's development throughout history.
NYC's location helped it become a major urban city because in 1690, Henry Hudson, sailed around NYC through what now is the Hudson River and the East River. The Dutch ruled for 40 years. They had to give it up to the English because they could not take care of the land. Once the English took over, they decided they wanted to change NY, for its own good. NYC was colonized by the British. They helped NYC go through stages like the Renaissance and the Metropolis eras. They helped NYC survive fires, floods, war, and lots more. People from other countries wanted the water that came from the systems that evolved because they didnt have such good water.
Water comes into play because without Henry Hudson and the Dutch sailing over water, NYC would not be as it is now. Water also comes into play because when people in NYC did not have water, there were more fires. For example, The Great Fire. This burned more than 1/4 of NYC. This fire could not be stopped because there was not enough water. Another thing was the Great Depression era. People were getting sick and many other things mostly because there was a lack of water. Then came the good things. With systems running like the Delaware, people were starting to make NYC a better place to be. Subways were made, streets were renovated, and bridges were made. Thanks to water, all these things were built!