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Want to compare pictures of maps? Cause I've got some too. Here's a Spanish one from 1562 showing the "new world" as it was known to Europe at the time. See New York on it? In case you don't it's approximate geographic location (the city did not exist yet) is just south of that large gulf-shaped feature on the northeastern extremity of North America.

Here's one of just North America published in 1650. See New York, or New Amsterdam as it was then called, on it? That's right. It's on the northeast end of the continent.

Here's a nice French one from 1657. New York doesn't even make it onto their picture.

Here's a map of New Orleans published by the French in 1764. It was a small city, no doubt but hardly the two block trading post you would have us believe.

Oh, and here's New York City, or New Amsterdam at the time, in 1639. Those little numbered dots are farms and individual houses. The city itself was little more than a nearby fort.

Now I know you yankees and yankee sympathizers like to believe that your little yankee mecca of New York City is the center of the universe. The cold harsh reality is that it isn't anywhere close. New York City is a cold, dreary urine soaked crime infested urban wasteland on the northeast extremity of the United States. Politically, morally, socially, and culturally it is about as far away from the true American heartland as one can physically get in this country short of leaving its borders entirely.

For some reason those last two maps didn't format correctly. You can access them from this link by clicking on "Discovery and Exploration"

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/dsxphome.html

In 1695, New York City boasted 800 houses already. (Albany then boasted 200 houses.)
The name of the Big Apple changed for the last time from New Orange to New York in 1674.
It was New Amsterdam until 1664 when the Brits took over but then in 1673 the Dutch moved back in and renamed it New Orange.

When one speaks of New York City this far back in history, it really relates only to that small nub of land on Manhattan Island below Wall Street. Wall Street is all the way downtown in the Financial District, so it is a small area indeed. It was "not in length or breadth above two furlongs [a quarter mile], and in circumference a mile." Wall Street is named for the wall built by the Dutch to protect the (then) city proper from invaders.

Progress of New York may have been somewhat impeded by the Revolutionary War. The British occupied New York City from September 15, 1776 to November 25, 1783. At the start of the war, the city was virtually evacuated except for troops.

The first stock exchange in America was founded in Philadelphia in 1790. The New York Stock and Exchange Board was formally organized on March 8, 1817.

The NYC population boomed from 65,000 in 1800 to 96,000 in 1810 to 250,000 in 1820.

There are five borroughs of modern New York City, four of which are on islands. Only the Bronx is on the mainland. JFK airport is on Long Island. Coney Island is not an island at all.

New York City does seem to be the center of the Financial universe. Control of the Federal Reserve flows from NYC, and the big stock market is there. The crime rate was greatly reduced while Giuliani was mayor. At one time there were over 2,000 homicides per year. I'm not sure I can agree that it is a wasteland. Few people could even afford to buy an apartment in midtown Manhattan. It is about a million dollars a pop. Politically it is somewhat left of left. Hilary fits right in. NYC is not typical of the state which is a leading agricultural producer. NYC (and the burbs) is very heavily Democrat. Most of the rest of the state leans Republican. I would not describe NYC as dreary, but anyone just being dropped in there might think he had entered an alien universe.

Waving at (or saying hi) to strangers is somewhat unheard of. In the South it is common for a complete stranger driving by to wave from their car. The initial Yankee reaction is "Who the hell was that and where do they know me from?"

Appx sq milage of the five borroughs: Manhattan 23, Bronx 42, Staten Island 58, Brooklyn 71, and Queens 109.

Manhattan has appx 7% of the area of NYC. The entirety of modern NY, NY (Manhattan Island) is only 23 sq miles.

The 2000 census gives Manhattan a population of 1,537,195 or 66,940 per square mile.

Rhode Island has appx 1045 sq miles. If it had the same population density as Manhattan, it would have a population of almost 70 million.

Here's a Spanish one from 1562 showing the "new world" as it was known to Europe at the time.

Nice map of South America . Looks like it was taken from outer space. Funny how your depiction of the Spaniard's Novo Mundo doesn't seem to include places like California or even Western Mexico (lol).

Here's one of just North America published in 1650.

On that map NYC would be located just right of center, along the same line of meridian those letters I O N appear on, and there's a whole lot of territory mapped to the north and to the east. Let me guess and say this one is English.

Here's a nice French one from 1657. New York doesn't even make it onto their picture.

More pretzel logic from the master bender himself. I'm sure there are an infinite number of historical maps on which New York doesn't appear. Which means...nothing.

Here's a map of New Orleans published by the French in 1764. It was a small city, no doubt, but hardly the two block trading post you would have us believe.

Yes, I'm glad you are finally acknowledging the obvious, but I have never called New Orleans a 'two block trading post' and you know it.

Oh, and here's New York City, or New Amsterdam at the time, in 1639. Those little numbered dots are farms and individual houses. The city itself was little more than a nearby fort.

Farms and individual houses extending away from the city center (or fort) would indicate a thriving population center, good arable land, with plenty of room for GROWTH! As I stated before, climate, geography, and free labor were all key ingredients. Maybe if that map was done with a bit more scale, we could actually see just how extensive the little city of New Amsterdam really was in 1639!

Now I know you yankees and yankee sympathizers like to believe that your little yankee mecca of New York City is the center of the universe.

Reduced to mindless name calling again? Would you like some cheese with that whine?

Now I know you yankees and yankee sympathizers like to believe that your little yankee mecca of New York City is the center of the universe. The cold harsh reality is that it isn't anywhere close. New York City is a cold, dreary urine soaked crime infested urban wasteland on the northeast extremity of the United States. Politically, morally, socially, and culturally it is about as far away from the true American heartland as one can physically get in this country short of leaving its borders entirely.

He sure sounds like a "big dumb cracker" to me.