The New York colony soil was fertile and great for farming which was the reason the British wanted to remove it from the hands of the Dutch. New York was named after James the Duke of York. The Dutch were the first to settle in New York but then was preccoupied by the English in 1674. When the Dutch occupied New York they called it New Amsterdam. New York the colony first became a state on July 26, 1788. The New York colony was founded by Peter Minuit in 1626 on Manhattan Island. Peter Minuit 's reason for finding New York the colony was for trades and to make money. New York the colony used to be called the “breadbasket colony” because they grew many crops, especially wheat. The wheat was grounded into flour which was used to make bread. A