Albany County, New York
The city of Albany was the first municipality within this large county, founded as the village (dorp in Dutch) of Beverwyck by the Director-General of New Amsterdam, Pieter Stuyvesant, who also established the first court in Albany. Albany was established as a city in 1686 by Governor Dongan through the Dongan Charter after the English took over the colony. Schenectady to the west was given a patent with some municipal rights in 1684 and became a borough in 1765.
History of Albany, New York (1664–1784)
Since Massachusetts claimed a boundary extending "from sea to sea", which would include the city and much of the surrounding Albany County, disputes occurred between the sheriffs from Albany and the sheriffs from Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1751, after some Massachusetts officers were arrested and brought to Albany, the sheriff of Albany County was arrested and taken to Springfield.
Fear of imminent war with France led the British Lords of Trade in 1753 to send letters to the colonies of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, suggesting they meet in Albany to discuss their common defense. The next year all except Virginia and New Jersey attend, but Rhode Island and Connecticut attend in their stead. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania presented what is now known as the Albany Plan of Union. The meeting, which took place at the corner of Broadway and Hudson Avenue, became known as the Albany Congress. Although it was never adopted by Parliament, it was an important precursor to the United States Constitution. One month later, fears of a war with France came true and new stockades are erected at Albany. Johannes Hansen is appointed mayor.
During the French and Indian War, Albany was the target of several French plans to cut the British colonies in half. Albany was also the point in which British and colonial troops were assembled, and where several invasions of French Canada, and specifically Montreal, were planned. By 1756, 10,000 soldiers were drilling in Albany in preparation of attacks on Canada or for defense of the route to Albany. Sybrant Van Schaick was appointed mayor in 1756 and a smallpox epidemic occurred. Refugees and soldiers continued to pour into the city as fighting along the routes to and from Canada escalated. Due to the large population of British soldiers, British tastes are introduced to Albany, and the first theatrical performance in the city occurred in the winter of 1757 by the British officers stationed there.