<P> Permanent European claims began when Englishman Henry Hudson, exploring for the Dutch East India Company on the Half Moon (Dutch: Halve Maen), reached the area in 1609, claiming it for the United Netherlands . In 1614, Hendrick Christiaensen built Fort Nassau, a fur - trading post and the first documented European structure in present - day Albany . Commencement of the fur trade provoked hostility from the French colony in Canada and among the natives, all of whom vied to control the trade . In 1618, a flood ruined the fort on Castle Island, but it was rebuilt in 1624 as Fort Orange . Both forts were named in honor of the Dutch royal House of Orange - Nassau . Fort Orange and the surrounding area were incorporated as the village of Beverwijck (English: Beaver District) in 1652 . In these early decades of trade, the Dutch, Mohican and Mohawk developed relations that reflected differences among their three cultures . </P> <P> When New Netherland was captured by the English in 1664, they changed the name Beverwijck to Albany, in honor of the Duke of Albany (later James II of England and James VII of Scotland). Duke of Albany was a Scottish title given since 1398, generally to a younger son of the King of Scots . The name is ultimately derived from Alba, the Gaelic name for Scotland . The Dutch briefly regained Albany in August 1673 and renamed the city Willemstadt; the English took permanent possession with the Treaty of Westminster (1674). On November 1, 1683, the Province of New York was split into counties, with Albany County being the largest . At that time the county included all of present New York State north of Dutchess and Ulster Counties in addition to present - day Bennington County, Vermont, theoretically stretching west to the Pacific Ocean; the city of Albany became the county seat . Albany was formally chartered as a municipality by provincial Governor Thomas Dongan on July 22, 1686 . The Dongan Charter was virtually identical in content to the charter awarded to the city of New York three months earlier . Dongan created Albany as a strip of land 1 mile (1.6 km) wide and 16 miles (26 km) long . Over the years Albany would lose much of the land to the west and annex land to the north and south . At this point, Albany had a population of about 500 people . </P> <P> In 1754, representatives of seven British North American colonies met in the Stadt Huys, Albany's city hall, for the Albany Congress; Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania presented the Albany Plan of Union there, which was the first formal proposal to unite the colonies . Although it was never adopted by Parliament, it was an important precursor to the United States Constitution . The same year, the French and Indian War, the fourth in a series of wars dating back to 1689, began; it ended in 1763 with French defeat, resolving a situation that had been a constant threat to Albany and held back its growth . In 1775, with the colonies in the midst of the Revolutionary War, the Stadt Huys became home to the Albany Committee of Correspondence (the political arm of the local revolutionary movement), which took over operation of Albany's government and eventually expanded its power to control all of Albany County . Tories and prisoners of war were often jailed in the Stadt Huys alongside common criminals . In 1776, Albany native Philip Livingston signed the Declaration of Independence at Independence Hall in Philadelphia . </P> <P> During and after the Revolutionary War, Albany County saw a great increase in real estate transactions . After Horatio Gates' win over John Burgoyne at Saratoga in 1777, the upper Hudson Valley was generally at peace as the war raged on elsewhere . Prosperity was soon seen all over Upstate New York . Migrants from Vermont and Connecticut began flowing in, noting the advantages of living on the Hudson and trading at Albany, while being only a few days' sail from New York City . Albany reported a population of 3,498 in the first national census in 1790, an increase of almost 700% since its chartering . In 1797, the state capital of New York was moved permanently to Albany . From statehood to this date, the Legislature had frequently moved the state capital between Albany, Kingston, Hurley, Poughkeepsie, and the city of New York . Albany is the tenth - oldest state capital in the United States, but only the second - oldest state capital that is a city, after Santa Fe, New Mexico . </P>

When did the albany plan of union take place