History of Brooklyn

The English organized the six old Dutch towns of southwestern Long Island as Kings County on November 1, 1683, one of twelve counties then established in New York. This tract of land was recognized as a political entity for the first time, and the municipal groundwork was laid for a later expansive idea of Brooklyn identity.

Lacking the patroon and tenant farmer system of the Hudson Valley, this agricultural county came to have one of the highest percentages of slavery among the population in the Thirteen Colonies.

Revolutionary War

Further information: Battle of Long Island and New York and New Jersey campaign

On August 27, 1776, the Battle of Long Island (also known as the Battle of Brooklyn) was the first major engagement fought in the American Revolutionary War after independence was declared, and the largest of the entire conflict. British troops forced Continental Army troops under George Washington off the heights near the modern sites of Green-Wood Cemetery, Prospect Park, and Grand Army Plaza.

Washington, viewing particularly fierce fighting at the Gowanus Creek from his vantage point atop a hill near the west end of present-day Atlantic Avenue, was famously reported to have emotionally exclaimed: "What brave men I must this day lose!".

The fortified American positions at Brooklyn Heights consequently became untenable and were evacuated a few days