The region now comprising Queens was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Rockaway tribe. Willem Kieft, governor of New Netherland, bought large sections of the region from the Rockaways in 1639. In 1642, Dutch colonists established Maspeth (Mespat), and English settlers founded Flushing. The English also helped to establish Jamaica in 1656. By 1664, when England seized control of New Netherland, English settlers were numerous in the territory.
Queens County was organized in 1683 as an administrative division of the English province of New York and was named for Catherine of Braganza, queen consort of Charles II of England. During the American Revolution (1775-1783), British troops occupied the area after the Battle of Long Island (1776) and held it until the end of the war. Largely an agrarian area, Queens grew very slowly until the late 19th century. The Rockaway Peninsula and the North Shore became popular resort areas in the 1890s, and the industrial development of the area around Newtown Creek began about the same time. When Queens County became a borough of New York City in 1898, the communities of Hempstead, North Hempstead, and Oyster Bay seceded and were made part of newly organized Nassau County.
