New York

In 1663 the Duke of York – James Stuart, the second son of Charles I and the brother of Charles II – bought Long Island and other islands on the New England coast.

The next year, his forces captured New Amsterdam from the Dutch and he renamed the whole possession the Province of New York.

His province included what are now New York State, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, and parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine.

The Dutch subsequently recaptured the city of New Amsterdam and it remained Dutch until it was traded back to the English under the Treaty of Westminster in 1674.

The Dutch got the island of Run in Indonesia in exchange - something they were happy enough with at the time as the island of Run was the only place where the nutmeg tree grew and from which the valuable spices nutmeg of and mace could be obtained.

When James Stuart became king he was James II of England and Ireland, and James VII of Scotland in 1685. His reign lasted three years before he was deposed and forced to escape to France as a result of his attempts to re-establish Catholicism and a stronger throne in England.

He was succeeded by the joint reign of William and Mary, then of Anne, then George I, and George II, until the reign of George III, when New York again changed hands.