"A History of the City of Brooklyn and Kings County" is a comprehensive account of the New York City's most populous borough from the time of the discovery of America until the late 19th century. Named after the Dutch village of Breukelen, Brooklyn was an independent incorporated city, and previously an authorized village and town within the provisions of the New York State Constitution, until 1898, when, after a long political campaign and public relations battle during the 1890s, according to the new Municipal Charter of "Greater New York", Brooklyn was consolidated with the other cities, boroughs, and counties to form the modern City of New York. The borough continued, however, to maintain a distinct culture. Volume 1: The Region of Brooklyn at the Time of the Discovery Discovery and First Settlements The Indians and the Early Settlers The Beginnings of Breuckelen 1643-1647 Domestic and Social Life under the Dutch 1647-1664 Kings County after the English Conquest 1665-1700 Brooklyn before the Revolution 1701-1775 Kings County during the Revolution 1775-1783 Volume 2: Brooklyn after the Revolution 1784–1810 Brooklyn Village 1811-1833 The City of Brooklyn 1834-1860 The Period of the Civil War 1861-1865 Brooklyn after the War 1866-1876 The Modern City 1877-1893

Reprint of the original, first published in 1869.

This book begins the comparative study of U.S. urban development during the first half of the 19th century. Breathtaking in its comprehensiveness, its survey and comparisons of early urban politics is without parallel. The study is based on a thorough examination of fifteen cities—Albany, Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Charleston, Cincinnati, Louisville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Providence, St. Louis, and Washington. This group of cities—the fifteen largest in 1850—provides a good mix of northern and southern, eastern and western, old and new, and fast- and slow-growing urban centers. This volume deals with the city as a corporate entity and contains chapters on urban governmental structures, government finance, politics and elections, urban political leadership, the city plan and city planning, intergovernmental relations, and urban mercantilism.