Located on the Hudson River near the confluence with the Mohawk River, Albany, New York, is one of the oldest cities in the United States. Henry Hudson (ca.1570-1611) visited the site of the city in 1609, and in 1614 a fortified military post named Fort Orange was erected there for trade with local Native people. In 1664 Britain defeated the Dutch in a maritime war and seized the fort, changing the name to Albany for England’s Duke of York and Albany, who later became King James II (1633-1701). Albany was incorporated in 1686. During the 1700s it was prominent in the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and the American Revolution (1775-1783). It became the capital of New York in 1797. With the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 Albany became an active port for shipping agricultural and timber products from the interior, and it also became a transportation center, linking the East Coast with the Great Lakes and beyond. Today Albany is home to many colleges, museums, and state agencies. By the year 2000 its population had grown to over 95,000.