New York City is the largest city in the United States and the world's most important center for global finance and communications. The city is also home to hundreds of world-class museums, galleries, and performance venues, making it the unrivaled cultural and entertainment capital of the western world. With a population of over 8 million people (contained within 309 square miles), and large populations of immigrants from over 180 different countries, the city is often affectionately referred to as "the Big Apple." In addition to these new arrivals from overseas, the city has also become a major destination for people from other parts of the U.S. who wish to experience a more cosmopolitan lifestyle than found in the rest of the country. New York City lies at the heart of the New York Metropolitan Area which, with over 22 million people, is one of the largest urban conglomerations in the world. The city is comprised of five boroughs: Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island, each of which could be a major city in its own right. This area itself is the epicenter of the Tri-State area and the BosWash megalopolis. The city's gross metropolitan product was estimated in 2003 to be US$488.8 billion, the largest of any city in the United States and the sixth largest if compared to any U.S. state. New York City is considered one of the three primary "global cities" of the world. The area that now constitutes New York City was inhabited ny Native American tribes such as the Manahattoes and Canarsies long before the arrival of European settlers, as attested to by discoveries of arrowheads and other artifacts in areas of the city that are not occupied by buildings today, such as Inwood Hill Park and Riverside Park. European settlement began with the founding of the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam) on the southern tip of Manhattan in 1626. In 1664, English ships captured the city without struggle, and it was renamed New York, after James, Duke of York to whom the territory had been given by his brother Charles II. The Duke of York in turn took his title from the City of York in England, hence the prefix 'New'. When James succeeded his brother as James II in 1685 the colony, including New Jersey, became a Royal one. At the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War in 1667, in the Treaty of Breda the Dutch formally signed New York over to the English and received the colony of Suriname in return. During the 19th century, the city population boomed by an influx of a vast number of immigrants. In 1811, the city street grid was expanded to encompass all of Manhattan with a visionary development proposal called the Commissioner's Plan. By 1835, New York City overtook Philadelphia as the largest city in the United States. During the Civil War, the city's strong commercial ties to the South, as well as its growing immigrant population, led to a split in sympathy between the Union and Confederacy, culminating in the Draft Riots of 1863, the worst civil unrest in American history. After the war, the rate of immigration from Europe grew steeply, and New York became the first stop for millions seeking a new and better life in the United States. The New York City metropolitan area is the only one in the United States with more than one team in each of the four major sports (with nine such teams in all). The professional teams using "New York" in their names are: * New York Giants, National Football League, Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey * New York Islanders, National Hockey League, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York * New York Jets, National Football League, Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey * New York Knicks, National Basketball Association, Madison Square Garden * New York Mets, Major League Baseball, Shea Stadium (1964-) * New York Rangers, National Hockey League, Madison Square Garden * New York Yankees, Major League Baseball, Yankee Stadium (1923-) * New York Dragons, Arena Football League, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York In addition, the New Jersey Nets (NBA) and the New Jersey Devils (NHL) are based in the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The MetroStars (Major League Soccer) are based at Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. In 2004, the New Jersey Nets was sold to Bruce Ratner, who announced plans to move it to Brooklyn and build a new state of the art arena. The New York Jets also hope to move to the West Side of Manhattan and build a retractable roof football stadium in 2008 once their lease at Giants Stadium expires. New York City is home to two minor league baseball teams. Both play in the short-season Class A New York-Penn League, and each is an affiliate of one of the city's major-league teams. The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Mets affiliate, and the Staten Island Yankees are affiliated with the Yankees. New York City is a finalist to host the 2012 Summer Olympics, with plans to build many new sporting venues if chosen. The proposed Jets Stadium on the West Side would also be used for the Olympic track and field events.