To some chagrin, I'm off to Albany on Wednesday for a conference of grants-office personnel from around the country. The meeting will be immensely productive: I learned a huge amount from the 2005 iteration, when I was just four weeks into my job, so I expect to be more pro-ish now. Blogging may be light, though I'm going to try to get around that with various internettual tricks. Watch the "Tumblr Feed" at page right.
I have neither visited Albany nor learned much about it - until tomorrow and now, respectively. Wikipedia to the rescue!
Albany is the fourth oldest city (behind Santa Fe, St. Augustine, and Jamestown) and the second oldest state capital (behind Santa Fe) in the United States. The original native settlement in the area was called Penpotawotnot. Its colonial history began when Englishman Henry Hudson, exploring for the Dutch East India Company on the Halve Maen (or Half Moon), reached the area in 1609. In 1614, the Dutch company constructed Fort Nassau, its first fur trading post near present-day Albany and left Jacob Eelkens in charge. Commencement of the fur trade provoked hostility from the French colony in Canada and amongst the native tribes, who vied to control the trade. In 1624, Fort Orange was established in the area. Both forts were named in honor of the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau. Nearby areas were incorporated as the village of Beverwyck in 1652.
When the land was taken by the English in 1664, the name was changed to Albany, in honor of the Duke of York and Albany, who later became King James II of England and James VII of Scotland. Duke of Albany was a Scottish title given since 1398, generally to a younger son of the King of Scots. The name is ultimately derived from Alba, the Gaelic name for Scotland.