Upstate New York

Upstate New York is the portion of the American state of New York lying north of New York City. The region includes all of the state of New York, excluding New York City and its environs, as well as Long Island, though the precise boundary is debated. Upstate New York includes the major cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, and Syracuse.

Before the American Revolutionary War, Upstate was populated by Native Americans, and was home to the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. The region saw many battles between the Continental Army and the Iroqoius, and several treaties drawn up after the war ceded much of the land to settlers of European descent. The development of Upstate New York was spurred by the opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, which greatly eased the transport of goods between the port of New York City and inland cities along the Great Lakes. As a result, Upstate became a hotbed for manufacturing, giving birth to such firms as General Electric, IBM, Kodak, and Xerox, and it welcomed a large influx of immigrants. Since the mid 20th century, American deindustrialization has contributed to economic and population decline Upstate, and the region is largely considered part of the Rust Belt.