Queens, largest of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens county, southeastern New York, U.S. The borough lies on western Long Island and extends across the width of the island from the junction of the East River and Long Island Sound to the Atlantic Ocean. The first settlement there was made by the Dutch in 1636 near Flushing Bay, followed by the establishment of Newtown (1642), Far Rockaway (1644), Flushing (1645), and Jamaica (1656). These settlements came under English control in 1664, when Peter Stuyvesant surrendered to an English force acting for the duke of York. In 1683 Queens county was established as one of the 12 counties of the province of New York and was named to honour the queen consort of Charles II, Catherine of Braganza.
