 Prior to declaring its independence, New York was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain, which it in turn obtained from the Dutch as the colony of New Netherland; see the lists of colonial governors and of directors-general of New Netherland for the pre-statehood period.The office of the governor was established by the first New York Constitution in 1777.The governor was originally for a term of three years, though the constitution did not specify when the term began.