Coming to Terms with Early New Netherland - New York History: 1609, Henry Hudson Revisited

History books tell us that Henry Hudson was the first European to discover and explore the river that now bears his name in 1609, setting the stage for what would become New Amsterdam—today’s New York City.

As with most foundation myths, however, the closer one looks the murkier things become. We feel compelled to ask: Is Henry Hudson’s legacy hogging history’s spotlight?

We intend to look beyond Hudson’s legacy to see him as his peers did; to peel back the layers of history and understand better what Hudson’s watershed voyage of 1609 really meant. To do this we will look closely at the standard sources and also at primary materials, some freshly translated for this booklet.