On September 11, 1609, English navigator Henry Hudson and the crew of his ship the Halve Maen (Half Moon) sailed into what is now Upper New York Bay. He was contracted by the Dutch East India Company, from Holland, to find a fabled northwest passage to Cathay. The next day, Hudson began exploring the river that now bears his name, going as far as present-day Albany, trading with native groups mainly for furs. His voyage established Dutch claims to the region and the lucrative fur trade there. He named the natives at the estuary’s mouth the Manahata and never realized that what are now Manhattan and Long Island are islands. Pictured: modern replica of the tiny Halve Maen in the Hudson, prior to 09/11/2001.
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