In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson, searching for a passage to the Indies on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, sailed up the river later named for him- the Hudson. He claimed the land on either side of the river for the Dutch, who began colonizing the territory they named New Netherland. In 1624, the Dutch established their first permanent settlement on the site of present day Albany, New York.

The Dutch founded New Amsterdam at the mouth of the Hudson River, on the southern end of Manhattan Island, present day New York City; in 1626, they purchased the entire island from the local Indians. Other Dutch settlements included forts in New Jersey and the present site of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Source: Dutch Colonies
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