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NEW YORK’S EARLY HISTORY

The first inhabitants of the area where New York now lies were Native Americans. They belonged to tribes of the Algonquian nation and later also

Early exploration In 1524 the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano sailed along America’s east coast and became the first European to see the future site of New York. In 1609 Englishman of the Iroquois . Their traditional ways of life changed after Europeans settled in the region in the 17th century.

New Amsterdam Many Dutch families settled in the New Netherlands area. In 1625 some moved to the southern end of Manhattan Island and founded a town called New Amsterdam. A year later, Dutchman Peter Minuit became governor of the town. Minuit then bought Manhattan from the Native Americans for cloth and beads. This village, made up of wooden longhouses . belonged to the Algonquian Wappinger tribe. They lived on Manhattan Island before the arrival of the Dutch in the 17th century. ⌂

Henry Hudson landed on Manhattan Island, then sailed 150 miles (240 km) down the river later named after him. Hudson worked for a trading organization called the Dutch West India Company. In 1624 the company set up the Dutch colony of New Netherlands in the area that Hudson had explored.

The Dutch city of New Amsterdam in 1659. Its buildings included a church (center) and a windmill (far left).

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