UPPER HUDSON

New Netherland Research Center

https://www.newnetherlandinstitute.org/about-nni/about-the-nnrc

7th Floor of the New York State Library and State Archives

Albany, NY 12230

Hours: Call for hours.

Phone: (518) 473-4738

Email: [email protected]

 

 

Historical Description:

The original Half Moon (Halve Maen) was commissioned on March 25, 1609, for the Dutch East India Company. Her captain, Henry Hudson, was already a famous explorer of Arctic waters when in 1608 he was hired by the Dutch East India Company to find a northeast, all-water route to Asia. What began as a search for a Northeast Passage became a transatlantic crossing to look for a Northwest Passage to the rich spice trade of China. After reaching the Maine coast the Half Moon sailed southward as far as the present day North Carolina Outer Banks. Then, turning northward, Hudson explored the Delaware Bay before arriving at the mouth of the Hudson River. Hudson sailed upriver to present-day Albany before returning down river, and claiming the region for the Dutch.        

 

The Site:

Opened to the public in November 2010, the New Netherland Research Center is located in the New York State Research Library. It provides a permanent location where students, educators, scholars, and researchers worldwide can access translations of early Dutch colonial manuscripts and a vast library of early documents, books, and reference works that tell the fascinating story of the Dutch global reach during the American colonial period and its lasting impact on today's world.