Nano C

eans Explore
Euopean

MAP KEY
Hudspn
Verrazano
Columbus

In early times, 'people

believed the world was flat.

People did not make globes,

like this one, until after 7492,

when Christopher Columbus

sailed west without falling off
the edge of the earth.

In the IF00s, Europeaa•us wanted to trade with India and

other co tries in Asia. These lands had silks and spices
not foun in Europe. In those days, Europeans believed
the shor$eSt .trade route to India. lay west of Europe.

WORDS
To LEARN

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So, early explorers sailed west. When they arrived in North
America, they thought they were in India. They Called the
people they met on this huge continent "Indians." Using a
globe, follow the route of these explorers. Put your
finger on Europe. Now movc west. What body of——
land is next? Have you reached India?

Giovanni da Verrazano Explores

New horl(
Francis I, the ldng of France, wanted to find
theshortest trade route to India. He hired an
nil
Italian explorer, Giovanni da Verrazano. He •

bOzu to sad west to mum. vrerrazano

never reached India. Instead, he sailed into
New York Bay on January 17, 1524.
Verrazano anchored his ship in the Lower
Bay. He set off with a few of his men in a small
boat. They were met by a party-of Algonquians.;.fr
Giovanni da
As Verrazano later;wrote to King Francis, "The
Verrazano,
people... clothed with bird feathers of many cölprs came 7485-7528
towards us joyfully... showing u. where we could land the
boat moYe safély."
Suddenly, a bad storm blew up in the Narrows. This
is the part of the bay between present-day Brooklyn and
Staten Island. Verrazano gave orders to set sail for the open
sea. First, his men got a supply of fresh water on what is
now Staten Island. Today, the bridge that connects Brooklyn
and Staten Island is called the Verrazano-Narrö}ys Bridge.

Henry Hudson Opens the Door for t,9e Dutch

like Verrazano, Henry Hudson was hired to fiAtl the
shortest trade route to India. This English: sea cappain was
working for the Dutch East India Company. This swas a trading
company in the Netherlands. Hudson was put in of the
ship, the Half Moon. He had a crew of twenty •meå.

37
Henry Hudson's
ship, the Half Moon On Séptember 2, Half Moon sailed into Lower
1609, the
New: York Bay. Hudson and his men first went ashore on
what is now Coney Island, a peninsula surrounded
Ön three sides by water. Here is how Robert Juet,
udson's mate, described the scene in his journal:
a pleasant land to see. ... We went on
f;'This is...

land and found good ground for corn and other

tgorden herbs, with great store of [a great many]
géodly oaks and walnut trees and chestnut
tiees... and great store of slate for houses and other
good stones."
Hudson spent nine days Lower Bay. He then sailed
in the
up through the Narrows. He continued into the Upper Bay
and on up the_ great river. This is the river that today bears
his naxne. He got as far as present-day Albany before he
realizedhe had found a river and not a new route to India.
Disappointed, he turned around and sailed back to
New YorbBay. On the way, he traded with Native Americans.
They gave Kim furs. He gave them beads and tools.

de Champlain Claims Part of New

York for the French
Samuel de
Samubl de Champlain set sail from Franc.e and explored
Champlain
the area around the St. Lawrence River in
Canada beginning in 1608. His ship then traveled
to the northern and central part of New York
State. He claimed. the area for France. He
traded furs with the Iroquois. He also brought
Catholic missionaries with him. A missionary
isa person who tries to change the religion
' of people. One famous missionary that came
with Samuel de Champlain was Father Simon
LeMoyne. There is a college named after him in
the city of Syracuse. Like Henry Hudson,
Champlain was interested in trading furs with

the Iroquois.

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 The Fur frade and the First European
Settlement on Manhattan
In Europe in the 1600s houses were not heated. During
the bitterly cold winter, people wore furs indoorls as well as
outdoors. go, furs were big business.
By 1610 ftlr was brisk between the Dute and the
trade
Native Americans of New York. The Dutch want d the beaver
and otter skins the Native Anmericans had to trade. The Native
Americans wanted the metal kettles, axes, scissors, and other
tools the Dutch brought with them. These tools were as
valuable to the Algonquians and Iroquois as-the furs were
to the Europeans.

One of the first trading ships was the Tiger. sailed

under the command of Adriaen Block. This Dutfh trader
was the first European to sailup the East Riverånto Long
Island Sound. He was also the first European toirealize
that Long Island was an island. Block Islahd, to he east
of Long Island, is named after him.
Before Captain Block could return to the Ne erlands,
the Tiger caught fire. A new ship had to be built! Winter
was coming. The Algonquians showed Block and his men The first Europeans
how to build wigwams for shelter. All winter 1011g the Native in New York traded
for furs with the
Americans brought food to the Europeans. They helped Native Americans.
keep them alive. This was the first European
settlement on Manhattan. Today, a bronze tabl on
the skyscraper at 45 Broadway marks the place
where those first wigwams stood.
Trading and settling this area was
important to the Dutch West India
Company. Settlers traveled up the
Hudson River to the place where the
Hudson and Mohawk Rivers meet.
They started a settlement called Fort
Orange. This was the beginning of the
city called Albany that would later
become our state capital.
 Vocabulary Review
Complete the following sentences.

ptDWeufr

1. Adriaen Block realized that was an island.

2. Henry Hudson sailed up the River.

3. The body of water between Brooklyn and Staten Island

is called .

4. Giovanni da Verrazano explored New York's

Recalling the Facts

Fill in the blank to complete tha.sentence.

1. The Algonquians taught Adriaen Block how to build

2. The Half Moon was under the command of

3. Europeans believed that the shortest trade route to India was to

travel

4. Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River as far as

5. Samuel de Champlain explored the area around the

in Canada.

Thinking and Writing

1. Write one question you would have asked Henry Hudson.

2. Write one question you would have asked Samuel de Champlain.

3. Imagine you are the explorer Giovanni da Verrazano. Using a separate sheet of
paper, write a report to your bops, the king of France, Francis Use the maps,
I.

pictures, and information in the chapter to describe to the king the new land and
its inhabitants.
 Reading a Map
When you- read a map, you use the map key,; compass
rose, and scale to help you find information.
•suilder
For example, let's use the map scale to discover about
how far Ilenry Hudson traveled. He went from Ikower New York Bay to Upper
New York Bay. First, place the edge of a piece or paper on the map. Make one
mark where you think Lower
New York Bay begins and
another where Upper New
York Bay ends, Then, place
the edge of the paper on the
scale so that the mark for
Lower New York Bay touches
0. You will see that your mark

for Upper New York Bay

comes near 7 on the scale.
(The number you get may be
slightly different.) This means
that Henry Hudson's ship
traveled about seven miles.
$ ZAfleniic*
Ocean
Using the map on this
page, complete the following.

1. In which direction did Henry Hudson travel when he went from the Atlantic
Ocean up the Hudson River?

2. Henry Hudson's ship passed through many bodies of water as he traveled.

rlYace his route by filling in the blank spaces. Henry Hudson's route began in the
Ocean. He went through Bay first. Then, his
ship traveled through the Hp passed the
River and continued through Bay. He then entered the river that
bears his name.

3. Which is the northernmost borough?

4. låmich three rivers border Manhattan Island?

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