Adriaen Block was a Dutch private trader, privateer, and explorer who conducted several voyages between 1611 and 1614. He is best known for exploring the coasts and rivers between New Jersey and Massachusetts, establishing trade with Native Americans, and producing a 1614 map that first labeled the region as "New Netherland." Block is credited with discovering that Manhattan and Long Island are islands, and he may have named Block Island in Rhode Island. He was the first European to navigate Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River.
